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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, May 23, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Buffalo NR Successful SAR For Missing Kayakers On the evening of Wednesday, May 18th, rangers met with a woman at Pruitt Landing who'd reported that her 19-year-old son and six-year-old granddaughter were missing from a kayaking trip on the river. She told rangers that the two had last been seen kayaking down the river from Pruitt sometime after noon and that they were supposed to try out the kayak, then return to Pruitt within the hour. Her son had invited his niece to go along, and she sat in front of him in the single-person kayak. The pair were dressed in swimwear and lifejackets and had just one bottle of water with them. Rangers from the Upper and Middle Districts attempted to locate the pair at various river access points downriver to Woolum Landing, approximately 26 miles away from Pruitt, while a kayak was launched from Pruitt to begin searching down the river. Several campers along the river reported seeing the kayak go by with the man paddling strongly and singing loudly, showing no signs of stopping. By 10:30 p.m., fog rising off the river dramatically reduced visibility and the river operation was halted until first light on Thursday. The parents described their son, a college student, as a genius, but very much lacking in common sense. They did offer some encouraging information, though - he had recently completed formal survival training. Overnight lows along the river dipped down below 40 degrees. An NPS johnboat was immediately launched in the morning, and searchers found the pair alive and well along the river approximately 23 miles from Pruitt. The man said that he was a “paddling machine” who didn't think about turning around until it started getting dark, despite numerous opportunities to stop and ask for help along the way. He at least used his recently acquired survival skills to stay warm overnight by building a large leaf pile and huddling in it with his niece. They were boated three miles downriver to the Woolum access, where they were reunited with other members of their family. [Lee Buschkowsky, Upper District Ranger] Lake Mead NRA Assault On Ranger Checked By Taser Last week, rangers responded to a report of an emotionally disturbed man who'd reportedly told people at the Lake Mead Trailer Village store that he'd been “swimming through blood.” The rangers contacted him near a vehicle that was packed with an assortment of items. He was standing behind the open driver's door and was wearing several layers of clothing, with a towel draped around his neck. He refused to comply with repeated requests to move away from the vehicle and show his hands. One ranger then drew a taser, while the other attempted to gain control of the man. The man then struck the second ranger, who also deployed a taser and subdued him. During the search incident to arrest, the rangers found a knife and carpet cutter within the towel draped around the man's neck. He was charged with assault on a federal officer and with carrying a concealed weapon. The park receives eight million visitors each year and on average arrests about 350 of them. Last year, rangers responded to 48 calls requiring either the display or use of force - 78% involving firearms, 18% involving intermediate defensive equipment (including physical control techniques), and 4% involving tasers. The taser program at Lake Mead was put into effect parkwide late last year. This year, rangers have responded to 26 calls requiring the display or use of force. Of these, 16 involved the display of a taser, with three of the 16 requiring use of the taser to gain compliance. This tool has permitted rangers to gain compliance without requiring them to draw their firearms or utilize intermediate defensive equipment or physical control techniques that entail a high exposure to and risk of serious injury and/or death. [Mary Hinson, Chief Ranger] Buffalo NR Arrest For Aggravated Assault Rangers Noel Mays, Eric Oaks, and Karl Keach (a field training program ranger) were driving home after completing firearms qualifications around 9 p.m. on May 9th when they were flagged down by a motorist just outside the park on Highway 7. They saw a man lying in a ditch and two women standing on the road. The women said that the man in the ditch had been severely beaten with a baseball bat, and that his assailant was still in the area and threatening another person. Rangers Lee Brumbaugh and Kelly Charbonneau arrived on scene shortly thereafter. Oaks and Charbonneau treated the injured man while Mays, Brumbaugh and Keach approached the residence where the assailant was located. The assailant - B.C. - retreated back into the house after the rangers contacted him and barricaded himself inside with another person. B.C. then fled from the area, but was later arrested by Newton County Sheriff's Department officers. Charges against him are pending. The injured man was taken to North Arkansas Regional Medical Center, where he's reported to be in critical condition. B.C. is currently on federal probation for assaulting a ranger two years ago. [Robert Maguire, Chief Ranger] Yosemite NP Multi-Agency Search For Missing Hiker On Sunday, May 13th, 40-year-old T.X. was hiking with family members in the woods in Sierra National Forest near the boundary with Yosemite when she became separated from her party. The family searched for her for five hours before driving to the nearby town of Oakhurst to call 911. Sheriff's deputies from Madera and Mariposa Counties joined Yosemite rangers in a hasty search of the area. While the point last seen was in Mariposa County, the majority of the search area was within Yosemite. Thirteen SAR personnel from Mariposa County and 31 SAR personnel from Yosemite participated in a ground search that began just before sunset. T.X., scared but uninjured, was found in a densely forested area approximately a half mile from the point last seen by a Mariposa County search team in the early morning hours of May 14th. [Charles Cuvelier, Deputy 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: Grand Canyon NP - On Thursday afternoon, the park will rededicate the historic Yavapai Observation Station during a special ceremony outside the newly rehabilitated structure. NPS Alumni - Tom D. Thomas, a well-known and beloved NPSer, passed away at his home in Oakton, Virginia, on May 16th after a short illness. Tom Thomas had an illustrious career in the NPS as an interpreter, trainer, and international affairs specialist. To see the above articles, 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/). For NPS incident reporting standards, go to HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363 * * * * * 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). --- ### --- |