State Police Cite Woman Who Became Trapped In Pipe At Power Plant

CARMICHAELS, Pa. (KDKA) -- The woman who mysteriously became trapped in a pipe at an old power plant in Greene County last month has been cited.

State police filed a trespassing citation Wednesday against 39-year-old Julie Gipe.

Last month, it took workers 45 minutes to pull Gipe out of a pipe at the old Hatfield Power Plant in Carmichaels.

Officials say workers on site were just about to flush the pipes when they heard the woman calling for help.

"Had they not heard her, she probably would have drowned," Mike Riggen, first assistant fire chief for Carmichaels and Cumberland Township, said in April. "They were down there to do some maintenance. He had heard the noise and thought it was an animal actually."

State police questioned the woman at the hospital. She claimed there was no foul play involved and that she was walking and fell into the hole. However, officials said there is heavy steel grating that covers the top of the pipe.

FirstEnergy owns the facility which has been closed since 2013. However, inspections are still done there.