Trapped Critter Freed, Somehow

An 18-hour campaign to rescue an animal trapped in a drainage pipe near Newport Coast ended Tuesday morning when fire and animal control personnel discovered that the animal was gone, officials said.

The animal, which witnesses said sounded like a dog or coyote, became wedged in the 14-inch underground pipe on Peninsula near Ocean Ridge Drive, said Lt. Brian Frick of Orange County Animal Control.

Orange County Fire Authority and animal control units started the rescue early Monday, when the animal’s howling alerted residents to its predicament. Workers could not reach the animal through the open end of the drain pipe, which was about 5 feet underground, so they tore up the sidewalk and used electronic devices to figure out exactly where it was.

Early Tuesday, they discovered they were working alone.

“Somehow, whatever it was freed itself after calming down last night,” Frick said Tuesday. “We never knew what it was, but whatever was there got out.”

Frick said five animal control employees worked on the rescue in 12-hour shifts, which required no overtime pay or additional costs. Seven firefighters also joined the effort.