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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office Day/Date: Thursday, January 31, 2002 INCIDENTS 02-024 - Timpanogos Cave NM (UT) - Assist; Aircraft Crash On the afternoon of Monday, January 28th, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley AFB in Virginia picked up an ELT signal from a point near Alpine, Utah, and advised the state Civil Air Patrol. The county sheriff's office SAR team narrowed the location of the downed plane to American Fork Canyon, somewhere near the park. The sheriff's mobile incident command post was set up in the visitor center parking lot, and all staging for the rescue was done at the VC. Park staff provided support, supplies and local information. Coordination efforts were hampered by the lack of cellular phone reception in the canyon. An air and ground search was begun, but was delayed by poor weather and darkness until the following day. The plane was found at the base of the Gray Cliffs crags in Tank Canyon, a very rugged side canyon about two miles from the visitor center in the Lone Peak Wilderness of the Uinta National Forest. The SAR team determined that the 60-year-old pilot, who had been en route from Oregon to Phoenix, had not survived the crash. The NTSB will investigate the crash and remove the wreckage. The search involved about 60 people. Demobilization was completed around 4 p.m. on the 29th. [Kit Mullen, Superintendent, TICA, 1/30] 02-025 - North Cascades NP (WA) - SAR; Drug Smuggling Arrest Rangers Hugh Dougher, John Madden and Galen Stark rescued 34-year-old W.K. on January 28th after a ten-hour search for him by helicopter and snowmobile. W.K. was suffering from frostbite, hypothermia, and an ankle injury, but refused definitive medical care. Investigation revealed that W.K. had hiked 66 miles through rugged mountains in a winter storm over a three-day period in an attempt to smuggle one pound of "BC Bud" marijuana, valued at $4,000, into the United States. The marijuana was seized and W.K. confessed to previous successful smuggling efforts. He will be charged with smuggling and distribution. [Hugh Dougher, DR, NOCA, 1/30] 02-026 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/AL/TN) - Assist; Felony Search Shortly before midnight on January 25th, Port Gibson ranger Tim Lacy was asked to help local officials locate D.M. of Utica, Mississippi, who had fled into the woods in the park following a vehicle pursuit. D.M. had successfully eluded officers the previous evening during a separate pursuit. When Utica officers spotted D.M.'s vehicle again on the 25th, the chase resumed, ending when the car broke down on a road near the park boundary. D.M. jumped out and exchanged gunfire with a Utica officer before running into the woods. At the time, D.M. had an adult passenger and four young children in his vehicle. Police and a SAR dog searched the area, but without finding him. D.M., who is wanted on outstanding warrants, has not been located and is probably no longer on park land. [Jackie Henman, ACR, NATR, 1/29] PARKS AND PEOPLE Ozark NSR (MO) - Superintendent Chris Andress has been out of work since Thanksgiving due to a number of medical issues and has been admitted to the hospital in Springfield, Missouri, so that doctors can deal with fluid retention problems. His wife, Paula, is with him there. You can send a card or message of support to Chris and Paula at either the hospital (Cox Medical Center South, Room 912, Springfield, MO 65807) or at their home address (PO Box 939, Van Buren, MO 63965). [Chris Ward, OZAR] Wind Cave NP (SD) - The park is recruiting for a GS-11/12 natural resources program manager. This is an interdisciplinary position that will be filled by someone from either the biologist (GS-0401) or physical scientist (GS-1301) series. The person selected will serve as the chief of the natural resources program, which deals with both surface and subsurface resources. The merit promotion announcement (NEKOTA 02-08) and the open competitive announcement (CK131978CS) can be found on the USA Jobs website ( http://www.usajobs.opm.gov). Both announcements opened on January 29th and will close on February 19th. For more information, call 605-745-1126. [Helen Brooks, WICA]Hot Springs NP (AR) - The park is seeking a full-performance level GS-9 protection ranger through lateral reassignment. Hot Springs NP is an urban park with significant geothermal springs. The city has a population of about 35,000 people, but the population of the greater Garland County area is closer to 140,000. Annual visitation last year exceeded 3.2 million. Hot Springs PD has a 24-hour, state-of-the-art dispatch center which supports park staff; rangers also carry radios that can transmit on other cooperating agency frequencies. Law enforcement activities include the full range of incidents normally encountered in an urban area with a population of 50,000. At full strength, the patrol operation includes seven commissioned rangers. Jurisdiction is exclusive, and rangers also carry local deputy sheriff credentials. The park has close working relationships with a number of agencies. Duties include backcountry patrol and protection of numerous archeological sites. Local schools are good, housing is unusually affordable, and local services are exceptional. If you'd like further information, contact personnel specialist Mary Baber at 501-624-3383 ext. 602 or chief ranger Steve Rudd at 501-624-3124. [Steve Rudd, HOSP] * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |