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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, November 2, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Biscayne NP Columbus Day Weekend Event During the weekend of October 6th through October 9th, Biscayne National Park hosted a Columbus Day weekend event that drew thousands of boats and visitors to an area in the middle of the park close to Elliott Key. This annual event was one of the most successful in the park's history. Never before had so many police departments provided assistance; four branches of the Coast Guard also helped out, with some Coast Guard officers backing up rangers. Rangers from Biscayne, Everglades and Big Cypress were highly successful in stopping intoxicated boat operators during the weekend and made many controlled substance and other cases. Altogether, they made 18 arrests for boating under the influence; issued numerous citations for reckless operation, safety equipment and documentation violations; and made six controlled substance and seven preservation of natural resources (grounding) cases. They also dealt with numerous medical incidents. Unfortunately, two people lost their lives during the weekend, both outside park boundaries. The two were killed when a boat crashed into their vessel, which was being towed at night after dark near downtown Miami. Both boats were returning from the event. It's not yet known whether alcohol was a factor. Many area law enforcement and emergency services agencies helped the park in managing the event, including Miami-Dade Police Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, United States Coast Guard, Aventura Police Department, Key Biscayne Police Department, Coral Gables Police Department, Broward Sheriff's Office, City of Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Fire Department and North Miami Police Department. [Didier C. Carod, Law Enforcement Specialist] North Cascades NP Medical Rescue Leads To Felony Arrest On October 26th, a man contacted rangers and reported that his wife had been experiencing severe abdominal pain for several days and that she remained at a remote backcountry campsite alone, awaiting help. The ensuing rescue effort was hampered by poor weather, but rangers and volunteers from Bellingham Mountain Rescue were able to reach her and begin providing emergency care. During a window of good weather on October 28th, she was evacuated by helicopter and taken to a hospital. The woman then underwent surgery for an ectopic pregnancy that doctors said would otherwise have been fatal that day. Follow-up interviews by a ranger on the couple's unusual backcountry trip revealed that the husband and wife were using aliases during the incident. The man was found to have a warrant out against him. He was arrested and extradited to Michigan. The couple was actually trying to flee into Canada via the 20-mile-long trail that leads into British Columbia. [Chief Ranger's Office] OTHER NEWS Other news from today's edition of InsideNPS, the National Park Service's home page: A WASO employee has developed a web page with photos of park entrance signs, and is collecting more. A link is provided to the page. A copy of Tuesday's memo from Director Bomar to the field is included on the front page. More information has been received on the public service to be held on Sunday for the five firefighters who died in California. News story on the proposal to renovate the National Mall. Kathleen Jenkins has been named superintendent of Natchez NHP. To link to InsideNPS, click on HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/ * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |