Rescue: 22nd November 2007
Air, Land and Sea Search for Lost Woman.

Staithes & Runswick RNLI lifeboat joined a major air, land and sea search on Thursday afternoon when a woman dialled 999 and told the coastguard she was lost at the base of some cliffs and the tide was high.

The lifeboat launched at 2:25pm as the coastguard believed that the telephone signal came from the Port Mulgrave area. The phone signal was poor and when the coastguard tried ringing back the number the call kept failing.

Staithes lifeboat began searching inshore between Staithes and Runswick Bay. In the mean time an RAF rescue helicopter was scrambled, along with coastguard teams from Kettleness, Staithes and Skinningrove. The Runswick Bay Rescue Boat was also launched.

Soon after launching the weather conditions worsened with the wind up to force 7 from the north, producing large seas and swell. By the time Staithes lifeboat reached Kettleness, just south of Runswick Bay the helicopter arrived on scene and coastguard teams had begun searching the cliff tops and fore shore. With no one being found by the lifeboat and helicopter between Staithes and Kettleness and the uncertainty of where the 999 call was made from it was decided to search to the north of Staithes up to Skinningrove.

At around 3:00pm Humber Coastguard, with the help of the police and mobile phone provider, received information that the woman had indeed been in the Runswick Bay area but had managed to get to safety and was making her way back to Whitby where it is believed she is on holiday.

We took the lifeboat from Staithes to Kettleness and then back towards Skinningrove, keeping close inshore to try and spot the woman. Soon after launching the wind increased giving a couple of meters of swell and lots of spray, which made searching difficult. We are pleased that the woman made it to safety and thankfully Humber Coastguard were persistent in tracing the phone and the search ended before conditions became worse.

— Lee Jackson, Staithes Lifeboat Press Officer

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