NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, September 29, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1864, Union forces captured Confederate Fort Harrison, 
south of Richmond, Virginia, forcing the Confederates to realign the 
city's southern defenses.  Fourteen black Union soldiers won the Medal 
of Honor for gallantry in the assault.  Richmond National Battlefield 
Park includes well-preserved remains of the fort.

INCIDENTS

97-538 - Saguaro NP (AZ) - Follow-up on Plane Crash, Drug Smuggling

Two area residents spotted a gleaming object near Rincon Peak on 
August 30, 1997, investigated, and found the wreckage of a small 
aircraft. The park was notified and in turn contacted FAA. FAA advised 
that the twin-engine Cessna had been missing since August 29, 1984. 
Rangers and local deputies secured the crash scene and began an 
investigation. The FAA determined that the Cessna had flown into the 
side of the mountain under full power, probably during a low-level 
night flight in a thunderstorm. The aircraft exploded on impact, 
causing a small brush fire that evidently burned out without being 
witnessed. The remains of four victims were found in the initial 
search, along with a handgun and a bag containing moldy currency. 
Further investigation into archived DEA records revealed that the 
plane had been leased to people with reported drug smuggling 
connections and that there was potentially $1.5 million on board the 
aircraft. The money was probably going to be used to finance a drug 
deal that involved smuggling drugs from Mexico. The recovered bag with 
the moldy currency had been thrown clear of the plane; evidence at the 
site indicated that an undetermined amount of additional currency had 
been burned in the crash. The Treasury Department analyzed the 
currency, and determined that it contained at least $13,080 in U.S. 
bills. The local residents who discovered the wreckage and the 
relatives of the victims filed claims for the then unknown sum of 
money, but the local county attorney and sheriff's department were 
able to sustain a decision that the money be forfeited in accordance 
with state laws governing illegal drug activities. On May 30th, the 
Pima County Superior Court issued a ruling that granted $2,000 each to 
the two area residents. The balance was then equitably distributed to 
the county attorney's office and the sheriff's department's 
anti-racketeering fund. The park received $2,724. The aircraft insurer 
paid for the removal of the Cessna in 1998 after successful 
intervention by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The insurer had declined 
to respond to NPS demands to pay for the recovery of the wreckage and 
crash mitigation costs. Southern Arizona Group special agent Dan Wirth 
assisted in the investigation. [Bob Lineback, DR, SAGU, 9/27]

00-617 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Search in Progress

On Tuesday, September 26th, R.B., 68, of Graves Mill, 
Virginia, left his residence to search for ginseng plants. He failed 
to return that evening, and the Madison County Sheriff's Department 
was notified. They contacted the park on September 27th. R.B.'s 
vehicle was found parked near the park boundary in the Graves Mill 
area. A unified command was established with the sheriff's department 
and a search was begun. Search segments include several large areas 
inside the park. Over 100 searchers are currently assigned to the 
operation. Although R.B. is extremely familiar with the area and has 
never been reported lost, he does suffer from a chronic medical 
condition. Clayton Jordan is IC for the NPS. [Greg Stiles, Acting CR, 
SHEN, 9/28]

00-618 - Zion NP (UT) - Search and Rescue

On the evening of September 24th, rangers were notified that 
48-year-old B.S. was overdue from a hike in the park. 
B.S.' wife took them to the point where she'd dropped him off just 
after noon, a spot four miles south of the Orderville Canyon trailhead 
between Eglestead and Birch Hollows. B.S. had been on foot for 10 
hours at the time of the report and was not prepared for an extended 
trip. A search was begun the following morning; a dog team and later a 
helicopter were utilized. B.S. was found by helicopter at 11 a.m. 
He was uninjured but stuck several hundred feet below the rim of 
Eglestead Hollow. B.S. had rappelled down several cliff bands, but 
did not have the requisite equipment to continue. The park's technical 
rescue team was flown in by helicopter. B.S. was raised to the rim 
and evacuated. The guide book that B.S. was using did not provide 
him with adequate information to find the correct route. [Scott Brown, 
IC, ZION, 9/27]

00-619 - Olympic NP (WA) - Search and Rescue

Rangers began an investigation and search into the whereabouts of P.N. 
on Saturday, September 16th. P.N. was believed to be hiking 
somewhere in the northern section of the park, an area encompassing 
about 400,000 acres. He had failed to return home as planned and did 
not report for work on Saturday at his job as a DJ for KLSU in 
Seattle. A backcountry permit and other information turned up during 
the initial investigation. P.N. had entered the park on the 7th, 
intending to hike for six days and return on the 13th. His vehicle was 
found at the Boulder Creek trailhead on Saturday afternoon. The area 
was contained and hasty teams checked the Appleton Pass - Boulder 
Creek trail and campground area and the Olympic Hot Springs area. On 
Sunday, additional clues led searchers to focus on the Cat Basin and 
Cat Creek area. The tracks of a lone hiker and a recently abandoned 
campsite in lower Cat Creek were found late that afternoon. A SAR 
helicopter found an SOS in the snow on a ridge between Cat Creek and 
Schoeffel Creek around 4,000 feet a few hours later. The SOS, made of 
sticks, appeared to have been recently constructed. Rain, fog, clouds 
and darkness caused the air search to be suspended until the following 
morning. P.N. was spotted from the air, standing on a rock in 
Schoeffel Creek, just before 2 p.m. A radio was dropped so that 
instructions on the pending rescue could be relayed to him. A 
helicopter from Fort Lewis was summoned and hoisted P.N. out of the 
canyon. He was covered with bruises and minor cuts, had lost his tent, 
map and wrist watch, and had eaten much of his food. Media interest 
was intense, with three news helicopters documenting the search and 
rescue effort. P.N. made the mistake of hiking drainages rather than 
ridges after he became lost - a common error in the Olympics. [Dan 
Pontbriand, DR, Lake District, OLYM, 9/26]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE SITUATION

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

CURRENT SITUATION

No new large fires were reported yesterday, and initial attack was 
minimal nationwide. Hot, dry weather will keep fire danger high in 
Texas and Oklahoma. Elsewhere, high cloudiness and cooler temperatures 
should lessen fire activity. 

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Oregon, California, 
Montana, North Dakota, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada, New 
Mexico, Texas, Nebraska, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The following resources were committed nationwide as of yesterday 
(changes from Wednesday's numbers in parentheses): 43 crews (- 2), 503 
overhead (- 15), 59 engines (+ 1), and 10 helicopters (- 15).

NPS AND NPS-RELATED FIRES

No reports.

OUTLOOK

NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for strong winds and low relative 
humidity for the Texas Panhandle.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/29]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No submissions.

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

INTERCHANGE

Grand Canyon-Parashant NM (AZ) - This new national monument in 
northern Arizona is being jointly managed by the NPS and BLM. Managers 
are seeking a model for dual management of a law enforcement operation 
that encompasses at least two jurisdictions and cross-supervision 
between agency staff members. If you can help, please contact Raymond 
Klein, management assistant at Lake Mead NRA, via either cc:Mail or at 
435-688-3215, or acting monument manager Dennis Curtis at 
dennis_curtis@blm.gov.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Zion NP (UT) - The park is seeking three commissioned GS-9 park 
rangers. The positions are advertised on USAJobs under announcements 
Zion-Merit-10 and 11. One will serve as a supervisor in the fee 
program branch and supervise up to eight permanent and seasonal 
visitor use assistants, two seasonal protection rangers, and three 
campground hosts. He/she will also be responsible for supervising the 
operation of two 150-site campgrounds and sharing daily operation of 
all fee operations with three other supervisory VUA's. Law enforcement 
and EMS duties are conducted in conjunction with district operations. 
Other emergency service duties will be assigned depending on skills, 
interests and division needs. Park housing may be available. Contact 
Scott Brown at 435-772-0177 for more information. The other two 
positions are located in the Canyon District and include the full 
range of law enforcement, resource protection and emergency service 
duties. Both of these positions are required occupancy. Contact Brent 
McGinn at 435-772-0187 for more information. [Chuck Passek, ZION)

                            *  *  *  *  *

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed 
by park, office and/or regional cc:Mail hub coordinators.  Please 
address requests pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your 
servicing hub coordinator.  The Morning Report is also available on 
the web at http://www.nps.gov/morningreport

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

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