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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Friday, August 25, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Coronado NM Part Of Park Reopens To Visitors The park continues to recover from the flooding that severely damaged facilities last month. Effective this coming Monday, visitors will be allowed to enter the park and drive to the visitor center, which will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Restrooms will be functional. Although the water system is still undergoing repairs, bottled drinking will be sold on site. Despite this partial reopening, there are still many areas of the park that are considered hazardous due to rubble, debris, and instability. In the interest of public safety, visitors will not be allowed into these areas. Prohibited areas include all trails, any areas off the paved road, the picnic area, and the road to Montezuma Pass beyond the visitor center. These restrictions apply to all traffic, including pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. Rangers will be on duty to enforce these closures. For more information, call 520-366-5515. [Leigh Carter, Information Officer/Park Ranger] Golden Gate NRA Gunman Shoots Two, Commits Suicide A gunman shot two hang-gliding enthusiasts in the Fort Funston parking lot on the evening of August 21st, then committed suicide. W.S., 59, had been seen loitering for hours in the area before opening fire about 7 p.m. The shooting wounded two men, one of whom was fighting for his life late Tuesday at San Francisco General Hospital. The other man's injuries were not life-threatening. About ten people saw the shooting, including one who was soaring overhead on a hang glider. An off-duty San Francisco police officer had spotted the man in the late afternoon and had been watching him off and on because he seemed out of place. W.S.'s first victim had just finished hang gliding when he was shot in the head and chest. A second man who had been hang gliding fled and was shot in the leg before bystanders hustled him to safety. Following the second shooting, W.S.'s .22-caliber handgun either jammed or ran out of ammunition. He then pulled out another weapon from a bag he had left near a truck in the lot and shot himself. Police found dozens of rounds of ammunition in the bag. It appears that the shootings were random. W.S. had declared bankruptcy in 2004 and was evicted from his last known residence more than a year ago. [San Francisco Chronicle] Delaware Water Gap NRA Traffic Stop Leads To Arrest Of Felon On August 24th, ranger Troy Mueller stopped a vehicle for an inspection and registration violation on Route 209 in the park's Pennsylvania District. A check of the registration showed it was from another vehicle. The state required inspection sticker was not valid, and the male driver and sole occupant had no proof that the vehicle was insured. He said that he didn't have a license with him, and showed Mueller an addressed envelope, claiming that the name on it was his. When pressed, the driver gave another name, but no identification other than a credit card with that name. At that point, Mueller placed him under arrest. A search incident to arrest revealed a small quantity of heroin and cocaine. An inventory of the vehicle led to the discovery of seven small packages of marijuana and a Davis P-380 semi-automatic pistol concealed under the floor mat on the front passenger side. The floor was recessed so that there were no noticeable bulges. Further investigation showed the driver had given his correct name the second time he was asked. A check of his name and date of birth showed him to be a convicted felon and a member and possibly the leader of the Latin Kings street gang. He was taken to federal court, where he was charged as a felon in possession of a firearm. On August 22nd, the federal grand jury in Scranton returned two felony indictments against him. [Phil Selleck, Chief Ranger] Zion NP Falling Fatality B.V., 29, of Las Vegas, Nevada, fell to her death while hiking in the park on Tuesday, August 22nd. The fall was from Angels Landing, one of the most popular hiking destinations in the park. A 911 call was placed by her husband via cell phone. At approximately 6:30 a.m., the park dispatch office was notified of the call. A search and rescue operation was mobilized and a helicopter was called in to assist. At approximately 8:25 a.m., the helicopter located her body on a talus slope approximately 1,200 feet below the summit of Angels Landing. A ground search and rescue team recovered her body A joint investigation by the NPS and county sheriff's office is underway. [Ron Terry] 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: NPS History - Remembrance of Stephen Mather on Founder's Day. Lake Mead - New article on continued shrinking of the lake due to drought. * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |