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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Thursday, April 27, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS C&O Canal NHP ARPA Investigation On Thursday, April 13th, a ranger was dispatched to a small historic cemetery in the park west of Hancock, Maryland, to investigate a report of digging at one of the gravesites. The ranger found that a hole about five feet deep had been dug into a grave dating from 1875. Two large dirt piles were left on each side of the hole. The piles were sifted by NPS archeologists who were summoned to the scene to assist with the investigation. They found numerous artifacts and other materials and also determined that the coffin had been entered. The gravesite was the most elaborate in the cemetery, with a large headstone and a wrought iron fence. Fifteen smaller holes were found in the surrounding area. Rangers believe that these resulted from metal detecting activity. This is the second incident in which a grave has been entered in this cemetery, but the coffin was not breached in the first incident. An investigation is underway with assistance from regional archeologists, park staff, NPS special agents, and the U.S. Attorney's Office. [Dispatch, NCR] Mammoth Cave NP Successful Search for Missing Job Corps Student A 16-year-old Great Onyx Job Corps student was reported missing just before 7 p.m. on April 23rd. Ranger learned that she'd hiked into the forest around the center with nine other students earlier that afternoon. The students split into two groups, and each thought that the girl was with the other group. When they returned to the center, they found she was missing and notified the park. Rangers interviewed the students that evening, but a search was not begun that night due to darkness and the rugged terrain. On Monday morning, center staff, students, rangers and members of two Great Onyx fire crews searched ridge tops and river bottomland surrounding the center, retracing the girl's steps. A ranger also patrolled the Nolin River by boat both up and downstream from the center. SAR teams and search dogs were brought in that afternoon, and two Air National Guard helicopters joined in the effort. The search was suspended for the night and resumed at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The girl was found at 10:40 a.m. that morning at a spot about a quarter mile from the point where she'd last been seen. Searchers were walking and calling for her when they heard her answer from a point off trail. She was able to walk to a nearby access road, where rangers picked her up and took her to a waiting county ambulance. She was taken to T.J. Samson Hospital for assessment. A total of about 50 people were involved in the search at its peak. The center released this statement on Tuesday: "We are pleased to announce that a student at Great Onyx Job Corps Center, reported missing on Sunday evening, has been found alive and well within the park as of this morning. This wonderful news is the result of a dedicated and exhaustive search effort by the Mammoth Cave National Park staff and the staff of the Great Onyx Job Corps Center. We are happy to report that the student is resting after having received precautionary treatment at a local hospital. Thanks to everyone who lent a hand during the search and to the many more who kept the student and the Great Onyx Job Corps family in their thoughts over the past two days." [Vickie Carson, Public Affairs Officer] Chickasaw NRA Conviction for Sexual Assault on a Minor On Tuesday, January 24th, a Stephens County jury convicted a man on charges of sexually assaulting his 14-year-old daughter. The conviction was based on numerous sexual assaults that took place in that county and allegations that others had been committed while the man's family camped in the park in 2004 and 2005. On March 16th, he was sentenced to ten years in state prison. The joint investigation leading to this conviction was conducted by NPS rangers, FBI agents and Stephens County officials. [Albert Faria, Supervisory Park Ranger] OTHER NEWS Links to stories for those of you who are within the NPS… Today's combined NPS/NIFC fire report: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewfirenpsnewsarticle&type=FireManagement&id=586" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewfirenpsnewsarticle&type=FireManagement&id=586 An article from the Christian Science Monitor on ARPA thefts in the U.S., including the NPS: HYPERLINK "http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0426/p03s03-ussc.html" http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0426/p03s03-ussc.html * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |