Posted on 01/07/2008 3:08:59 PM PST by Daffynition
SANTA FE, N.M. -- A woman drowned when she apparently tried to retrieve a kitten from a 55-gallon rain barrel at her home southeast of Santa Fe.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano said 48-year-old Deborah Hill was found by her husband Sunday afternoon after he returned home from running errands. Solano said the couple had dragged the plastic barrel inside their home because they wanted to thaw ice that had formed in the barrel.
The barrel, which Solano said was tied to a door so it wouldn't tip, was about one-third full of water when the kitten fell in. Solano said Hill apparently was standing on something to reach down for the kitten when she slid in.
Detectives said it's likely she drowned and the kitten climbed out over her.
***He did not need to tie any barrel to any door***
Right - the only reason to tie it steady - would be so that she wouldn’t topple it over, struggling, as he was drowning her.
I hope the medical examiner does a thorough autopsy - not like poor Kathleen Savio.
ELDORADO, N.M., Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Authorities said a woman drowned in her Eldorado, N.M., home after apparently trying to retrieve a kitten from a rain barrel.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano said the body of Deborah Hill, 48, was discovered by her husband just before 2 p.m. Sunday, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported Monday.
Solano said the couple had taken the 55-gallon plastic rain barrel inside their home to thaw ice inside it. The barrel was about one-third full once the ice had melted and the family's kitten is believed to have fallen in.
"It looks like she was standing on something to reach down for the kitten and slid in herself," Solano told the New Mexican.
The sheriff said no signs of foul play have been found by investigators.
"There's pretty significant evidence for the cat theory," he said. "There's scratches in the barrel and there's scratches on the body."
He said the barrel had been tied to the door to prevent it from tipping over.
"That means once she fell in, she wasn't able to tip it herself," he said to the newspaper.
Thanks for pinging me to that.
What a horrible way to go.
Think short 250 pound woman.
I can absolutely see this happening. Not enough strength in her arms to push herself back out. Possibly she was able to hold her head above water till her arms got too tired.
What an awful way to go.
Or maybe he drowned her.
Puhleeeeeeeeeeeeese
Can’t anyone see that the husband threw both the wife & the cat in the barrel????
Good grief!
To rescue the cat she would have just had to scoop it out with a pot or a towel.
A standard 55-gallon plastic rain barrel is 20” X 20” X 35” ... even tied in place, unless one passed out ... I don’t see how an adult could drown...unless they were a midget.
Have we found out how the cat got in the barrel by itself?
Did it fly in on angel wings...or climb up the slippery side of a plastic barrel?
All I know is that the next time I’m defrosting a rain barrel in my kitchen, I’ll keep a lid on it and all kittens, women and children kept out of the room. 8(
Fall in from an adjacent piece of furniture?
I’ve had cats for 50 years, and I don’t doubt their ability to get into the strangest places.
Splish splash!
moar funny pictures
was about one-third full of water
why would one assume a barrel that size would tip?
And the moral of the story is...
don’t go into the water if you cant swim.
Well at least she succeeded in saving the kitten.
Cat after long day of swimming.....
It would be helpful to know her blood alcohol level. Falling headfirst into a rain barrel isn't all that common, and tying a rain barrel to an inside house door "to keep it from tipping over" is even less common.
Yes, as a matter of fact they can. They showed the story on the news tonight and the place that makes the barrels said normally an adult can tip one over but they tied it to the door to keep their 3 year old from pulling the barrel over on her.
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