Did delays in response to stabbing on Pierce County island cost woman her life?
A fatal stabbing on June 22 on Ketron Island in Pierce County has angered residents who say a faster emergency response could have saved the victim’s life.
The 221-acre private island southwest of Steilacoom is only reachable by ferry, and a little more than a dozen people live there with no public infrastructure. After a 26-year-old woman was stabbed several times, allegedly by her boyfriend, neighbors found her, called 911 for help and began CPR.
Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched at 9:09 p.m., according to spokesperson Carly Cappetto, and they were on a marine boat on their way to the island about 45 minutes later.
In the meantime, Scott Maddox, an island resident and a chief engineer with Washington State Ferries, tried to keep the woman alive along with other neighbors. He told The News Tribune on June 23 that he has 20 years of first responder training. He said arriving deputies helped provide CPR, but that it was the wrong response for the situation.
“How come they sent cops instead of an ambulance?” Maddox said.
Anderson Island Fire & Rescue was dispatched at 9:32 p.m. to provide mutual assistance to the Sheriff’s Office, according to EMS Lt. Ramona Wheeler. She said their marine crew responded with their fire boat with instructions to transport law enforcement to Ketron from the mainland. While en route, she said, they were redirected to Ketron to support deputies who were already on the scene.
When they arrived, the team attempted life-saving measures, Wheeler said, but the woman’s injuries were so extensive that she did not survive.
Maddox said emergency responders and deputies requested an airlift, and they prepped a landing spot for a helicopter. An IV drip was also set up for the woman. Maddox said they continued to perform CPR, but an airlift never came.
“[Deputies] said no, I’m sorry, they’re just not coming,” Maddox said. “Why? Why? What if it was you? What if it was your neighbor?”
“This woman died of protocol, not her wounds,” he added.
Ketron Island residents have had trouble with emergency responses to the island before. Another resident, Peter Brigham, recalled having to glue his hand back together after a chainsaw accident that occurred minutes after the ferry left the island, which he said meant he had to wait nine hours until the next ferry could take him to the mainland. One summer, a man set his house on fire with fireworks, and Brigham said Pierce County refused to send a fire truck, leaving them to fight the blaze themselves.
Officials have pointed out that living on a small island comes with drawbacks. According to Pierce County, a ferry departs from Ketron Island only three times a day. The News Tribune has previously reported that many residents use their own boats to reach nearby Steilacoom.
Brigham said residents deserve emergency services the same as any other resident of the county. He said they’re dismissed as “yokels” because they’ve chosen to live on an isolated island.
“[The woman] would be alive and recovering from her wounds if Pierce County had a service protocol for emergencies on Ketron Island,” Brigham said. “Instead, they just wait for us to die.”
A short time after initial 911 calls were made, neighbors reported hearing a loud crash at the ferry dock. The man suspected of killing his girlfriend had driven his vehicle off the dock and into the water. The vehicle was found 30 feet underwater on June 23 with the man dead inside.
Why wasn’t airlift sent to Ketron Island?
Requests were made for a helicopter to take the woman to a hospital, but it never came. Authorities said the victim’s condition wasn’t improving, and an airlift wasn’t going to change that.
Before deputies arrived, Maddox said the woman was still alive and fighting for a “good solid hour” as he and other neighbors provided CPR.
“I knew she was still with us,” Maddox said. “She was breathing. She came back a couple of times. She squeezed my hand. She said my name. I asked her, ‘Do you know who I am?’ She said ‘Yes.’ I said ‘Do you know my name? Tell me my name.’ She said, ‘Scott.’”
Whether to request an airlift wasn’t up to the Sheriff’s Office, which does not own its own helicopter, according to Cappetto. She said that decision was up to the agency in charge of medical response, Anderson Island Fire & Rescue.
The fire department is based on the larger island west of Ketron. It doesn’t own its own helicopter either, and it uses Airlift Northwest when a helicopter is needed for emergency response. The program is part of the University of Washington School of Medicine and Harborview Medical Center.
Wheeler said an airlift was requested, but they were too far out for an immediate response. She said that sometimes happens in their own jurisdiction when weather conditions are poor or if the helicopter won’t be able to get there quickly enough. In this incident, Wheeler said, CPR was in progress and responders weren’t able to revive the woman. She said protocols for Pierce County say if there’s no change in the patient after 40 minutes of CPR, the patient’s time of death will be called.
“Airlift is not going to take a patient without a heartbeat,” Wheeler said. “If they can’t restore a heartbeat, they’ll call it. They will not fly that patient off.”
Wheeler added that Ketron is outside of her fire department’s jurisdiction, and they were not initially dispatched to provide emergency medical aid.
Cappetto said that according to computer-aided dispatch logs, fire personnel stopped CPR at about 10:45 p.m. By that time, roughly an hour and a half had passed since 911 was first called.
Cappetto said the woman didn’t make it by the time resources were gathered, and bringing a helicopter to transport her at that point wasn’t necessary. She said deputies acted quickly with the resources and means they had.
“When you live on a secluded private island, there’s not going to be a first hand deputy there at all times,” Cappetto said.
Cappetto said their South Hill precinct is where their boats are stored and once they are activated, they have to be transported to the ferry terminals and docks. Once they are on the island, they have to locate the patient which can take time.
“I just hope that this situation will open up these important conversations clearly we need to have with our communities,” she said.
Cappetto said she also hopes this will also open up discussion about improving the Sheriff’s Office staffing or budget to provide for these communities.
This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 1:56 PM.
