San Diego woman found in storm drain dies after rescue

SAN DIEGO — A 59-year-old San Diego woman who had been missing for over a week was found alive in a storm drain on Monday but died just hours later at the hospital, officials confirmed, per NBC San Diego.

The woman, identified as Yafang Zhou, was last seen near her home on Union Street in downtown San Diego around midnight on March 25. Her husband filed a missing persons report on April 3, after she failed to return and her car was found abandoned near Beeler Canyon Road in Poway, according to a statement from the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Voice from below leads to discovery

San Diego police detectives searching the area on Monday morning heard a faint voice coming from beneath a manhole cover near the 14600 block of Beeler Canyon Road. They quickly alerted firefighters, and a search and rescue team was deployed.

According to San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Erik Windsor, rescue personnel entered the confined storm drain space and began crawling through tight passages, navigating dangerous gases, low oxygen levels, and the risk of wildlife. Firefighters lifted multiple manhole covers along the drain path and eventually located Zhou further uphill from the initial search area.

Rescue teams used a rope and pulley system to pull Zhou and her rescuer to the surface at approximately 2:20 p.m. She was immediately transported to Palomar Medical Center in serious condition. Despite lifesaving efforts, she was pronounced dead at 4:15 p.m, as reported by Daily Mail.

Circumstances remain unclear

Authorities have not confirmed how long Zhou was inside the storm drain or how she ended up there. “What she was doing in there, what drove her in there, how she came to be in there — we are unclear,” Windsor told NBC San Diego.

Preliminary findings suggest Zhou had been in the drain for several days, potentially since her disappearance in late March. Personal items were found near her abandoned vehicle close to the Beeler Canyon trailhead.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner has not yet released a cause of death. Out of respect for the family, law enforcement said no further details will be released at this time.