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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Tourist braves chilly Seattle lake to rescue seagull tangled in fishing line

Liam Colwell tows the rescued seagull to shore at Green Lake as people look on. At one point, Colwell, a 17-year-old tourist from California, was chest deep in the water. (Ray Rivera / Seattle Times)
Seattle Times

For California tourist Liam Colwell, it wasn’t a choice. He knew there was only one thing to do: the bird must live, he thought.

The 17-year-old spotted the struggling seagull while walking Green Lake on Monday with his family, visiting from the Bay Area. Overnight freezing temperatures were rising, but still below 40 degrees.

The bird was tangled in a fishing line attached to a nearby tree, so he sprang into action.

“The seagull was going to die if nobody did anything,” Colwell said in an interview. “If I have the ability to save the seagull or let it die, I don’t know why I would just let it die.”

The high-school senior scaled the tree, hoping to take down the line and pull the bird to shore. Instead, the branch snapped, falling into the lake. Colwell took off his jacket and waded into the chilly waters, nearly up to his chest at one point.

While Colwell reeled in the fishing line, his sister ran to a nearby restaurant to borrow a pair of scissors. When the bird was close enough, Colwell reached out to grab it — and the bird nipped at him. Colwell’s dad covered the seagull’s face with a jacket so the boy could carry it to shore.

By this time, the rescue operation had drawn dozens of onlookers, including many families, said Tracy Colwell, the boy’s dad. When the boy cut the bird free, everyone cheered. The seagull flew away.

“He was pretty ready to be done,” Colwell said of the exhausted waterfowl.

Feet still numb from the rescue, Colwell said he was grateful for the Batman Snuggie an onlooker gave him. Now, the hero is headed back to California and more ordinary business, like figuring out where he’ll go to college.