RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

Attention: Directorate
           Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
           Ranger Activities Division Information Network

Day/Date:  Monday, February 3, 1992

INCIDENTS

92-23 - Gulf Islands (Florida/Mississippi) - Car Clouting Arrests

Park maintenance workers Emmett Knight and Charlie Saban noticed two
suspicious persons in the Santa Rosa area of the park on January 30th and
began watching their activities.  Knight eventually observed the pair break
into and remove items from a car; he then contacted ranger Larry Bova and
gave him a detailed description of the suspects, their vehicle and their
direction of travel.  Rangers Bova and John Hughes stopped and arrested the
men outside the park, then awaited the arrival of county deputies and the
vehicle's owner.  The suspects, who were both from the area, confessed to
the burglary, but denied committing any others.  Their mode of operation was
similar to other breaks which have occurred in the area recently, though,
and the investigation continues.  [CompuServe message from Gene Phillips,
CR, GUIS, 1/31]

92-24 - Great Smokies (North Carolina/Tennessee) - Probable Suicide

Early on the morning of January 29th, a park ranger discovered the partially
clothed body of a woman lying face down beside a pickup truck in the Metcalf
Bottoms picnic area.  The vehicle had been seen at that location the
previous evening, but no one was found in the area.  The victim was
identified as P.W., 51, of Harrogate, Tennessee.  Investigation
revealed that she'd been reported missing by her husband the previous day
and that the company truck she was driving was reported missing by her
employer.  She'd last been seen just after noon on the 28th.  The initial
autopsy results indicate that she had cut an artery in her left arm, but the
exact cause of death has not yet been determined.  On the 30th, a park
maintenance worker found a large quantity of blood and footprints matching
P.W.'s about 200 yards from the truck near the Little River.  Rangers now
believe that P.W. attempted suicide, then changed her mind and returned to
the truck.  She was too weak to proceed further, though, and died at that
location.  The FBI is assisting the park in the investigation.  [CompuServe
message from Don Utterback, Acting CR, GRSM, 1/31]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Everglades (Florida) - Pilot Whale Beaching

Twelve pilot whales were discovered along the park's west coast about 25
miles north of Flamingo on the afternoon of January 30th.  The whales were
in distress; eight had already beached themselves and one had died before
rangers arrived.  The pod of whales consisted of two juveniles and ten
adults, each from eight to twelve feet long.  Although marine biologists
advised that rescue efforts would probably fail, rangers Angelina Gregorio,
Jill Hawk, Mike Croll and Peter Allen succeeded in helping the whales off
the beach and stabilized them in shallow waters just before nightfall. 
Rangers returned to the scene the following morning to check on their
condition, but all were gone.  They may have recovered enough to have
survived, but they also may have died and drifted toward the Keys. 
Biologists from the Florida Department of Natural Resources and the National
Marine Fisheries Service will be conducting a necropsy on the dead whale.
Although it's not yet known why the whales beached themselves, biologists
have speculated that it may have been due to parasite infections.  [Telefax
from Mark Lewis, EVER, 1/31]

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Halainen and Schamp at MARO
district rangers' conference, Syria, VA (2/3).

Branch of Fire and Aviation: Hurd at IFCC meeting, Washington, DC (2/4-2/6);
Spruill at interagency aviation meeting, BIFC, Boise, ID (2/6-2/7); Norum
and Berg at park and wilderness fire management course, Marana, AZ (2/3-2/7);
Gale at Southwest Area dispatch workshop, Flagstaff, AZ (2/4-2/5) and
on annual leave (2/6-2/14); Mattingly and Cook instructing at training
session in Fredericksburg, VA (2/3-2/7).

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone:  Branch of R&VP - FTS 268-4874/6039 or 202-208-4874/6039
            Branch of F&A (WASO) - FTS 268-5572/5573 or 202-208-5572/5573

Telefax:    Branch of R&VP - FTS 268-6756 or 202-208-6756
            Branch of F&A (WASO) - FTS 268-5977 or 202-208-5977

CompuServe: Branch of R&VP - WASO-RANGER
            Branch of F&A (WASO) - WASO-FIRE-WO

SEAdog:     Branch of R&VP - 1/650
            Branch of F&A (WASO) - 1/655