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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Friday, June 9, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Fort Davis NHS Stolen Weapons Recovered On June 6th, federal agents, with the assistance of local and state authorities from the states of Texas and North Carolina, recovered the firearms and artifacts stolen from the park last April. They are now in federal custody, as is a suspect in the theft. Another suspect is cooperating fully with investigating authorities. The case is scheduled to go before a grand jury in Pecos, Texas, on June 15th.The recovered weapons include seven 19th century firearms, including five revolvers and two pistols. A number of other historic artifacts were also been recovered. The recovery was made possible by the excellent cooperation and work of the sheriffs of Jeff Davis and Brewster Counties, the Texas Rangers, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms , Immigration & Customs Enforcement officials, National Park Service special agents and the United States Attorney's Office in Alpine, Texas. The firearms and artifacts will be returned to the park in the near future. [Chuck Hunt, Interim Superintendent] Grand Teton NP Teenage Visitor Kicked by Moose Teton Interagency Dispatch received a radio call on June 6th reporting that a visitor from South Korea had been charged and injured by a female moose that was in the vicinity of the Colter Bay Visitor Center with her two newborn calves. Rangers were soon on-scene and provided emergency medical assistance. A park ambulance transported the injured 16-year-old boy to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson. The boy had been taking photos of the animals and had gotten too close - about ten feet from the moose and calves. He began running away when the moose charged him, but the moose reached him quickly and kicked him in the head. Earlier that day, staff at the Colter Bay Visitor Center called the dispatch center to report that a woman with two children had been hiking the Lakeshore Trail and had been charged by the same moose. Due to these incidents, rangers instituted a temporary closure of a paved section of the Lakeshore Trail just beyond the Colter Bay amphitheater. At 9:30 p.m. that evening, the moose was still in the area. On Wednesday morning, after seeing no sign of the moose, rangers were able to reopen the area to the public. Rangers are monitoring the area, and there may continue to be intermittent closures. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Specialist] Harpers Ferry NHP Attempted Suicide; Rescue On the afternoon of June 2nd, rangers and emergency responders in Jefferson County. West Virginia, were notified of an injured person at the base of Loudoun Heights (part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park) on the shoulder of Highway 340. Initial reports were confused about whether the victim had been struck by a car or if he had fallen off the mountainside. Rangers assisted in the treatment and packaging of the patient, who had suffered a significant head injury, facial trauma and multiple abrasions and avulsions on his legs and torso. The rangers were able to quickly determine that the victim had fallen and could trace his fall line through the brush and debris on the hillside. A ranger found his wallet in his pants and suicide notes to his wife and parents. The information was passed on to the medics. The park is an area of concurrent jurisdiction and rangers investigated the incident with Loudoun County Sheriff's Department officers. A ranger ascended the area adjacent to the fall line and documented the fall. He was also able to collect additional personal effects that the man had left at the site that he jumped from. The fall was approximately 200 feet down a steep wooded slope covered with rocks and brush. [Jennifer Flynn, Chief Ranger] New River Gorge NR Man Drowns, Second Man Rescued The park receive a report of a missing swimmer in the McKendree area around 10 p.m. on Thursday, June 1st. A ranger responded along with state police and a local EMS provider. They found a group of intoxicated people searching for a missing swimmer. According to several members of the group, three of the men attempted to swim across the river to a large rock. Two of the swimmers made it to the rock and climbed up on it, then shouted back to the third swimmer, asking if he was O.K. The swimmer, a 24-year-old man from Sophia, West Virginia, said he was okay, but called out for help after swimming a few more strokes. He then slipped under the water and did not surface. Several members of the group searched the area for about an hour before attempting to flag down a CSX train passing through the New River Gorge. When the train failed to stop, one of the parties drove to the town of Prince and called 911. Members of the Danese Volunteer Fire Department assisted with a hasty search of the area. Although they didn't find the missing swimmer, the did find a member of the group who was passed out in the river along the shore with only a portion of his head and mouth above the water. He was retrieved from the river, treated for hypothermia and a twisted ankle, then taken to the hospital. Once the other members of the party were all accounted for, search efforts were suspended until daylight. The search continued for the next two days, employing several park boats with sonar units, dive teams, and a state police helicopter. On the morning of Sunday, June 5th, rangers and volunteers from Danese VFD started the day by conducting a visual search of the area immediately downstream of the point last seen. Approximately 150 yards from that point, they spotted the man's body floating in an eddy. The body was retrieved and turned over to the state medical examiner for further investigation in cooperation with the NPS and state police. [Gary Hartley, Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS Other news of interest from today's edition of InsideNPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/): USPP officer receives Hakim Farthing Award: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=1250" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=1250 Ranger positions open at LAME: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewjobdetails&type=Jobs&id=2414" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewjobdetails&type=Jobs&id=2414 Work begins on rehab of Paradise Inn and construction of VC at MORA: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=4532" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=4532 * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |