First responders converged on Willits’s Railroad Avenue this evening after receiving reports of a woman being found unresponsive and not breathing.
Despite over half an hour of life-saving efforts, the woman passed away at the scene and the death is being investigated by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office.
Emergency dispatch could be heard on the scanner around 3:55 this afternoon reporting to medical and fire personnel that the woman had been located near the 300 block of Railroad Avenue.
The dispatcher informed first responders CPR was underway after she was found not breathing and unresponsive. Resources from the Little Lake Fire Protection District, Brooktrails Township Fire Department, and medical personnel were deployed.
A witness told us the first responders attempted lifesaving efforts in the open air on the pavement near the former site of the Willits Food Bank. The witness saw the first responders use a sheet to shield the woman from view.
Around 4:30 p.m., scanner traffic indicated that the life-saving efforts were over and all fire personnel were released by medical at scene.
Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Captain Quincy Cromer confirmed the woman’s death was being processed by the Coroner’s Office. Sheriff’s Office personnel were requested after the woman had passed away. At this preliminary stage in the investigation, he could not provide any details about the identity of the woman nor the cause of death.
UPDATE 8:27 p.m.: Following up with more information about the incident, Captain Cromer told us the woman who passed away this afternoon was a 57-year-old Willits resident with multiple health issues. She reportedly experienced a medical emergency before her death. Captain Cromer said deputies said there was nothing suspicious about her death.
My thoughts and prayers with the family .Condolence to the family.