While en route to her Kelseyvile home, Julie Gruenke drove off the edge of the precipitous State Route 175 in the early evening of August 6, 2024. Ground and air assets searched the road between Hopland and Lakeport for over 24 hours until yesterday evening when Julie Gruenke was located with her vehicle. Despite the ordeal, reports from the scene indicate she experienced only minor injuries.
Julie, a Kelseyville resident, contacted her husband around 4:00 PM on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, to say she was heading home from Sonoma County but didn’t feel well. Her last known cellphone ping was at 5:00 PM with her vehicle spotted heading east on State Route 175 toward Lake County.
With the assistance of daylight, law enforcement conducted a significant search effort on August 7th when the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the California Highway Patrol and a CHP helicopter, searched along State Route 175 from the Mendocino/Lake County line.
Scanner traffic from yesterday evening indicates Gruneke was located around 8:45 p.m. near the State Route 175 summit. First responders at the scene confirmed the occupant was Gruenke, the missing woman. She was transported to an area hospital.
Some great news!
She is a very fortunate lady.
I could be mistaken but I’m thinking that just over the hump on the Lake County there is a Flock camera system?
She must have gone off of the road just west of that?
I’m happy for Julie and her family and friends that she survived.
Awesome work by first responders!
Common ground of something we finally see eye to eye on Todd.