Armed Woman Found Unconscious at Shore

An unidentified woman was in critical condition after she was found unconscious on the rocks of the Rancho Palos Verdes shoreline Tuesday morning with a loaded gun in her possession and what appeared to be a suspicious package nearby.

Authorities said she possibly was the victim of a boating accident but that the .38-caliber revolver in her jacket and extra ammunition prompted Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies to investigate. Deputies also found an ice chest with wires protruding from it next to her.

After the woman had been taken to the hospital by helicopter, a bomb squad detonated the cooler’s lid and discovered signal flares and an unknown black powder.

Pedestrians found the woman about 8:45 a.m. as she lay at the foot of ocean bluffs near a trail about 200 feet below Palos Verdes Drive South. Authorities had not yet identified her late Tuesday.

Los Angeles County fire officials said she was suffering from hypothermia and also had a flare gun and flares that were outside the ice chest. They contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, which searched for capsized boats in the area but none were discovered as of late Tuesday afternoon.

The woman was taken to Los Angeles County Harbor/UCLA Medical Center in Torrance. Hospital spokeswoman Cynthia Kushi said the woman was in critical condition, with “multiple trauma” from an unknown source.