A Redwood Valley woman died from a venomous snake bite this month, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.

On April 10 at about 11 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office was notified by a local hospital in Ukiah that a 78-year-old woman died from a suspected snake bite. The type of snake was not disclosed, although California is home to nine different venomous snakes, all of which are part of the rattlesnake family, according to A-Z Animals.

According to the coroner’s investigation, the woman was taken to the hospital on April 8 after being bitten by a snake in a rural area of Redwood Valley. She was apparently bitten by a venomous snake three times and treated for the bites at the hospital, but her health deteriorated. She was pronounced deceased on April 10 at 9:30 a.m.

A post-mortem examination of the woman was carried out on April 15 and her death was determined to be caused by blood-clotting issues and snake envenomation from snake bites, the Sheriff’s Office said.

It was ruled an “accidental death” by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy coroner and pathologist.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.