Man survives leap from ferry, chilly waters

Published 1:57 pm Friday, October 15, 2010

A man who leaped off a state ferry late Thursday night swam at least a third of a mile in chilly Puget Sound to reach the Mukilteo shore, officials said.

Police said the man called a mental health worker around 10:40 p.m. to report he was at a ferry dock and feeling suicidal.

Where he was calling from was not immediately known.

Police from Mukilteo went to the ferry terminal to investigate.

“Our officers interviewed some ferry employees,” Mukilteo police Cmdr. Chuck Macklin said. “They didn’t see anyone acting suspiciously.”

At 11:30 p.m., ferry workers found an unattended vehicle aboard the ferry Kittitas with the key in the ignition, a wallet and a note, Washington State Ferries spokeswoman Marta Coursey said. A rescue vessel was launched. The ferry master reported no signs of a passenger overboard and ferry service was resumed around midnight.

Shortly after midnight, a worker on a passing Burlington Northern-Sante Fe train reported seeing a man dressed only in black underwear . He was between the seawall and railroad tracks at Mukilteo.

Police determined he was the man who called 911 and jumped off the ferry. They think he went into the water at least 1,500 feet from shore, perhaps even farther.

“He was muddy and bloody,” Macklin said.

Water temperatures in the Puget Sound were in the low 50s Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service.

The man, whose age and hometown were not immediately available, was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett for medical and mental health evaluations, Macklin said.