A Routine Rescue Turns Remarkable When Firefighters Save Willie Nelson and a Whidbey Man From a Bluff. ML
A Whidbey resident and a German shepherd named after an American country singer were rescued on Tuesday afternoon after becoming stranded on a steep, brush-covered bluff near Mussel Beach Road in Coupeville.
No injuries were reported.
A call for assistance came in at 1:12 p.m., according to Justin Burnett, a firefighter for Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue and former editor of The Record. The fire department initially asked for mutual assistance from South Whidbey Fire/EMS.
A Central Whidbey couple lost track of their dog, Willie Nelson, who was chasing rabbits in their yard. After realizing that the dog was stuck on the side of a bluff, the dog-dad climbed down to attempt a rescue. Unfortunately, neither the man nor the pooch were able to climb back up due to the steep, heavily forested terrain and wet conditions, according to Burnett.
Because the slope exceeded 45 degrees — qualifying it as a high-angle rescue — Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue requested assistance from Navy Region Northwest’s technical rescue team. Navy Region Northwest led the rope system operation, ultimately lowering a rescuer, securing the man and the dog in harnesses and hoisting them back to safety. In total, roughly 20 personnel from the three departments assisted.
The man’s daughter-in-law, Azalea Murray, said her family was “relieved and forever grateful” for the firefighters involved in the rescue. She said her father-in-law had held the panicked dog against the cliffside for nearly two hours until help arrived.
“By the time the team had gotten him and the shepherd up, they were both completely exhausted,” Murray told the News-Times.
Burnett said the rescue was challenging but ultimately “a really positive outcome,” adding that all agencies worked smoothly together despite poor weather and difficult terrain.
“We’re just really grateful,” Nelson’s dog-mom echoed, referring to the firefighters who helped save her dog and husband.
