Submitted by the San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney/Coroner

At mid-afternoon on Sunday, March 31, Kristin Kolb, 45, was found facedown in the water near the bow of a 28-foot sailboat that she lived aboard in the Cayou Quay Marina in Deer Harbor.

“The accident was not witnessed, but it appears she caught her foot or pant leg on a cleat on the dock and she fell into the sound,” said San Juan County Prosecutor and Coroner Randall Gaylord. He told the Sounder in an interview that Kolb’s pant leg was still affixed to the cleat and that there were no obvious signs of head injury that would have resulted in her being rendered unconscious.

A nearby boater noticed her when he walked by and pulled her out of the water. Rescue efforts were attempted but unsuccessful.

The cause of death will be ruled drowning pending receipt of the toxicology report. Gaylord requested an autopsy be performed by the medical examiner in Snohomish County to rule out other causes of death.