WESTLOCK COUNTY –Three eyewitnesses recount the '"horror movie" that unfolded Saturday night in Westlock County after a woman emerged from the side of the road covered in blood, alleging she had been stabbed and left in a ditch.
Mitchell, whose last name is being withheld for safety as no arrests have been made, was out riding his quad just after 9 p.m. when the woman emerged from the side of the road yelling for help.
“She started running at us with her hands all bloody hollering, 'help me, help me, I need help,'” said Mitchell who was camping on Crown land in the area with several other people on Sept. 7.
Mitchell said “she just dropped on her knees. I’m not kidding. It’s like something you see on Netflix. It was unbelievable."
Carly, another eyewitness, agreed and said, “It was like something out of a horror movie.”
Mitchell said it looked like she had been stabbed numerous times.
“The back of her neck had a laceration and it was open this much, you could almost put your hand in it,” he said as he gestured with his hand to illustrate the width of several inches.
“She had a huge gash on her head. She had a bunch of puncture wounds on her back. Her clothes were shredded. She was mangled. She was brutalized. It was horrible."
“I just couldn’t even believe it,” he added. “I can’t even believe this is real right now. I told her I was going to help her and she needs to tell me what happened and I’m going to help her.”
At that point, Mitchell said he saw a vehicle coming towards them and a side-by-side pulled up with a man named Kyle, who was taking his mom to the Long Island campsite. Kyle and his mom got out and immediately started to help and called 911. Kyle said his first call to 911 was at 9 p.m.
Mitchell said instead of putting the woman into the back of his quad they put her in Kyle's side-by-side.
Kashton, who was with Mitchell, looked at his cell phone to determine the time when they also called 911.
“It was at 9:11,” he said. “We were having a struggle getting cell service out here. We were just all running around trying to get service.”
Kyle, who was able to get service in the rural area, was on the phone with 911 for nearly 40 minutes that night.
Mitchell said because of the type of work he does, both he and his friends have first-aid kits on them.
“We got our first-aid kits out and everyone kind of helped out all together. There were probably five to six people with hands on her there. There was one person who said she was a nurse but she came after the fact.”
It seemed to take an eternity for emergency responders to arrive in the remote area, said Mitchell. There are a lot of dirt roads that fork off in different directions.
“They couldn’t find the campsite because it’s pitch black out here. So I was sprinting back down the road with a light trying to direct them in the right area. It took them about half an hour from the time we got to the campsite. They were here in like 30 minutes but it felt (like) forever because this lady was literally dying. She was in and out of consciousness. It was horrible.”
He said everyone tried to keep her awake.
“We were all trying to make noise and keep her awake. We were all trying to yell at her to stay awake.”
When Mitchell initially helped the woman he said his first instinct was to try and get information from her to provide to the police.
“She said she was from Edmonton and was 18. She said she came here with some guys and they abused her, beat her, stabbed her, and dropped her off while they were driving."
Mitchell said the young woman wasn’t dressed for the remote outdoors.
“She was dressed as if she was going out somewhere in the city. She was not dressed for camping out here with certain things you need, like a hoodie. She had a dress on and tights, no shoes.”
“I tried asking about the vehicle,” he added. “But she didn’t even know where she was. She was just worried about trying to stay alive and not answering questions."
As Mitchell recounted the woman’s condition, the two women with him in his group wiped their eyes, visibly shaken at the ordeal.
Mitchell said he gave up asking her questions and just focused on keeping her alive.
RCMP confirmed they are investigating an incident near the Long Island RV Resort.
Around 9:15 p.m. on Sept. 7, Westlock RCMP got a call about a woman in distress at Range Road 254a and Township Road 634 in need of medical help, said Cpl. Gina Slaney, media relations officer for the Alberta RCMP.
At about 11:17 p.m. STARS Ambulance tweeted that they were dispatched for an inter-facility transfer in Westlock area. Just after midnight, STARS departed from the Westlock hospital.
As of 3 p.m. on Sunday Sept. 8, RCMP said they weren't able to provide any further updates.
