Dip in Lake CdA leads to mental health hold

A woman was placed in mental health protective custody by police after she was found screaming for help in Lake Coeur d’Alene about 2:30 this morning.

Officers used a boat to rescue the woman, who was about 700 feet from shore at Coeur d’Alene City Beach. The woman’s clothes were at the shore, and she refused to commands to swim to safety, according to a news release.

Kootenai County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Higgins and police Officer Justin Bangs used a patrol boat from Blackwell Island Marina to reach the woman, then pulled her to safety.

The woman, who is in her 20s, had been contacted by police that night for a report of a battery and trespassing in the 800 block of N. 7th Street, but the victim declined to pursue charges.

Police don’t know if the woman was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to a news release.