LEGGETT, Calif. – A woman who attempted to flee law enforcement during a Tuesday chase drowned while trying to swim across a Mendocino County river.

The body of Nicole Pollard, 27, a Mendocino County transient, was located Wednesday morning following a search, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

On Tuesday the Mendocino County Sheriffs Office assisted the California Highway Patrol on a missing person incident, Smallcomb said.

He said deputies learned that at 4 p.m. that day a CHP initiated a traffic stop in the 60000 block of Highway 271 in Leggett on Pollard, who he knew, in an attempt to arrest her on a local misdemeanor warrant as well as for driving on a suspended license.

Pollard stopped her Jeep Cherokee near the area adjacent to the Eel River commonly referred to as the “Judges Hole,” and then fled on foot, eventually diving into the Eel River in attempts to evade the officer, Smallcomb said. She attempted to swim across the river but did not make it to the shore.

Smallcomb said water rescue teams from local fire agencies were summoned and attempted to retrieve Pollard from the water, but they were unsuccessful.

As night time approached they did observe Pollard, who was caught up in the debris in the middle of the swift current, but submerged below the water level, he said.

Due to the dangerous waters, nightfall and the fact that the decedent had been under the water for a few hours prior to emerging, recovery efforts were halted until first daylight on Wednesday, Smallcomb said.

On Wednesday morning Southern Humboldt Counties Swift Water Rescue and Recovery Team arrived and removed Pollard's body from the water, according to Smallcomb.

Smallcomb said an autopsy will be conducted.

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