- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, May 10, 1995
- Date: Wed, 10 May 1995
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, May 10, 1995
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
95-202 - Denali (Alaska) - Follow-up on Climbing Fatality
The weather calmed enough on the morning of May 9th to permit the park's
contract Llama helicopter to land at Mt. B.M.'s 17,200-foot level and
remove M.A., who was injured in the fall that killed his partner,
B.M. Climbers Deborah Robertson of Portland and Roderick Hancock of
Lake Oswego, Oregon, had cared for M.A. for the four days that they were
confined to their camp by high winds and extreme temperatures. Following
M.A.'s extrication, Robertson and Hancock descended to the camp at 14,000
feet, where they'll stage for an attempt on Mt. Hunter. M.A. would likely
have died without their care. [Ken Kehrer, Jr., CR, DENA, 5/9]
95-203 - Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii) - Capture of Escapees
On the morning of May 8th, county police advised that three men who'd escaped
from Kulani Correctional Facility the previous day were in or near the park's
Namakani Paio campground. Six rangers searched the wooded area behind the
campground and apprehended T.M., 24, and B.B., 34, without
incident. The third escapee, B.-g.A.N., 24, was arrested with the
assistance of county officers that evening near the park boundary in Volcano
Village. [Yvette Ruan, CR, HAVO, 5/9]
95-204 - National Capital Parks (D.C.) - Drug and Weapons Arrests
Officer R.E. Gillette surprised three men with guns and drugs inside Fort Foot
while on patrol on the evening of May 4th. Gillette drew his weapon and halted
and arrested two of the men while the third escaped into the woods. Found at
the scene were three weapons - a Norincko AK-47, a .38 caliber revolver with an
obliterated serial number, and a Titan .25 caliber semi-automatic - and a
quantity of crack cocaine. The third man was arrested shortly thereafter. One
of the men was found to be wanted by county police on homicide charges.
Warrants were subsequently secured for related residence searches in Washington
and Maryland, where more illegal weapons and contraband were recovered. [Capt.
R.A. DeAngelo, East District, USPP, 5/9]
95-205 - Natchez Trace (Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee) - Attempted Homicide
Rangers were notified on May 6th of a shooting that had occurred at the
McGlamery Stand parking area. Brandon Ray and Jeremy Keeton had chased M.P.
21, onto the parkway after a verbal dispute, and either Ray or Keeton
subsequently fired a 20 gauge shotgun at M.P. Although hit in his left
side, M.P.'s injuries were not critical due to the distance from which the
shot was fired. Ray and Keeton turned themselves in to the county sheriff the
following day, and were released on $40,000 signature bonds. They will be
tried on state charges; federal charges are not likely. The incident is
believed to have been drug related. [Gordon Wissinger, CR, NATR, 5/9]
95-206 - Natchez Trace (Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee) - Armed Robbery
T.C., 18, of Houston, Mississippi, robbed a Pak-A-Pok convenience
store in that town on May 6th, then headed north on the parkway. Rangers,
county deputies and local police officers pursued T.C. on the parkway at
speeds up to 105 mph. During the chase, T.C. forced one of the rangers off
the road. A road block was set up on the parkway, and T.C. was subsequently
stopped and taken into custody. T.C. was under house arrest from Parchman
Correctional Facility at the time, and is now being held for armed robbery and
escape. Other charges are pending. The money taken from the robbery was
recovered. [Gordon Wissinger, CR, NATR, 5/9]
95-207 - Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Poaching Arrests
April is typically a busy month for illegal elk antler gathering in the park.
Antler gathering is generally legal on the Forest Service lands that surround
the park, and antlers collected illegally in the park are easily sold in nearby
markets, where they bring as much as $8 to $10 per pound. Rangers in the north
end of the park made a total of five arrests this year in four separate cases.
One of the suspects, who is from northern Montana, acknowledged that he was a
commercial antler dealer who handles an estimated six tons of antlers annually,
but contends that none of them come from the park. Most of the cases involved
monitoring and surveillance of suspicious activities in high probability areas;
one involved electronic tracking of an antler removed from the park to a motel
room in Gardiner, Montana. Three of the violators have so far pled guilty
before the local federal magistrate; two have pending court appearances. A
violator who was convicted in early April paid a $750 fine and was prohibited
from entering the park for three years. Following that case, the park
established the Yellowstone Wildlife Protection Fund, and the other two
convicted violators were each ordered to pay $850 in restitution to the fund.
One was prohibited from entering the park for 18 months, the other for three
years. [Mike Murray, ACR, YELL, 5/8]
95-208 - Valley Forge (Pennsylvania) - Drug Arrest
A traffic stop for speeding on the afternoon of April 28th led to the discovery
that the driver had a suspended license. During a search of his person
incident to arrest, ranger Ed Clark found and seized two hypodermic needles, 56
nickel bags of cocaine, and four dime bags of heroin. The cocaine was packaged
in three separate baggies, and the subject had three separate bundles of cash
in his pocket. Federal and state felony charges for possession of a controlled
substance with intent to distribute were filed against him; other misdemeanor
charges are pending. This was the park's 140th drug arrest this year. During
1994, 240 drug arrests were made, which contrasts dramatically with a previous
average of 30 per year. [CRO, VAFO, 5/2]
95-209 - Fire Island (New York) - Vandalism; Injury to Animals
Late on the evening of May 5th, the West District barn facility was vandalized
and two district patrol horses were taken from their corral. The horses were
spooked while on an elevated boardwalk, and were injured when they walked off
the boardwalk. They were retrieved by rangers shortly thereafter. The horses
were treated and placed on light duty status. An investigation into the
incident is underway. [Jay Lippert, DR, West District, FIIS, 5/9]
95-210 - Jean Lafitte (Louisiana) - Vandalism
Two maintenance vehicles were stolen from the maintenance area in the Chalmette
Unit on the night of April 30th and were later found in the National Cemetery.
Both had been vandalized. The windshield of a Cushman was shattered, and a
Dodge pickup was found abandoned and still running after an attempt was made to
drive it through the historic masonry wall surrounding the cemetery. Damage to
the wall and vehicles was placed at $13,000. An investigation is underway.
[Kim Coast, Barataria Unit, JELA]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No field reports today.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
MEMORANDA
No memoranda.
OBSERVATIONS
"Our primary contribution to national defense lies in the fact that the great
areas of the National Park System inspire in the people a pride of country and
serve in a direct way to crystallize a love of its institutions. In short, our
national shrines rank among the first of the irreplaceable values that we must
defend, for they are America just as are the people who live around them.
Someone has said, in speaking of national parks and historic sites, that men
will die gladly for their country; and there devolves upon us a singular
obligation to preserve a country worth dying for."
Newton B. Drury
Director, 1940-1951
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
Telephone: 202-208-4874
Telefax: 202-208-6756
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