A Templeton woman who was found dead at the Hwy 1 construction site at Rat Creek died as the result of an accident, according to the Monterey County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office.
On Thursday, March 25, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office responded at about 10:30 a.m. to the Caltrans construction site on Hwy 1 after workers discovered a woman’s body at the bottom of the steep scar on the Cliffside that is being repaired.
That’s where on Jan. 28, some 70,000 cubic yards of material killed by the Dolan Fire the summer prior and left barren, liquefied and slide down the Rat Creek Canyon, overwhelming the storm drains and washing over the roadway.
The flood undermined the road and some 150-linear feet of Hwy 1 was completely washed down to the sea. Caltrans brought in Papich Const. of Arroyo Grande with an $11.5 million contract to stabilize and repair the roadway, which had to be completely closed in both directions.
The woman whose body was found March 25 was identified as Nancy Lynn Algert, 64 of Templeton. Mrs. Algert is the wife of Morro Bay’s former Harbor Director, Rick Algert, who retired from the City in June 2010 after some 20 years with the City.
According to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department, “It appears Mrs. Algert had parked her vehicle near the construction site of the wash out on Hwy 1 near Rat Creek and got out on foot. She apparently went around the job site fencing and had been walking around the area.”
They added that there were no indications of foul play in her death.
