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Woman Drowns Trying To Save Dog Near Bodega Bay

BODEGA BAY (BCN) - An Auburn woman drowned Friday morning at Portuguese Beach north of Bodega Bay on the Sonoma Coast when she went into the surf after her dog, State Parks Public Safety Superintendent Jenny Donovan said.

Donovan said State Parks rangers at the Salmon Creek station about two miles away were informed of the incident at 8:08 a.m.

The woman and her boyfriend were walking two dogs on the beach. One of the dogs went into the water and the woman went after it, Donovan said.

She was caught in the surf and quickly washed out to sea. The boyfriend, a State Parks ranger and another person were able to get the woman back on the shore, but she had been in the cold water for about 20-25 minutes, Sgt. Dave Thompson.

State Parks personnel gave the woman CPR before the Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter arrived but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The helicopter crew used a long-line to bring the woman to the top of a nearby bluff and a chaplain responded to the scene, Thompson said.

The dog perished and washed ashore, Thompson said.

The Sonoma County coroner's office has not released the woman's identity.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)

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