A woman in western Washington fell into a pit toilet after creating a Rube Goldberg-sounding contraption to rescue her phone. The woman then required a rescue.
Brinnon Fire Department Chief Tim Manly said the woman, who was at the top of Mt. Walker, had been using her phone and had dropped it down into the vault. After she disassembled the toilet seat, she used dog leashes to try to retrieve the phone and eventually used the leashes to tie herself off as she reached for it, he said. That effort failed and she fell, horrifyingly, into the vault, headfirst.
"They didn't work very well and in she went," Manly said.
The woman was alone and attempted to escape the vault for 10-15 minutes but wasn't able to get out, Manly said. Reunited with her phone, she was able to get a cell signal to call 911 and draw first responders to the scene. The Brinnon Fire Department and Quilcene Fire Rescue responded.
