Ada coroner releases name of woman who fell into canal. She was a cult survivor
Officials have released the name of a woman who died Tuesday night after being pulled from a Boise Bench waterway.
Boise police and fire rescue units found the woman 'fully submerged' in the Ridenbaugh Canal near the 2900 block of West Rose Hill Street just after 8 p.m., the Ada County Coroner's Office said in a Thursday news release.
The coroner identified the victim as Alyssa Bistline, 30, of Boise.
Boise police and fire departments responded to a 911 call from a bystander just before 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Boise Police Department said. Bistline was pronounced dead at 8:43 p.m. in the emergency department of Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, the coroner's office said.
The cause and manner of death both were listed as 'pending.'
Bistline has spoken and written about escaping from a controlling, polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints cult called Short Creek when she was a teenager. In a 2015 profile of her published by Teen Vogue, Bistline said she wasn't allowed to wear the color red, cut her hair or eat refined sugar, along with many other rules.
She described a situation in which women were forced to marry whoever leaders chose for them, and members' money was confiscated.
After fleeing, she attended Boise State University.
'There is a good life out here,' Bistline told Teen Vogue. 'The world is one million times better than I could have imagined. And for those who are still in there and are considering leaving, I'm here for you.'
Boise police spokesperson Haley Williams told the Idaho Statesman on Wednesday that police are still investigating to figure out what led to Bistline going into the water. There were no updates Thursday, she said.
Police said initial reports indicated that a possible second victim was in the canal, but they did not find anyone else after an 'extensive search.'
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