Coast Guard rescues woman from Thames River after 2-hour search
New London — A Coast Guard boat crew early Thursday rescued a New London woman who had spent several hours in the 60-degree water of the Thames River.
The woman was found clinging to a rock at the base of New London Ledge Light about 12:20 a.m., according to a Coast Guard news release issued Thursday.
The rescue followed a more than two-hour search that involved multiple area police and fire agencies and their boats.
The search for the woman, who police said is 20 years old, began about 10 p.m., when members of the woman's family called police because she hadn't returned from a swimming trip.
They told police she was a strong swimmer and goes swimming in the river regularly, and that she usually wears a wetsuit.
Police have not released her identity.
She may have been in the water since as early as 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to New London Fire Department Battalion Chief Edward Sargent.
Police found her clothes on the sand at Mitchell Beach and initiated the larger search.
Firetrucks and police cars crowded the parking lot at Mitchell Beach on Pequot Avenue late Wednesday while crews from Coast Guard Station New London, New London police and firefighters, along with personnel from Mystic, Quaker Hill and Goshen fire departments, searched the water between the Gold Star Memorial Bridge and Ocean Beach.
The woman was awake and able to talk when Coast Guard officers pulled her out of the water, Sargent said.
"She just told them she was tired," Sargent said.
She was transported to the Coast Guard Station New London, then to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London for evaluation and possible treatment of hypothermia.
The Coast Guard advises all swimmers to be aware of strong currents, sea conditions and to swim with a partner.
Day Staff Writer Greg Smith contributed to this report.
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