NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT


BLACKBERRY EDITION


Wednesday, August 23, 2006


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INCIDENTS


Yellowstone NP

Arrest For Identity Theft, Illegal Immigration


Park rangers and special agents participated in a joint interdiction and saturation patrol operation on Highway 191 on the west side of the park on May 4th and 5th along with county, state and federal officers. More than 30 arrests were made for violations that included DUI, drug possession, driving under suspension, immigration violations and outstanding warrants. On May 5th, the registered owner of a vehicle that had been impounded in one of the immigration cases visited the Gallatin Ranger Office in an attempt to recover it. Following routine checks on him, he was arrested by rangers for driving while his license was suspended. A park special agent who was reviewing the case noted discrepancies in the man's stated identity and the booking photos. Investigation revealed that he was a convicted felon who had been deported several times for being an illegal alien, that he'd returned to the United States and stolen the identity of a U.S. citizen, that he'd spent several years in Montana under this identity, and that he'd been both arrested and jailed while operating under the false identity. The man was rebooked into the Yellowstone jail under his proper identity and charged via criminal complaint for a felony violation of Title 8 of the United States code. On July 19th, he was indicted by a federal grand jury for violating Section 1326(a)(1) of that title (being an illegal alien and a deported felon in the U.S.). The case is set for trial on October 26th. He remains in federal custody pending plea or trial. This statute carries a prison sentence of up to ten years. The FBI, ICE and Montana DCI assisted in the case. [Brian Smith, Special Agent In Charge]


Great Smoky Mountains NP

Ginseng Poaching


In early August, rangers Gene Wesloh and Pat Patten found signs of recent ginseng digging in the Lakeview area. The signs revealed that the poaching activity was ongoing, so they set up a surveillance operation. On the evening of August 12th, Wesloh was dropped off and had just set up a surveillance post off the Lakeview Road when he saw a man furtively cross the road about 100 yards form his location. The rangers tracked him through the woods while simultaneously attempting to monitor vehicles coming into the area. They found tracks and other evidence, including a ginseng digging stick that had been tossed a short distance into the brush from the road edge, but were not able to find the man. The rangers returned to the area on the following morning and found two distinct, parallel sets of tracks, revealing that there were two possible suspects. They also found a second ginseng digging stick. Next to it and hidden under a thick mat of honeysuckle vines was a daypack containing 103 freshly-dug ginseng roots. The park also contained a handheld propane torch, a glass methamphetamine pipe with meth residue inside, and several other items. The park and North Carolina Department of Wildlife have set up a ginseng marking program to help identify plants poached from the park. The plants in the pack were examined by state plant specialist Jim Corbin, who confirmed that some of the roots contained orange marking powder that revealed they'd been dug up from within the park. Two roots were kept for evident and the remainder were replanted. Rangers are continuing the investigation and follow-up patrols in the area. [Rick Brown, Acting Chief Ranger]


New River Gorge NR

Apparent Drowning, Body Recovery


At 8 a.m. on Saturday, August 19th, rangers were notified that a fisherman on the New River at the Grandview Sandbar camping area had seen a body in the river. Rangers and a special agent assigned to the park responded along with local police and EMS. The victim, a 32-year-old man from the Beckley area who was employed at a local jail as a corrections officer, was found lodged against a rock about a quarter mile downstream from the campground. Rangers recovered the body, which was transported upriver by a Beaver FD rescue boat to a Jan-Care ambulance. All indications are that the man drowned, but results of the autopsy are still pending. [Gary Hartley, Chief Ranger]


Catoctin MP

Hiker Rescued At Chimney Rock


On August 13th, a man and his family went on a hike to the Chimney Rock overlook. While hopping between the house-sized boulders there, he lost his footing and fell between two rock formations. Area technical rescue teams responded to assist park rangers with emergency care. A Maryland state helicopter performed a short-haul extrication of the injured man, who suffered lacerations to his face and abdomen and a possible broken leg. [Holly Rife, 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:


Perry's Victory - The park's monument, closed two months ago when part of it fell off, has reopened.


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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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