Carmel Pine Cone, February 21, 2014
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VolumeThe 100 No. 8 Carmel On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com Pine Cone February 21-27, 2014 TRUSTED BY LOCALS AND LOVED BY VISITORS SINCE 1915 Sigourney sixth in Olympic ski event Reward offered By CHRIS COUNTS Brita’s ski career. The whole world saw what she does on for killer of skis. With a year or two of surgery-free training, she will AFTER AN exceptional first run that landed her in fly. Thanks to all of you who have supported her [on] this first place for much of the qualifying round, Carmel’s Brita journey. It definitely does not end here!” three sea otters Sigourney finished sixth in the Ladies Ski Halfpipe finals Like her mother described, Sigourney’s journey to at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. n “I gave it my all and that’s all I can give,” tweeted the See SIGOURNEY page 27A Found dead on beach 24-year-old Sigourney, a 2008 after being shot in head, back graduate of Santa Catalina School. Sigourney didn’t earn a medal, By KELLY NIX but that didn’t stop her from cele- brating her teammate and friend AUTHORITIES ARE seeking information leading to Maddie Bowman’s gold medal- the arrest of those responsible for shooting to death three winning performance. “I’m so male sea otters that were discovered near Asilomar State unbelievably happy for [Maddie],” Beach in September 2013. she posted shortly after the finals. One otter was found dead near the Pacific Grove beach on “I love you girl! I’ll never forget Sept. 3, 2013, while the two others were found in the same this night.” area on Sept. 5, 2013, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Sigourney scored an 87 in her service, which only notified the public and the media of the first of two tries in the qualifying deaths on Feb. 14. round, finishing second in a field Necropsies indicated that two otters were shot in the head, of more than 20 competitors. Her while the third was shot through the back. The postmortem hopes were high going into the examinations also showed that the animals were killed just finals. “Wow, that was fun,” she days before their bodies were discovered. tweeted. “Now let’s do it again!” Presumably they were shot while in the water and then In her first try in the finals, washed up on the beach after they died. The shooter or shoot- Sigourney fell hard and was slow ers could have fired from a boat or the shore, since otters live getting up. She looked good in her among the kelp and don’t stray very far out to sea. second try, but a slip on a landing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resident agent Rebecca took her out of medal contention. NBC Sports didn’t Roca said that even though the agency only notified the Moments later, Bowman embraced carry Brita Sigourney’s media of the deaths last week, its investigators have been try- her. freestyle skiing event ing to find those responsible since the day the bodies were In the crowd at Sochi were her live on television, but discovered. parents, Thad and Julie Sigourney, the network’s extensive “When we got this report in September, we hit the ground streaming online and her brother, Bryce. Shortly showed all of her after Brita’s performance, her impressive, mid-air See OTTERS page 26A mother shared her feelings about twists and turns as they the moment on Facebook. happened Thursday “So proud of Brita for being an morning (above), as Pot smugglers leave Olympian and happy for all of us well as her disappoint- that we’ve had this incredible ment (right) after she boat at Garrapata Beach Olympic experience,” she posted. took a bad fall. She “This year has been intense. So finished sixth. PINE CONE STAFF REPORT many highs and lows coming from THANKS TO extensive patrols off the coast of Southern California, drug smugglers from Mexico have moved farther north to find places to land their goods and the criminals who HEROIC RESCUE EFFORT SAVES WOMAN’S LIFE transport them — and one of their boats turned up on Garrapata Beach in Big Sur Saturday morning. n Doctor calls her survival a ‘miracle’ Monterey Peninsula a chance to save her life. A 35-pound bail of marijuana was found nearby, and a law But the recovery of the woman — who was identified enforcement agent estimated the boat was carrying 2,000- By CHRIS COUNTS only as 31 years old and Asian — was far from certain when 3,000 pounds of contraband before it was unloaded. she arrived at the hospital. An emergency room doctor used Several 55-gallon drums filled with gasoline and some AFTER A wave swept a woman off a rock in Big Sur the word “miracle” to describe the survival. loose articles of clothing were also found aboard the boat, Feb. 15, two men rescued her from the surf while another The woman’s ordeal began about six miles south of which measured about 36 feet long and was powered by two used CPR to help her breathe again. Their efforts gave the Carmel near Soberanes Point in Garrapata State Park. She 200-horsepower outboard engines. emergency room staff at Community Hospital of the and a man were fishing from a rock when a rogue wave — an “We call them ‘super pangas’,” said Virginia Kice, a all-too-common occurrence along the North Big Sur Coast spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs — pulled her into the water. Enforcement agency. “They use very powerful engines.” Based on what witnesses told him, state parks lifeguard Marina test well Shane Scoggins estimated the woman was tossed about in the See SMUGGLERS page 25A surf for three to five minutes. Somehow, the man she was successfully drilled fishing with and a bystander, Wesley Janssen, were able to grab hold of her vest and bring her to shore. At the same By KELLY NIX time, three people saw what was happening and rushed to the scene. A CONSTRUCTION crew this week completed drilling a preliminary test well in North Marina to gather data for a A race against time proposed California American Water desalination plant and Unconscious, the woman was carried to safe ground, is expected to begin drilling a second one Sunday. where Janssen began administering CPR. A former Naval On Monday, the crew finished drilling a 300-foot bore- medic and nursing student, Chad Peabody, rolled her over to hole on property owned by a cement producer and is now in drain water from her lungs. He successfully cleared enough the process of drawing water samples, Cal Am spokeswoman water for her to breathe. Catherine Stedman told The Pine Cone. The boreholes will Because cell reception was unavailable, another bystander offer important information about Cal Am’s proposed desal rushed to her car and drove about three miles south to an plant. They were approved just last week by the Marina City emergency call box, which she used to alert authorities. But Council. Scoggins said the woman was unfamiliar with the area and “They have a machine that drills down and goes through had difficulty providing directions, which delayed the the different soil layers to draw water samples,” Stedman response. PHOTO/COURTESY LISA KLEISSNER explained. About 20 to 25 minutes after the incident began, Cal Fire A 36-foot-long boat used by marijuana smugglers from Mexico was found Feb. 15 beached in Big Sur. This photo, showing law enforce- See WELL page 21A See RESCUE page 21A ment officers inspecting the boat, was taken that afternoon. Have the complete Carmel Pine Cone delivered every Thursday evening to your iPad, laptop, PC or phone. Free subscriptions available at www.carmelpinecone.com 2A The Carmel Pine Cone February 21, 2014 Sandy Claws By Lisa Crawford Watson the spelling and went with it. Picking up “Posha is a very spirited dog,” his person says. “He loves to walk uptown and greet people. When they see the pieces with Posha him, they are so attracted. He’s sweet, kind of like Lexie. He just wants a cuddle and a kiss. This one has WHEN LEXIE died last spring, the day before her such an earnest face, as he looks up at you with those 13th birthday and one week after the annual Cavalier big brown eyes and two freckles on his nose.” King Charles Spaniel Beach Party at Carmel Beach, they The couple, who come to Carmel for five months a thought they might drown in their despair. Fortunately, year, have already brought Posha to the Cypress Inn, they had celebrated Lexie’s birthday a day early at The where he fits right into the canine community. They Lodge at Pebble Beach. Then, one month later, they also have introduced him to Carmel Beach, but they pulled themselves out of their grief by picking up have not yet let him run off leash. Posha, another Cavalier, now 1. “Posha loves the beach, but he’s still afraid of the When they met the puppy, his name was Francis. water,” his person says. “He also a little intimidated by Unwilling to risk that he might get called Frankie, they the big dogs, so he treads carefully. Every time he sought a new name. “Posh” was their preference, but encounters one, he rolls over onto his back and looks they feared he’d be mistaken for a female. Then they up with those big eyes, as if to say, ‘I dare you to attack remembered that Lara’s lover in the movie, “Dr.