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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Friday, July 28, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Grand Canyon NP Search For Missing Hiker Enters Twelfth Day Rangers continue their search for a 19-year-old hiker who has been missing since Sunday, July 16th. I.S., a Grand Canyon resident and Ukrainian citizen, was reported missing by her hiking partner on July 17th. Rangers have been searching for I.S. since then. Search efforts have focused on areas below the South Rim, including Hermit, Boucher and Tonto trails and adjacent backcountry areas and the 25-mile-long stretch of the Colorado River from Hermit Creek to Blacktail Canyon. Late last week, rangers found two shoes that they believe I.S. was wearing when she disappeared. Both shoes were found in the Colorado River. No further evidence has been found since then. Helicopter operations have been scaled back until Saturday, which will be 14 days after her disappearance. Analysis of previous Colorado River searches indicates that the probability of locating someone in the river increases after 14 to 16 days. Backcountry patrol rangers also continue to search for I.S. during regular patrols. Backcountry users and boaters on the Colorado River have been asked to watch for any signs of I.S. and report any sightings. [Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Officer] Denali NP&P Lost Hiker Reappears During Major SAR On Friday, June 30th, rangers began what turned out to be a successful search for an overdue hiker from one of the private lodges in Kantishna. A 60-year-old Texas man had begun a hike near Grassy Pass at mile 68 on the Denali Park Road around 7 a.m. that morning. He told staff at the lodge that he intended to hike to the northeast on a ten-mile cross-country route that he had hiked during previous summers and return by 7 p.m. to a pickup point further east on the park road. By 10 p.m., he still had not appeared at the pickup point, so a hasty search of his travel route was begun by park rangers and staff from one of the lodges located on private land in Kantishna. A full search ensued on the next morning. More than 30 NPS employees and a contract helicopter were utilized to search the major drainages and canyons within the highest probability search area. Efforts were being intensified when the park was notified around 1:30 p.m. that the hiker had returned to his lodge. Despite having hiked the route before, the hiker went over 14 miles in the opposite direction of his intended route, forcing his way through dense brush and clouds of mosquitoes. He stumbled upon a cabin occupied by park inholders Saturday morning, where they fed him breakfast and then returned him to his lodge. He was exhausted and suffering from numerous insect bites, but otherwise in good condition. [Dan Fangen-Gritis, IC] Blue Ridge Parkway Rangers Save Life Of Man With Severed Hand A man arrived at the Rocky Knob Visitor Center around 4 p.m. on July 21st, seeking treatment for a severe injury caused in a chainsaw accident. The man had suffered a laceration that resulted in one of his hands being severed at the wrist. NPS personnel and a Floyd County deputy provided medical care until EMS arrived. This initial care saved his life, and his hand was successfully reattached. The man could not provide any information on the cause or location of the accident, so rangers, a county deputy and a state police officer and search dog backtracked from the point where the man's vehicle had been parked to the scene of the accident. It appears that the patient severed his hand, recovered it, walked some distance in steep terrain to his vehicle, then drove to the visitor center. The investigation has been transferred to the Floyd County Sheriff's Office. Greg Johnston is the case ranger. [John Garrison, Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS Other news of interest from today's edition of InsideNPS, which can be found at this address if your inside the NPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) and at this address if you're outside the NPS ( HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://www.nps.gov/applications/digest/). Note that not all articles that appear in the former make it into the latter: Media - News article on report on global warming threats to a dozen western parks. Zion - Article on the retirement of R&T foreman Jeff Ballard. SLETP - Job announcement for director of one of the seasonal LE training program academies. Training - The weekly training calendar has been updated and posted. Events - The weekly events calendar has been updated and posted. * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |