NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Tuesday, August 29, 1995

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

94-172 - Lake Meredith (Texas) - Follow-up on Homicide

On August 10th, T.E.F., Jr., 26, pled guilty to a murder conspiracy
charge in federal court in Amarillo.  T.E.F. could receive life in prison for the
death of his brother-in-law, Billy Dean Bratcher, but will probably receive a
lesser sentence because of his substantial assistance in the case.  T.E.F. has
agreed to testify against his mother, B.F., and his sister, C.F.B.,
in future trials.  All three have been charged in the murder; as part
of a plea agreement, though, the prosecution agreed to dismiss this charge and
an insurance fraud charge against T.E.F.  Indictments still pending
allege that C.B. and B.F. conspired to take out a $500,000
life insurance policy on B.D.B. and then helped plan and carry out
B.D.B.'s murder.  [CR, LAMR]

95-559 - Yosemite (California) - Rangers Assaulted

Rangers Cameron Sholly and Keith Lober responded to a report of a possible
drunk in the area of North Pines campground on August 20th and came upon a man
in boxer shorts dancing on one of the bridges and blocking the roadway.  Sholly
told him to move to the side of the road; he refused to comply, took a fighting
stance, and began screaming "Come on, let's go!"  Sholly employed capstun spray
on him, but he nonetheless violently resisted efforts to arrest him.  A
struggle ensued which lasted until other units arrived on scene about four
minutes later.  It ultimately required the concerted efforts of four rangers
and three bystanders to restrain the man.  Lober suffered four puncture wounds
from a bite to his hand, all of them penetrating to the bone.  Sholly's wrist
was sprained.  Both rangers received a number of minor abrasions and other
scrapes.  Their assailant was subsequently identified as a man who had once
assaulted a police officer in southern California while under the influence of
drugs.  Witnesses said that the man had ingested a large amount of an unknown
drug before the incident.  [CRO, YOSE]

95-560 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Aggravated Robbery

On August 10th, two parties of campers in the Bridge Buttress area of the park
were approached by a group of six men, all in their 20s, who had been drinking
heavily and who used violent language, rocks, a tire iron, and a handgun to
intimidate the campers into turning over their wallets and money.  Both groups
hesitated in complying with these demands and had members of their respective
parties pulled from vehicles and beaten.  One required hospitalization and was
released later that day.  A county deputy on patrol in the area saw the scuffle
and pursued the six men, who abandoned their vehicle when they came upon a
state police road block.  An interagency, 26-hour-long search led to the arrest
of D.H., M.D., R.S., S.D., and M.Z. and J.Z.,
the latter two both parolees.  All of the men had hair styles,
tattoos and clothing characteristic of skinhead and white supremacy groups. 
Interviews indicated that they had come to the area to indulge in "gay
bashing", as gay men often gather in the Bridge Buttress area.  All six have
been charged with aggravated robbery, and civil rights charges are pending. 
[Rick Brown, Acting CR, NERI]

95-561 - Fire Island (New York) - Rescues

The park reports two lifeguard saves on August 13th - both involving serious
back injuries.  A 44-year-old New York City police officer got in trouble
offshore and was rescued by lifeguards Caccuitto, Witte and Munnich.  The
officer later told them that he was glad that they'd come when they did because
he'd given up and stopped swimming.  He was also unable to move any of his
extremities.  He was medevaced from the park to Stonybrook hospital.  Later
that day, a 21-year-old dove head first into two feet of water and suffered a
severe back injury.  Lifeguards Tooney, Caccuitto, Witte, Munnich and EMT
Lippert responded, stabilized the victim on a board, and brought him to shore
on the bow of a 25-foot Whaler.  He was taken to the same hospital, where he
was scheduled for surgery to fuse his spinal column.  The doctor said that he
would have been paralyzed or perhaps not even survived if he hadn't been
extricated on a board.  [Jay Lippert, Supervisory Park Ranger, FIIS]

95-562 - Canyonlands/Arches (Utah) - Assists; Multiple SARs

Rangers from the two parks have recently been involved in three major SAR
incidents, two of them mutual aid assists to the Grand County sheriff's office. 
On August 16th, four rangers played key roles in assisting deputies with the
recovery of the body of a rock climber who was killed when struck by lightning
while at the base of North Chimney on Castle Rock about 20 miles east of Moab. 
Six rangers again provided significant assistance to the county on August 22nd
and 23rd in the land search and technical body recovery of two mountain bikers
on Porcupine Rim.  The bikers were discovered on a ledge about 200 feet below
the rim, but their bikes were not found.  The investigation continues.  On
August 23rd, eleven rangers participated in a land search for a physically
challenged subject who'd rented a jeep in Moab two days previously.  The search
focused on the Island in the Sky district, but the man was eventually located
in Upper Courthouse Wash near Arches by ranger/paramedic Marc Yeston.  The
victim had been traveling solo, got off the designated road, and became stuck
in a wash bottom.  A flash flood washed his crutches away.  Although he spent
almost 44 hours stranded in the wash, he was found in good physical condition. 
He attracted Yeston to the location by repeated horn honking.  [Steve Swanke,
DR, Island in the Sky District, CANY]

95-563 - Great Falls (Virginia) - Search and Rescue

Just before 7 p.m. on August 24th, a park visitor reported that two people had
been seen in the treacherous Great Falls area of the Potomac River.  K.N.,
15, of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, had fallen into the river, and her
companion, S.A., 14, of Annandale, Virginia, had entered the river
in an attempt to save her.  S.A.'s attempts were unsuccessful, and he in turn
had to be rescued by a ranger and kayakers.  A major multi-agency search for
K.N. was begun, but was suspended due to darkness.  The search was to resume
the following day.  [Einar Olsen, CR, RSD/NCAO]

95-564 - Great Sand Dunes (Colorado) - Assist; SAR

On the morning of August 17th, two brothers set out from Lily Lake to climb
Ellingwood Point and Blanca Peak, both over 14,000 feet, in the Sangre de
Cristo Mountains just south of the park.  After climbing for some time, one
brother decided to return to the lake while the other continued to climb up a
couloir, despite lacking an ice axe, rope or proper gear.  When he failed to
return, local SAR teams began a search.  Rangers climbed the couloir and found
footprints, but were unable to reach the top of the ridge before dusk.  Severe
weather and low visibility prevented an air search on the 18th.  Rangers
assisted in searches of the drainages west of Blanca Peak on the 20th, but
found no traces of him.  The search was suspended later that day.  [CRO, GRSA]

95-565 - Mesa Verde (Colorado) - Assault; Attempted Robbery

Two young adult males attempted to rob the Morefield campground gas station at
6 p.m. on August 24th.  While one of the pair threw attendant S.D.
against some shelves and kicked him, the other attempted to break into the cash
register.  S.D. fought back, and his assailants fled on foot.  An extensive
search was made of the campground and surrounding area, but the two men were
not found.  S.D. received minor injuries from kicks to his head, wrist and
ribs.  [Denise Fuller, MEVE]

95-566 - Yosemite (California) - SAR; False Report

Wawona District rangers received a report of a missing hiker on August 23rd. 
Two campers reported that the third member of their party, a 20-year-old woman,
had left the campground at 6:30 p.m. for a short hiker and had not returned by
10 p.m.  After being told that a search would not begin until daylight, they
told investigating rangers that the missing woman had severe asthma and showed
them an inhaler they said they'd found in her pack, which had been left behind. 
They also said that she had severe attacks about once a week, and had used the
inhaler twice that day.  A hasty search was accordingly initiated, and the
victim was found at 4:15 a.m. the next morning.  A field medical evaluation
revealed that she had never suffered asthma, and that one of the two reporting
parties was in fact the person who suffered from the affliction.  The two were
cited for making a false report (36 CFR 2.32) and agreed to $500 in restitution
and three months probation each in return for deferred prosecution.  [CRO,
YOSE]

95-567 - Indiana Dunes (Indiana) - Drownings

R.N., 22, and D.T., 14, both from the Chicago area, were
reported missing within ten minutes of each other just before sunset on August
20th.  They had been swimming off Porter Beach, an unguarded area.  Despite an
extensive, multi-agency search, neither was found that evening.  R.N.'s body
was found the next morning about a mile-and-a-half west of the beach; D.T.'s
was found in the same location a day later.  Just before the reports were
received on the two missing swimmers, a 35-year-old man nearly drowned at the
unguarded Mount Baldy beach.  A 20-year-old woman drowned at an unguarded beach
adjacent to the park on the same day.  Strong north winds and resulting high
waves and rip currents are believed to have been factors in all of these
incidents.  Signs warning visitors of the dangerous swimming conditions were in
place in the park.  The recent Midwest heat wave has resulted in heavier than
normal visitation to park beaches, as visitors from the Chicago area seek
relief.  [Rich Littlefield, CR, INDU]

95-568 - Navajo (Arizona) - Theft

Five license plates were stolen from vehicles in the park's campground on
August 14th.  One of the reporting parties also reported seeing a young man
with several plates.  Investigation led the identification of the suspect, a
student and member of one of three groups from France that were in the
campground at the time.  The group had six plates, several of which contained
1995 and 1996 registration stickers.  All were confiscated.  Rangers and
maintenance employees searched the woods around the campsite and found five
more plates, some with associated footprints.  Chief ranger Irv Francisco was
able to link the prints to two members of the group, who then confessed to the
theft.  Tribal police responded, and the juveniles were cited and released. 
County juvenile court authorities will follow up with letters to the parents. 
The French group involved was called Zigo-Voyages, and its members were
traveling in two vans and a sedan rented in California.  The juveniles said
that United States license plates are being stolen from vehicles and collected
a souvenirs because of their high value in France and other European countries. 
Group members also admitted to the theft of license plates from campgrounds in
California.  [Irv Francisco, CR, NAVA]

95-569 - Virgin Islands (Virgin Islands) - Theft

On August 9th, the park received a report that a nine-foot dinghy had been
stolen from an anchorage in the park at Leinster Bay.  Information was later
received that the operator of the "Lady Ivelisse" out of Puerto Rico had taken
the boat.  Ranger Lucia Roberts contacted the Coast Guard, which in turn
contacted Customs, which found the "Lady Ivelisse" and the dinghy.  Customs
officers also discovered that the owner had not cleared customs when he
returned from Puerto Rico.  He faces a $9,000 fine for customs violations and
will be charged for the theft of the dinghy.  [CRO, VIIS]

95-570 - St. Croix (Minnesota/Wisconsin) - Drug Seizures and Investigation

A Lower District ranger patrol came upon the beginnings of a large party in the
Nevers Dam area on the evening of July 28th.  Several youths were contacted and
cited for possession of marijuana and underage possession of alcohol.  Evidence
was also found indicating the presence of cocaine or methamphetamines. 
Additional rangers and deputies were called in, and soon found the main party
of about 15 people about a quarter mile downriver on the Wisconsin side.  Two
people fled the area on foot, one carrying a backpack.  The pack was dropped
during the chase, and was found to contain hallucinogenic mushrooms.  Numerous
baggies with marijuana and other paraphernalia were seized from those at the
party.  A locked strongbox was found, which was opened after a search warrant
was obtained.  Within were more mushrooms, marijuana paraphernalia, an
electronic scale, and nearly $600 in cash.  The owner, J.J.D., 20,
has several prior convictions in Minnesota, including possession with intent to
distribute marijuana.  The investigation continues.  [Maureen Yunker, CRO,
SACN]

95-571 - Redwoods (California) - MVA with Fatality

I.M., 53, was killed in a single-car accident on Bald Hills Road at 9
p.m. on August 24th.  I.M. apparently fell asleep at the wheel and struck a
two-foot diameter Douglas fir.  Rangers are assisting in the investigation. 
[Jane Sikoryak, REDW]

                   [Additional reports tomorrow...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

The NICC fire report was not available at the time today's Morning Report was
released.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No notes.

UPCOMING IN CONGRESS

The following activities will be taking place in Congress during coming weeks
on matters pertaining to the National Park Service.  If you would like further
information on any of these hearings or bills, please contact Stacey Rickard in
WASO Legislation at 202-208-3636.

September 14

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (Murkowski): Hearing on S. 309,
National Park Service Concessions Policy Reform Act of 1995, S. 964, to amend
the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 with respect to fees for
admission to units of the National Park System, and S. 1144, to reform and
enhance the management of the National Park Service.

OBSERVATIONS

Quotes submitted for consideration for the Morning Report should pertain to
either the National Park Service or closely related issues, such as wilderness
and conservation, and should include the author and the date and source of the
quote.  A mailing list has been created for periodic dissemination of the
master list of quotes to date to interested parties.  If you'd like to be on
that list, please send a note to this address. 

Here's today's entry, which is the last paragraph of President Clinton's
address on the 79th anniversary of the NPS, given at Yellowstone last Saturday:

"We have a big stake in what you see around you here at Yellowstone.  It's a
part of what I call our common ground.  And we should not do anything this
year - anything - to weaken our ability to protect the quality of our land, our
water, our food, the diversity of our wildlife and the sanctity of our natural
treasures.  We can balance the budget without doing any of that, and that's the
commitment all of us ought to make today on this anniversary of the National
Park Service."

                                           President William Clinton,
                                           August 26, 1995

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
cc:Mail:   WASO Ranger Activities
SkyPager:  Emergencies ONLY: 1-800-759-7243, PIN 2404843