Oak Harbor police officers did some mud wrestling in the dark recently.

Two officers who were trying to help a woman ended up arresting her after she assaulted one of them while they were struggling in knee-deep mud to remove her from a wooded area.

The rigmarole started after a man in the area of Erie Street reported that his girlfriend, Bethany L. Ebey, 25, had fallen and ran away from him. He was “completely uncooperative” when police arrived, but the officer could hear a woman yelling in nearby woods, according to the police report on the incident.

Officer Jennifer Gravel walked into the boggy area and found a mud-covered woman, later identified as Ebey, lying on her back, holding muddy sneakers.

After officer Mike Clements arrived, Gravel asked Ebey, who seemed intoxicated, to come over to her, but she refused.

The officer noted that the area was posted for “no trespassing” and Ebey had to leave, but again she refused.

Ebey allegedly struck Clements in the face with a shoe when he walked up to her, the report states. The two officers took Ebey to the ground. Gravel noted that the mud was getting worse as they churned it up, becoming knee-deep in some places.

Ebey refused to get up after she was handcuffed and the officers were forced to try to lift her, ending up falling more than a dozen times in the worsening muck. She kicked Clements in the groin area as he was trying to get out of deep mud that trapped his lower legs, the officer’s report states.

The officers were able to move her to a “slightly less muddy area” with the help of a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office, who had arrived to help. She walked to a police car and was transported to jail.