Officials pull woman from Winnekeage
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

Firefighters and police officers spent more than 90 minutes on Winnekeage Lake trying to bring a woman in out of the water.

The woman, whose name is not being released, had spent between eight and nine hours going in and out of the lake and swimming away from people who tried to talk with her.

"She had been out there for an extended period of time and she was getting tired," said Ashburnham Fire Battalion Chief Robert Salo. "We were worried about her well being."

Salo said the fire department was called in by the police department after they had tried to approach the woman. The public safety officials were concerned that she would get too tired and would be unable to continue to swim and they would have to perform a rescue mission.

"She was upset," he said.

There are conflicting reports about how long the woman had been in the water for but it is estimated that she had entered the water overnight and then would occasionally return to shore for brief periods of time.

"I know she was visiting someone who is close to that area," said Salo.

Both the fire and police departments took out their rescue boats on Friday morning but could not get the woman to come in to shore with them. The Fitchburg Dive Team, a part of the city's fire department, was called and helped Ashburnham officials bring her to shore.

Salo said it is rare for the town to perform a water rescue despite the large number of lakes in town and it is rarer for them to need to call the dive team in.

The lake is spring feed so it is hard to determine the temperature of the water.

Westminster and Winchendon Police Departments covered for Ashburnham Police officers while they were busy with the rescue.