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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, June 1, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Yellowstone NP Stabbing, Barricade Confrontation Peaceably Resolved The park's communication center received a 911 call around 2:30 a.m. on the morning of May 31st calling for assistance at Yellowstone Lake Lodge Cabins, where a 62-year-old visitor from Oklahoma had just stabbed his friend and barricaded himself in his cabin. The man was screaming loudly, breaking glass, and apparently hallucinating that people were trying to kill him. He had no previous associated medical history, and drugs and alcohol were apparently not involved. Adjacent cabins were evacuated and perimeters were established. While Yellowstone's special response team secured the perimeter of the cabin, the man came out of the cabin and team members took him into custody. The man was transported to a nearby medical facility for treatment of minor lacerations from breaking windows and possibly a mental health evaluation. The stabbing victim received only superficial wounds and was treated and released. Ranger Frank Deluca served as incident commander. [Rick Obernesser, Chief Ranger] North Cascades NP Rangers Assist In Hunt For Man Who Assaulted Officer On Sunday, May 27th, Washington State Patrol officers asked the park for assistance during a pursuit of a motorcyclist who was headed into the park. The incident began on Highway 20 outside of Marblemount when a trooper attempted to stop the motorcyclist for traffic violations. The pursuit continued up Cascade River Road, where the operator finally stopped at Marble Creek campground in a Forest Service area adjacent to the park. A foot chase ensued, during which the suspect circled around behind the trooper and stole his patrol vehicle. He then tried to run over the trooper, at which time the trooper shot at and wounded him. The man continued on down Cascade River Road, where he eventually crashed the patrol car. Rangers set up checkpoints along the road; a Skagit County canine unit was brought in to search for the man and eventually found him. Ranger Andy Blake provided EMS until an ambulance arrived on scene. The man was flown by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He appeared to be under the influence of alcohol when arrested and was found to have several outstanding misdemeanor warrants posted against him. [Kinsey Shilling, Chief Ranger] C&O Canal NHP Suicide Thwarted Through Timely Intervention Rangers had just cleared from an incident at Antietam Creek campground at about 3:15 a.m. on May 23rd when they came upon a semi-responsive man lying in a fetal position on the ground beside a picnic table. When they checked his campsite, they found numerous prescription medications and a possible suicide note. They immediately began treating him, during which time he handed one of the rangers a card for a funeral home should he expire. Rangers had him stabilized by the time advanced life support personnel arrived on scene and took him to Washington County Hospital. He was treated and released from the hospital. Further investigation confirmed that this had been a suicide attempt. [Ryan Peabody] Haleakala NP Two Serious Bicycle Accidents Rangers and park staff dealt with two bike accident with serious injuries last week. The first incident occurred on Wednesday, May 23rd, and involved a tour leader for a bike company who'd ridden the park road “hundreds of times.” He was looking over his shoulder at the group he was leading when he failed to make a turn at the 8,500-foot level and plummeted over a 12-foot cliff, landing in a field of sharp lava boulders. He sustained severe leg and hip injuries and head lacerations. Many members of the park staff assisted with traffic control and extricating the man from the gorge. He was flown by helicopter to an area hospital. Six days later, rangers responded to another bicycling accident. A 13-year-old boy lost control of his bike, hit road curbing, and landed in rocks. He sustained a deep cut on his knee and minor bruising and lacerations on his side. An ambulance was dispatched, but was turned back since the injuries were not life threatening. [Dominic Cardea, Public Affairs Officer] 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: Director's Office - Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne and Director Mary Bomar unveiled the National Park Centennial Initiative Report to the President Thursday in a roof top press conference at the Interior building. NPS Alumni - Gary Kiramidjian, former chief ranger at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, died on May 29th of an apparent heart attack while playing softball near his home in Boise, Idaho. He was 57. Training - The weekly listing of upcoming training courses offered by both the NPS and its partners across the nation. Newly added this week are a motorboat operator instructor course at Everglades, a fundamental principles of administration course in Phoenix, and a host of new FLETC training courses. Events - Today's listing of upcoming NPS and NPS-related events across the nation. Added is this year's Ranger Rendezvous, which will be in Utah in October. 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). --- ### --- |