Woman Rescued From Goat Island Waters Has Died: Police

NEWPORT, RI — A woman was rescued from the water off Goat Island on Oct 22 has died, the Newport police said Tuesday. The woman, who has not been identified, was spotted under the causeway by a couple who called 911. She was discovered around 4 p.m.

Melissa Boyd and her husband Andrew, of Sewell, N.J., discovered her.

"We were visiting Newport for the weekend," Melissa Boyd said. They e-mailed Patch several times to find out about her condition and were hopeful she would recover.

"My husband, Andrew Boyd, was the person who called 911 after we noticed the woman in the water while we were walking through the park," she said. "We have been thinking about and praying for the woman and her family all week."

According to Newport fire Capt. Paul Faerber, a Newport firefighter heard the emergency call. He was at the fire station and on his way to a house fire on Powel Avenue. Nonetheless, he went to the causeway, plunged into the water and rescued her. The woman was unconscious but was later revived. She was taken to Newport Hospital and then transferred to Rhode Island Hospital.

"She was a viable patient," Capt. Faerber said as of Sunday night.

Ultimately, however, the woman did not survive, police said.

Photo Credit Renee Schiavone/ Patch Staff