NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, April 26, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1607, colonists en route to begin a permanent English 
settlement in America sighted Cape Henry at the mouth of Chesapeake 
Bay, where they spent four days before sailing up the James River to 
Jamestown.  Colonial National Historical Park, Virginia, includes both 
a memorial at Cape Henry and Jamestown Island.

INCIDENTS

00-153 - Glacier NP (MT) - Follow-up: Search for Missing Aircraft

The wreckage of the private, single-engine plane which disappeared 
over the park on April 16th was found on Wednesday, April 19th, in a 
rugged backcountry area of the park. The plane was spotted on the 
northern slope of Mount Henkel by the crew of an Air Force helicopter. 
It was at about the 6,500-foot level of the 8,770-foot peak. A 
Canadian search crew reached the site in the afternoon and found that 
the pilot, D.L., 42, of Plains, Montana, had not survived the 
crash. A team of five rangers was flown to the site on Thursday to 
recover the body. The exact cause of the accident is not yet known. 
The plane's wreckage will be removed at a later date. [Amy Vanderbilt, 
PIO, GLAC, 4/20]

00-162 - Buffalo NR (AR) - Homicide

On April 22nd, two visitors reported finding a human skull while 
searching for a backcountry camping site near the Mt. Hersey area of 
the park. Ranger Nick Stavroplus and a local FBI agent processed the 
area the next day and recovered the skull and several other skeletal 
pieces. A large hole in the ground was found nearby and is thought to 
be a grave. Other evidence in the area indicated that the body had 
likely been placed there in recent years. The bones have been sent to 
a forensic anthropologist for aging, determination of sex, and other 
assessments. The FBI has assumed the lead role in the investigation; 
the park and sheriff's office are assisting. [Bob Howard, LES, BUFF, 
4/24]

00-163 - Lake Meredith NRA (TX) - Boat Fire; Rescue

On the afternoon of April 13th, David and Lorna Kirby were approaching 
the Fritch Fortress boat ramp in their 16-foot boat when they 
developed engine trouble. D.K. removed a flexible fuel line, 
spilling a small amount of gasoline; a copper fuel line then 
accidentally touched the starter assembly, causing a spark that 
ignited the spilled fuel. The fiberglass boat was quickly engulfed in 
flames. The Kirbys made a futile attempt to douse the flames with an 
extinguisher, then quickly donned their lifejackets, threw their two 
dogs into the lake, and abandoned ship. Other boaters, including 
off-duty ranger Lloyd Griswold, rescued the K.s and their dogs. 
Ranger Carl Dyer and firefighter Terry Rhoten arrived ten minutes 
later and put out the fire with the built-in fire pump in the park's 
new 27-foot Boston Whaler. The hulk, which burned to the waterline, 
was towed to shallow water and later removed from the lake. The Kirbys 
credit their safety awareness and survival to NPS, state park and USCG 
education and enforcement efforts. They have donated their boat to the 
park for use as a safety exhibit. Lake Meredith's record of 1,222 days 
without a fatality continues. [John Benjamin, Superintendent, LAMR, 
4/20]

                  [Numerous reports pending...]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Submissions pending. 

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No submissions.

MEMORANDA

Submission pending.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Submission pending.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the 
cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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