Bend pair hailed for helping rescue woman in canal

Two Bend residents were hailed by police Friday after they heard cries for help, called 911 and helped an officer rescue a woman who fell into a northeast Bend irrigation canal and was swept about 200 yards downstream Thursday night.

Michelle Howard, 57, was pulled from the Central Oregon Irrigation District canal near Northeast Purcell Boulevard about 9:30 p.m. and taken by ambulance to St. Charles Bend, where she was kept overnight for observation, said Lt. Clint Burleigh.

Melissa Thompson and Al Steiner told police they had heard a woman’s cries for help. Thompson called 911 while Steiner went to find where the yelling was coming from — and found the woman clinging to vegetation on the side of the canal, Burleigh said.

Soon, Bend Officer Kyle Voll arrived to assist and found Steiner holding onto Howard while awaiting rescuers. Voll was able to pull the woman out of the water.

Howard has an electric scooter, found about 200 yards upstream from where she was found in the canal, Burleigh said.

An investigation indicates Howard fell into the canal where her scooter was found and was swept about 200 yards downstream before she was able to grab the vegetation on the side of the canal.

While the incident remains under investigation, Burleigh said there was “no indication any criminal activity” occurred to Howard, who was taken to the hospital by Bend Fire Department medics.

Burleigh said police wanted to thank Thompson and Steiner “for being observant and rushing to the aid of Howard in an obvious time of need.”

“This type of proactive community involvement helped save a life,” the lieutenant said in a news release. “We are also extremely proud of Officer Kyle Voll for acting quickly to remove Howard from the canal and keeping her from suffering further injury.”

Burleigh said the incident also serves as a potentially tragic reminder that even in a time of water shortages, :irrigation canals like this one have a lot of water moving through them and the water is moving at a rapid pace.”:

It’s also illegal to intentionally enter the canals, which are the private property of irrigation districts such as COID.