RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Tuesday, November 27, 1990
INCIDENTS
87-271 - Yosemite (California) - Follow-up on Homicide
On November 13th, S.G. was sentenced in U.S. District Court to life
imprisonment without parole for the murder of his wife, D., in December
of 1987. He was convicted of pushing her to her death off a 350-foot cliff
near Tunnel View to collect a $500,000 life insurance policy. A joint
investigation was conducted by the NPS and the Fresno office of the FBI.
The two investigators from the park, Paul Ducasse and Fred Elchlepp, spent
two years working on the case with the FBI before a grand jury indictment
could be obtained. (Roger Rudolph, CR, YOSE, via CompuServe message from
Herb Gercke, RAD/WRO, 11/26).
90-421 - Isle Royale (Michigan) - Vessel Grounding
On November 24th, the Kinsmen Independent, a 650-foot grain freighter
running empty to Thunder Bay, misread a navigation aid and ran hard aground
near the Isle Royale light. Although the ship was carrying over 60,000
gallons of number six fuel oil for her engines, it appears that none of it
leaked into Lake Superior. Damage was apparently confined to the ship's
forward ballast tanks. The tugs Ivan Purvis from Thunder Bay and Anglican
Lady from Sault-Sainte-Marie freed the ship just before 9:00 p.m. on the
25th. Following an inspection by Canadian Coast Guard personnel, the tugs
took the Kinsmen Independent in tow and headed for Thunder Bay. Two U.S.
Coast Guard cutters stood by during the operation. (John Krambrink, CR,
APIS, via telefax from John Townsend, 11/26).
90-422 - Mammoth Cave (Kentucky) - Assault
T.C., a 17-year-old male student at Great Onyx Job Corps Center,
was assaulted by an undetermined number of fellow students in his dormitory
in the early morning hours of the 21st. Initial reports indicate that he
was pulled from his bunk, restrained by a blanket on the dorm room floor,
then kicked repeatedly by four or five students, all of whom were wearing
steel-toed boots. T.C. sustained numerous cuts and contusions and was
hospitalized at the Bowling Green Medical Center that morning. Tests were
being conducted to determine the extent of his head injuries. An
investigation is underway. (Telefax from Bill Springer, RAD/SERO, 11/22).
90-423 - Assateague Island (Maryland) - Fatality
B.R. of Chincoteague was last seen in the park near a hunting lodge on
Chincoteague Bay at about 2:00 a.m. on November 25th. A search for him was
begun later that day; rangers, Coast Guardsmen, Virginia natural resource
police and volunteers participated in the effort. B.R.'s body was
discovered floating in the bay early on the morning of the 26th. The cause
of death is being investigated. (Gary Hartley, Acting CR, ASIS, via
CompuServe message from Ginny Paci, RAD/MARO, 11/26).
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Everglades/Big Cypress (Florida) - Genetic tests have shown that as many as
half of the 50 Florida panthers still in the wild may be a hybrid species,
and that the hybrids could so water down the true Florida panthers that they
could lose their place on the endangered species list. The hybrids are a
cross between Florida panthers and a South American species which was
released into the wild in the 1950s and 60s. Most of the true Florida
panthers live in Big Cypress. (Associated Press)
STAFF STATUS
- Division Chief: No travel scheduled.
- Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Halainen at uniform poster and
catalogue shoot, Nashville, TN (11/27-11/29).
- Branch of Fire: Kurd on travel to Southeast Region, Big Cypress and
Everglades (11/26-11/30); Botti at Western Region FMO conference, Redding,
CA (11/26-11/30); Gale, Norum, Broyles and Clark at "fire management
for managers" cadre meeting, NARTC, Marana, AZ (11/26-11/30).
Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities
Telephone: FTS 268-4874/6039 or 202-208-4874/6039
Telefax: FTS 268-5977 or 202-208-5977
CompuServe: WASO-RANGER (Branch of R&VP); WASO-FIRE-WO (Branch of Fire)
SEAdog: 1/650