NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

BLACKBERRY EDITION

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

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INCIDENTS

Death Valley NP

Armed Man Causes Evacuation, Commits Suicide

Park dispatch received a call from the Inyo County Sheriff's Office last weekend regarding the discovery of a suicide note in a motel room in Ridgecrest, California. The 56-year-old man who composed it said that he was heading to Titus Canyon to commit suicide. Rangers found his vehicle in the Titus Canyon parking lot near Scotty's Castle Road. As they were investigating, one of the rangers saw the man with a weapon in his back pocket not far from about 20 visitors in the parking lot. Rangers provided cover for the visitors as they were evacuated, then closed the area. Inyo County and CHP officers also responded and helped secure the area. The man with the gun disappeared from sight around 6:30 p.m. Two rangers stayed in the area overnight and were joined by other rangers and CHP and Inyo County officers at dawn. A CHP helicopter arrived on scene, and an observer spotted the man's body in the rocks where he'd last been seen. Rangers conducted a technical carryout, with the CHP helicopter employed to ferry in rescue equipment. The Inyo County SO is the lead agency in the investigation. [Nancy Wizner, Chief Ranger]

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Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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