A 58-year-old woman became stranded near a Provincetown beach by an incoming tide Wednesday afternoon when she attempted to help a trapped sea turtle.

The woman was standing on land in a channel between Herring Cove Beach and Wood End Beach at about 12 p.m. when she became stuck. By 1:30 p.m., she had been rescued and brought to MacMillan Pier by boat, with the help of the town’s harbormaster and police and fire departments, Harbormaster Rex McKinsey said.

The woman was never in danger of being submerged, McKinsey said, and did not require medical treatment.

“The issue was that she was still standing on dry land but it’s a moon tide, which is about two feet higher than a normal tide, and she ended up being stranded by water on her dune,’’ McKinsey said.

It’s unusual to see people on the beach looking for sea turtles during the winter, he said.

“She was not from this end of the Cape and she was out walking the beaches and she finds a turtle,’’ he said. “And that’s all good and fair enough. But the outcome is that you can quickly get yourself into a situation you can’t handle when you’re trying to take care of an animal. Love to save the turtles, don’t want to have to save the people, too.’’

Police Lieutenant Greg Hennick said the turtle appeared to be dead by the time the woman reached it.

Elise Takahama can be reached at elise.takahama@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @elisetakahama.