Officials still aren’t sure why woman was in storm drain near Ameristar Casino
A woman rescued from a storm drain in Kansas City’s Northland on Wednesday was significantly further into the drain than first responders initially thought, said Michael Hopkins, battalion chief at the Kansas City Fire Department.
The Kansas City Fire Department responded to reports of a “confined space rescue” in the 3200 block of North Ameristar Drive, near the Ameristar Casino Hotel, at 7:20 p.m., according to a prior news release from Hopkins.
After arriving at the scene, emergency personnel located a woman in her 40s trapped in the storm drain, Hopkins said. The woman was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
First responders believe the unidentified woman had been in the storm drain for several hours, Hopkins said.
At the time of her rescue, the woman had been stuck in the storm drain for several hours. On Friday, Hopkins said the distance between the entrance of the storm drain and where the woman was found was approximately 764 feet.
Thursday, Hopkins told a Star reporter that the pipe narrowed “every 100 feet or so.” The woman eventually reached a point where she was stuck, and could not move forward or backward.
When the lead rescuer eventually reached the woman, he was in the prone position with his arms stretched out, only able to use his toes to push himself forward, Hopkins said.
Hopkins said the woman was so weak when rescuers found her in the drain that she had to be pulled back to the entrance by rescuers. The rescue took 90 minutes because of the operation’s setup, which included a rope and harness system and air quality monitoring.
Officials are still unclear why the woman was in the pipe, Hopkins said.
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 3:57 PM.
