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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Wednesday, March 1, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Shenandoah NP Felony DUI Conviction and Sentencing In April, 2004, rangers received complaints from campground hosts and visitors about a couple camping in the Big Meadows Campground. Two rangers were on foot patrol in the campground when they heard a loud and disruptive argument with very obscene language between a man and woman coming from the site in question. The man left the tent, then entered and started a vehicle. The rangers stopped him before he could leave and subsequently arrested the 34 year-old for DUI, disorderly conduct, driving on a suspended license, and refusal to submit to a breath test. His driving record revealed eight DUI convictions from three states between 1992 and 2004. Following his initial appearance in June, 2004, the man was arrested for a probation violation in Maryland and remained in custody until April, 2005. He was then indicted for felony DUI. In January, 2006, following a plea agreement, he was sentenced to serve 18 months in jail and pay a $1,000 fine for felony DUI and refusal to submit to a breath test. [Lora Peppers, Central District Ranger] Redwood N&SP Car Clout Arrests On the afternoon of Saturday, February 25th, an NPS ranger responded to the Jedediah Smith area of Redwood National and State Parks in response to a report of a vehicle burglary. Scanner traffic from the California Highway Patrol indicated that the victim was pursuing the suspects in his vehicle and heading towards Crescent City on Highway 199. The suspects' vehicle ran out of gas while still in the park. CHP officers found the vehicle and its two occupants - a 23-year-old man and 28-year-old woman - and detained them until the ranger arrived on scene. The ranger interviewed the victims, who identified the pair as the burglars who broke into their car. They were arrested and taken to the Del Norte County jail by county deputies. Meanwhile, the victims identified several items that were taken from their vehicle. Rangers subsequently determined that the suspect vehicle had been stolen from Vancouver, Washington, in the early morning hours of the 25th. Several state charges are pending for the burglary, the theft of the vehicle, and receipt of stolen property. Later in the evening, a third suspect was interviewed by the CHP in Crescent City. He said that he had been in the stolen vehicle and that he ran into the woods when the vehicle ran out of gas. He had a stolen wallet in his possession. When a ranger arrived on scene, he attempted to show him where he'd hidden the wallet, but without success. On the following day, he called rangers and said that he was certain he could take them to the victim's wallet. Rangers returned to the area with him and this time found it. The man was arrested and booked for vehicle theft, receipt of stolen property, and petty theft. A joint investigation is underway. [Doug Corrigan, Acting Chief Ranger] Joshua Tree NP A small, single-engine private plane crashed early Sunday evening in the Pinto Basin area of the park. The aircraft, a single-engine Mooney M20C, was taken from the Big Bear Airport on Sunday afternoon by two 14-year-old boys and flown to a remote area in the eastern section of the park, where they made a forced landing about 100 yards north of Park Route 11 sometime between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. The approximate location of the crash was 29 miles southeast of Twentynine Palms. Rangers based in the Cottonwood area of the park received word of the crash at approximately 6:30 p.m. and responded. The crash was reported by a contract employee working in the park on a project for the National Park Service. The two boys on board the plane survived the crash without serious injuries and were treated at the scene by the rangers. The boy piloting the plane was able to make a successful landing, although the plane suffered visible damage to the propeller, landing gear, and fuselage. The plane is owned by parents of the boy who piloted the plane. The boys were transferred to the custody of a San Bernardino County deputy sheriff late Sunday night. The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified of the crash. A salvage crew was expected to remove the plane by late Monday afternoon. [Joe Zarki, Public Information Officer] Canyon de Chelly NM Falling Fatality A 16-year-old Navajo girl fell to her death just after 1 a.m. on Sunday, February 26th. She was a local resident. Navajo police, NPS rangers and NPS SAR members responded and conducted a search below Junction overlook and located the body at about 3 a.m. The body was recovered and transported out of the canyon at daybreak. Navajo criminal investigators are investigating the circumstances of her death. [William Yazzie, Chief Ranger] PARKS AND PEOPLE North Cascades NP Pete Cowan Retires Pete Cowan, the park's chief ranger, begins a new chapter in his life on March 31st when he retires from the National Park Service after 34 years. Pete grew up in Brewer, Maine, about 40 miles from Acadia National Park, and got his first taste of NPS work as a seasonal campground ranger there in 1972. From then until 1977, Pete worked seasonally at Acadia and one winter at Cape Hatteras. Plans for a career as a warden with Maine Game & Fish changed with the offer of a career position at Fire Island. Some highlights of Pete's NPS time include teaching at the Seasonal Ranger Academy at Skagit Valley College for 15 years, chairing the Pacific West Region's Ranger Advisory Committee, assisting in Alaska after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, working on many presidential and other high profile visits at Grand Teton, and participating in the NPS' post-9/11 response. On announcing his retirement date, Pete wrote, “I consider myself lucky to have lived a ‘dream come true.' My family and I have had the great fortune to work and live in some of the most fabulous places on earth. For us, my 34 year career with the National Park Service has not been a job but a way of life. It has defined our family and has shaped our children's interests and ultimately their futures. . . . I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have had the privilege to work with some of the most dedicated, talented, and hard-working people anyone could want to know. Along the way I have had the opportunity to work with many outstanding men and women who have shaped this organization. Each one of them has taught me a great deal. Some are truly legends within the National Park Service. For this privilege, I am eternally grateful.” For the time being, Pete, Sherry and their son Josh will remain in Sedro-Woolley. Their daughter Katie is a senior at the University of Utah. In the immediate future, Pete looks forward to doing some travel and a lot of relaxing. Friends and co-workers will celebrate Pete's NPS career at a potluck at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church Parish Hall, 719 Ferry Street, Sedro-Woolley, WA, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Saturday, April 2, 2006. For more information, call Shelley Kluz at 360-856-5700 extension 351. Messages can be sent to Pete's e-mail ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/mailtPete_Cowan@nps.gov" Pete_Cowan@nps.gov) and letters c/o North Cascades National Park, 810 State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |