RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

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

Day/Date:  Wednesday, October 13, 1993

Broadcast: By 0900 EDT

INCIDENTS

93-762 - Shenandoah (Virginia) - Rescues

Over the Columbus Day weekend, during which thousands of visitors came to
Shenandoah to see fall foliage along Skyline Drive, the park had to deal
with a four-day visit by Vice President Gore (see following incident
report), two major automobile accidents, one major rescue, and several
instances of significant illness or injury to visitors.  The first motor
vehicle accident occurred on Saturday, when a driver lost control of his
vehicle and went over a 60-foot embankment.  Ropes had to be employed to
lift the driver back to the road.  The park's South District ambulance and
two local community ambulances transported five patients to area hospitals. 
The driver was reportedly sleepy at the time of the accident; an
investigation is underway.  The second accident occurred on Monday, when
another vehicle went over another 60-foot embankment.  One victim was
evacuated by helicopter, the other two by a local rescue squad.  The cause
of the accident has not been determined.  Skyline Drive was closed for about
45 minutes while the victims were extricated from the vehicle.  A major
rescue effort took place on Saturday afternoon after a 51-year-old visitor
suffered a heart attack near the top of Old Rag.  A Park Police helicopter
was summoned; five minutes before it arrived, however, a storm passed over
the area, making a helicopter evacuation unsafe.  A ground evacuation was
initiated and completed in the rain and darkness early the following
morning, thirteen hours after the heart attack was reported.  At last
report, the victim was in fair condition.  Ambulances were also summoned
four times to transport sick visitors, and once to transport a visitor who
was injured in a fall from a horse.  [Larry Hakel, CR, SHEN, 10/12]

93-763 - Shenandoah (Virginia) - Special Event

Vice President Gore and his family spent the four days from October 8th to
the 11th in and around the park.  They arrived by helicopter on Friday and
spent Saturday at Camp Hoover.  On Sunday, the vice president took fly-
fishing lessons while his family went horseback riding at Skyland.  On
Monday, the entire family canoed on the Shenandoah River and visited Luray
Caverns before departing by helicopter just before dark.  The visit was
uneventful.  [Larry Hakel, CR, SHEN, 10/12]

93-764 - Rock Creek (D.C.) - Assault

On the afternoon of October 9th, Park Police units responded to a report of
a man assaulting people and attempting to steal their vehicle at Beach Drive
and Klingle Road.  Officers chased and caught the suspect near the Porter
Street overpass.  He was arrested, handcuffed and placed in a cruiser. 
After a few moments, one of the officers noticed that the suspect did not
appear to be breathing.  He was removed from the cruiser and CPR was begun. 
He was then transported to Medstar, where he was pronounced dead.  The
suspect has not yet been identified.  The investigation will be handled by
the Metro police homicide branch.  [Lt. John Harasek, USPP, 10/12]

93-765 - Santa Monica Mountains (California) - Marijuana Eradication

Early in September, a ranger discovered that an area used for marijuana
cultivation last year was again being employed for that purpose.  In the
previous incident, the plants had been destroyed before any surveillance of
the area could be conducted.  In late September, a ranger and eleven members
of the county sheriff's department placed the site under surveillance. 
During the third surveillance operation, a person entered the area, was
recorded while cultivating the plants, and was subsequently arrested.  He
was charged with cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale,
vandalism, and theft of public utilities (he'd tapped into a county fire
hydrant service line).  While booking him, officers discovered that he was
on probation for the sale of marijuana.  The surveillance team removed 175
plants ranging in size from six to nine feet tall.  The value of the plants
has been placed at $175,000.  Cultivation techniques employed at the site
match those used there in 1992.  [Ernest Quintana, CR, SAMO, 10/12]

93-766 - Lake Mead (Nevada) - Felon Arrested

On October 7th, rangers arrested M.P., a felon who'd escaped
from the Clark Center, a halfway house in Las Vegas.  M.P. had provided
false information to rangers the day before, but investigation led to the
discovery of his true identity.  M.P. had been awaiting trial in Las
Vegas for an April, 1993 bank robbery.  He was arrested without incident. 
[Mike Blandford, LAME, 10/12]

93-767 - Upper Delaware (Pennsylvania) - Felon Arrested

Rangers spotted a suspicious vehicle parked on a Pennsylvania highway
adjacent to the Upper Delaware River on October 9th.  A registration and
NCIC check revealed that the driver, R.B., was wanted for failure
to appear on grand theft charges in South Dakota.  The rangers assisted a
state trooper in making a felony arrest.  R.B. was jailed in the Wayne
County prison pending extradition to South Dakota. [CRO, UPDE, 10/12]

FIRE ACTIVITY

No significant fire activity is being reported anywhere in the country. 
Fire reports will therefore be discontinued until conditions change.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Berkowitz at national radio
coordinator meeting and law enforcement meetings (10/3-10/16). 

Branch of Fire and Aviation: Gale at all-risk team evaluation (10/14-10/17).

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone: Branch of R&VP - 202-208-4874
           Branch of F&A (WASO) - 202-208-5572
Telefax:   Branch of R&VP - 202-208-6756
           Branch of F&A (WASO) - 202-208-5977
cc:Mail:   Branch of R&VP - WASO Ranger Activities
           Branch of F&A (WASO) - WASO Fire and Aviation
SkyPager:  Emergencies ONLY (numeric message) - 1-800-759-7243, PIN 2404843 
SkyTalk:   Emergencies ONLY (voice message) - 1-800-759-8255, PIN 2404843