NPS Morning Report - Thursday, April 11, 2002



                           NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, April 11, 2002

                              *** NOTICE ***

If you sent a submission for inclusion in the Morning Report within the
last few days and it has not yet appeared, please retransmit it. A number
of incoming messages were inadvertently deleted yesterday. Thanks.

INCIDENTS

96-251 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Follow-up: Arrest Made for Double Homicide

A federal grand jury in Charlottesville, Virginia, has indicted D.D.R.,
34, of Columbia, Maryland, on four counts of capital murder in
the May, 1996, killings of J.W. and L."L."W. in
the park. The indictment was announced through a press release from the
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia and a press
conference held in Washington by Attorney General Ashcroft. The incident
began when the two women were reported overdue from a circuit hike in the
park during the last week of May, 1996. Rangers began a search and found
the bodies of the two women on the morning of June 1st. Both were bound and
gagged and had had their throats cut. Since then, the FBI and National Park
Service have joined forces to follow-up on an estimated 15,000 leads and
contacts in their six-year investigation. D.D.R. has been charged with the
capital murder of J.W. and L.W., and has also been charged with
capital murder and intentionally selecting and murdering the victims
because of their actual or perceived gender or sexual orientation. These
"hate crime" murder counts are based on a sentencing enhancement in the
federal sentencing guidelines. This case is believed to be the first
federal murder prosecution brought under these provisions. If convicted on
any counts in the indictment, D.D.R. could be subject to the death penalty.
D.D.R. is currently serving a 135-month federal sentence as a result of his
conviction for attempted kidnapping in Shenandoah NP on July 9, 1997
(97-311). In that case, a female cyclist told ranger John Waterman that
she'd been assaulted by a man in a pickup who had forced her off the road,
then attempted to pull her into his truck. She successfully fought him off
and fled the area. Ranger Steve Barto intercepted the vehicle and arrested
D.D.R., who subsequently pled guilty to attempted abduction. The
investigation into the two murders was conducted by FBI SA Jane Collins and
NPS SA Timothy Alley for the National Park Service. Criminal Chief Thomas
J. Bondurant and AUSA Anthony Giorno will prosecute the case. Attorney
General Ashcroft had this to say about the case: "Earlier today, I had an
opportunity to meet the parents of these young women, who are with us this
morning. And now, as then, I struggled to express the deep sadness that we
feel for the great loss of these families. We pray for their families.
These families have suffered what Americans now know all too well. That's
the pain and destruction wrought by hate. Just as the United States will
pursue, prosecute and punish terrorists who attack America out of hatred
for what we believe, we will pursue, prosecute and punish those who attack
law-abiding Americans out of hatred for who they are. Hatred is the enemy
of justice, regardless of its source.? Our message this morning is
unambiguous and clear. The volatile, poisonous mixture of hatred and
violence will not go unchallenged in the American system of justice. By
invoking the hate crimes enhancement parts of sentencing enhancement today,
today's murder indictment makes clear our commitment to seek every
prosecutorial advantage and to use every available statute to secure
justice for victims like J.W. and L.W." [News
release, United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia,
4/10; transcript, Attorney General's press conference, DOJ Conference
Center, 4/10]

02-096 - Sequoia NP (CA) - Search in Progress

An air search is still underway for a small private plane that disappeared
from radar while flying over the rugged Marble Fork drainage on April 6th.
On board the Piper Cherokee were pilot P.C., 43, and passenges
B.C., 16, J.M., 15, and J.T., 15; all are from
Visalia. The plane took off from Visalia Municipal Airport around 3 p.m. on
April 6th for a flight over Moro Rock in southwestern Sequoia NP. Radar
contact with the craft was lost west of the park's Giant Forest area around
4 p.m. Based on the radar records, the search has focused on several
canyons of the Kaweah River - the North Fork, Middle Fork and Marble Fork.
The rugged terrain makes both aerial and ground searching difficult. The
multi-agency search includes helicopters, airplanes and ground searchers.
During pre-dawn flights yesterday, several of the aircraft employed
infrared detection devices in an unsuccessful effort to find the plane. The
presence of numerous search aircraft in the area presents a risk of further
accidents, so the FAA has imposed a temporary flight restriction on all
other aircraft. The restriction affects air space within a five-mile radius
centered on Moro rock. The search continues. [Debbie Bird, CR, SEKI, 4/10]

02-102 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Theft of Resources

On the afternoon of April 8th, ranger Todd Remaley contacted a man at the
entrance to Matthews Arm campground who had a number of deer antlers in his
possession. Remaley determined that he'd been collecting from the park for
a number of years; the man admitted to collecting in the park ten times
this year alone. A consent search was conducted of his house which led to
the seizure of 138 antlers and a small amount of drugs. The investigation
continues and charges are pending. This is the second significant antler
poaching case documented within the park in the last two months. [Ginny
Rousseau, CR, SHEN, 4/9]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 1

Initial attack remained light on Tuesday. Two new large fires - Red Lake 39
(1,749 acres) and Red Lake 33 (1,062 acres), both on the Red Lake Agency in
Minnesota - were reported. The Middle Fire in the Gila NF (Type 1 IMT
assigned) is now 75% contained; acreage remains at 37,600. The Number One
Island Fire in Okefenokee NWR in Georgia is still being managed under a
confinement strategy, and has so far burned 5,500 acres. Three other fires
were fully contained.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado.

National Resource Status

Date              4/3   4/4   4/5   4/6   4/7   4/8   4/9

Crews             17    12    32    27    24    21    34
Engines           38    30    45    39    25    35    24
Helicopters       8     10    10    10    8     9     7
Air Tankers       0     0     0     0     0     0     0
Overhead          173   251   228   249   283   260   245

Park Fire Situation

No new reports.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme - N/A
Very High - Big Bend NP
High - Hawaii Volcanoes NP, Everglades NP

[NPS Situation Summary Report, 4/10; NPS Situation summary Report, 4/10]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Compilations of NPS Laws - The Office of Congressional and Legislative
Affairs has a few volumes left of a number of compilations of NPS laws. The
following are available to any interested NPS offices:

•     Laws of the 106th Congress (1999-2000, red cover) - 80 copies
•     Laws of the 105th Congress (1997-1998, brown cover) - 32 copies
•     Laws of the 104th Congress (1995-1996, green cover) - 22 copies
•     Laws of the 96th to 98th Congresses (1979-1984, hardbound) - 40
copies

If you're interested, send an email to Beverly_Davenport@nps.gov or call
her at 202-208-3636. [Beverly Davenport, WASO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Harpers Ferry NHP (VA/MD/WV) - The park has received funding for emergency
hires of three seasonal commissioned rangers who will spend the bulk of
their time on NPS/DOI homeland security issues. The park is seeking
candidates who have held an NPS commission within the last three years, as
time and other constraints will not permit them to utilize recent graduates
of seasonal LE academies who have not previously held NPS commissions. The
jobs will include significant overtime and accordingly the opportunity to
augment salaries. [Scot McElveen, CR, HAFE]

                               *  *  *  *  *

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

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