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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, May 24, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Canaveral NS Man Drowns At Playalinda Beach Kennedy Space Center dispatch notified protection rangers of a possible drowning in the park shortly after 4 p.m. on Monday, May 21st. Rangers and incoming seasonal lifeguards immediately began a search for the victim. He was soon found face down in the water about 150 yards offshore. Seasonal lead lifeguard Ray Propost and lifeguard David Ward entered the ocean while lifeguard Todd Bittner provided directions from shore, guiding the two guards to the victim's location. Propst and Ward retrieved him and brought him to shore, where Kennedy Space Center rescuers began resuscitation efforts. They were unable to revive him. The victim, a 20-year-old Ohio man, had been in Florida on vacation for only a short period of time. An investigation is underway. [Dan Gillam, South District Ranger] Grand Canyon NP Possible Heat-Related Death On May 17th, the park was notified of a fatality in the inner canyon near the junction of Tonto Trail and Ruby Canyon. A.G., 56, of Salem, Oregon, had been hiking with five companions when she began having difficulties a few days prior to her death. Two members of the group hiked out to get help, while the others stayed with her. She subsequently expired. Another hiking group came upon A.G. and her companions; when they learned that she'd died, they hiked down to the river and flagged down a passing river trip, one of whose members notified the park via satellite phone. Rangers recovered the body and turned it over to the medical examiner's office in Flagstaff. Early indications are that her death may have been heat-related. [Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Officer] Buffalo NR Death Of Man Found In River Ruled A Suicide The body of a 43-year-old man was recovered by rangers from the Buffalo River near Carver Landing on the morning of May 16th. The man had been reported missing by his family after failing to return home the previous night. The man's uncle found his wrecked pickup in the woods off Highway 123 just south of Carver Bridge and followed a blood trail to the river's edge. A hasty search was begun by the Newton County Sheriff's Office and rangers were called in to assist. As they were arriving, the man's body was spotted underwater just downstream from the point where the blood trail ended. An NPS johnboat was launched and the body was retrieved from the river. Based on statements he made to acquaintances and evidence found on his body and at the spot where the pickup was located, the death has been ruled a suicide. The body was sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy. [Lee Buschkowsky, Upper District Ranger] Gateway NRA Suicide Victim Found At Fort Tilden The Park Police received a 911 call just after noon on May 17th reporting a body found hanging inside the munitions building adjacent to Battery Harris at Fort Tilden. USPP and NYPD officers and detectives responded, as did city EMS personnel. The victim was a 38-year-old man from Cape Coral, Florida. The medical examiner ruled the death a suicide. A note in the man's pocket indicated that he'd had drinking problems and was attempting to get his life in order. [Capt. Bruce Cunningham, Commander, New York Field Office] OTHER NEWS The following stories (among others) 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: Yosemite NP - On May 10th, representatives from Yosemite National Park and Chile's National Forest Corporation (CONAF) and Torres del Paine National Park signed a sister park agreement that promotes increased cooperation in the management of protected natural resources. Grand Canyon NP - Monday's InsideNPS carried a brief note about the upcoming retirement of ranger Ronnie Gibson, who will be leaving the NPS at the beginning of June following 27 years as an NPS law enforcement ranger. Today's edition contains some information on his career. NPS Alumni - “Mike” Kelley, 64, wife of retired ranger Ken Kelley, passed away on Tuesday, May 22nd, at her home in South Carolina. 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). --- ### --- |