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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, March 16, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Buffalo NR Three Charged In Campground Brawl During the afternoon of Saturday, March 10th, a group of 15 men and women in their early 20's set up camp at Steel Creek Campground. Members of the group apparently knew each other from working at the Olive Garden restaurant in Fayetteville, Arkansas. A law enforcement ranger made contact with them after 4 p.m. and warned them about their loud radio and group size, instructing them to spread out to more than one campsite. After the ranger left, two men in their early 20's on horseback stopped at the campsite and offered rides to several of the women. The pair continued to hang out with the group into the evening, when group members began to consume a considerable amount of alcohol. A man in the camping group did not like the advances that one of the riders was making toward his girlfriend and made a racial comment to him. The two men then began yelling and cursing at each other. The two horseback riders broke away, loaded up their horses, and left the campground around 7:30 p.m. They returned in a different vehicle around 11 p.m., but with another five to ten men with them. A confrontation followed with the camping group, with one of the riders striking people with a metal pipe. The other rider apparently tried to stop the fight, but the jealous boyfriend confronted him. The girlfriend got in between the two men and was struck in the head by the rider when he attempted to punch the boyfriend. Another man in the camping party grabbed the pipe and began repeatedly striking the rider on the head and back. At about 12:30 a.m., the Newton County Sheriff's Office received a call reporting a fight in progress with weapons involved and a possible fatality. Deputies, Arkansas state troopers, rangers and an ambulance company responded to the remote location. The groups had in the meanwhile separated. As the group of locals returned to their vehicle, they vandalized two parked cars. Before driving away, they made the comment that they were high on crystal meth and that nothing could hurt them. Based on information provided by one of the reporting parties, two of the men were immediately apprehended at their homes in Compton, Arkansas. Other units at the campground began treating injuries and taking witness statements. Two men from the camping group were transported to Northern Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Harrison, Arkansas, where they were treated for minor injuries and released. The two men who were arrested in Compton refused to provide information on the identities of the others involved. Both were charged by Newton County with third degree battery and disorderly conduct. One of the men in the camping party was charged with the same offenses. [Lee Buschkowsky, Upper District Ranger] Big South Fork NRRA Search In Progress For Missing Backpackers The park received a 911 call on the evening of March 13th reporting that two backpackers were lost in a very dense and rough part of the park. A search was begun for their car to narrow down the search area, which is very large, but it had not yet been found as of Wednesday morning. Additional searchers and helicopters were being brought in. [Frank Graham, Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS The following stories can be read on either the InsideNPS web site (if you are within the National Park Service) or at the InsideNPS public ‘news digest' site (if you are outside of the NPS). The web sites appear below: Andersonville NHS - A living history weekend was held to give visitors an idea of what conditions were like in the camp during the Civil War. Big Bend NP - The park is proposing a major trail realignment of the existing Emory Peak trail in the high Chisos Mountains. Public comments are being sought. Amistad NRA - Annmarie Mikelski, 47, will be retiring (disability) from federal service on March 16th due to complications from chronic Lyme disease. Jobs - Three announcements in today's edition - GS-13/14 super for Wind Cave, GS-7/9 protection ranger detail at Yellowstone, and GS-6/7 fire program management assistant at Mesa Verde. For more information, go to InsideNPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) or NPS Digest ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-426-2430). --- ### --- |