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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, June 4, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Yellowstone NP Pursuit And Manhunt Leads To Three Arrests A Gallatin/River District ranger was on patrol on Highway 191 on May 28th when a vehicle passed her at over 80 miles per hour. She pursued, but the driver refused to stop and continued for another ten miles at speeds up to 100 mph before the vehicle went off the road and three occupants jumped out and fled into the woods. Responding rangers and agents were joined in their search for the three men by officers from West Yellowstone and Gallatin County. A perimeter was established, and an NPS canine unit and tactical trackers from the park's special response team began following scent and tracks in an area about six miles outside West Yellowstone, eventually losing both when the tracks returned to the highway. Meanwhile, investigators eventually determined the name of the owner and suspected driver of the unregistered and unlicensed vehicle, and contacted the operator's family and probation officer. About an hour after the search was suspended, investigators discovered that one of the suspects was making calls from a cell phone that belonged to someone who lived in Bend, Oregon, and were able to identify the name of the phone's subscriber. With the assistance of police in Bend, they were able to make contact with people at the suspect's residence in Oregon and determined that one family member was staying at a remote cabin somewhere near West Yellowstone. A ranger recognized the name of the person from Bend and knew the location of his cabin. A squad of Gallatin officers and NPS rangers went to the cabin, found the phone subscriber from Oregon, and determined that he was okay and unaware that his truck and cell phone had just been stolen. For the next two days, NPS and Gallatin County investigators developed leads and contacts in the park and county and established the identities of all three of the people who'd been in the first vehicle and had then stolen the second vehicle. On May 30th, investigators determined that all three were at a bus terminal in Salt Lake City and that one of them was possibly armed with a handgun. Salt Lake City PD officers took all three into custody and recovered the stolen truck. The principal in this case faces state charges in Utah and in Gallatin and Park Counties in Montana and federal charges in the park. These include auto theft, possession of stolen property, criminal evading and probation violations. The initial search and the manhunt involved more than 20 officers from three jurisdictions. The park and Gallatin County operated under joint command; the NPS IC was Julie Hannaford. [Brian Smith, Special Agent In Charge] Yosemite NP Driver Rescued From Vehicle In Merced River Off-duty dispatcher Ansley Rothell radioed park dispatch just after 10:30 p.m. on May 25th, reporting that she thought she'd heard cries for help coming from above the old El Portal housing community. Rangers from Yosemite Valley and El Portal were dispatched to investigate. Shortly thereafter, dispatch received another report of cries for help, narrowing the location to the Merced River in the area of Crane Creek off Highway 140. The park's swift water team and numerous patrol, fire and rescue units all responded. Ranger Brendan Bonner found a vehicle in the river with the driver, R.Y. of Brooklyn, New York, wedged between river boulders around mid-stream. The swift water team rescued him, utilizing a tethered river board. R.Y. said that he'd become disoriented when an oncoming motorist failed to dim his headlights, causing him to drove off the road and into the river. Following the rescue, R.Y.'s vehicle became submerged in the river. The California Highway Patrol is investigating. The Mariposa County Sheriff's Department was an active participant in the rescue and the vehicle recovery effort. Jason Gayeski was IC. [Charles Cuvelier, Deputy Chief Ranger] Yosemite NP Visitor Falls Into River And Drowns On May 19th, K.Y., 27, of Santa Clara and India, went hiking on the Vernal-Nevada Falls Trail with a group of friends. K.Y. left the trail and walked about 10 yards to the edge of the Merced River, where he slipped and fell in. Witnesses reported that they'd seen him in the river below the Vernal Falls footbridge, but that he'd then disappeared. Search efforts began in earnest when the park received a call for assistance. Search dogs alerted along the river downstream from the footbridge the following day. Although past its peak spring runoff, the river continues to run at a significant volume, and its velocity near the footbridge made it too hazardous for SAR personnel to enter the water. On Tuesday, May 29th, K.Y.'s body was spotted by a park ranger. The recovery, which entailed the use of a high line, took about three-and-a-half hours. Mike Foster and Jack Hoeflich were incident commanders during the initial search and later recovery efforts. [Charles Cuvelier, Deputy Chief Ranger] 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: USS Arizona - On Monday, May 29th, visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial were treated to several special events, including stories about the attack shared by nine survivors. Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center - The Lessons Learned Center has two new publications out - one on wildland-urban interface lessons, the other containing a toolbox for hurricane responses. Jobs - Two postings today, one for a GL9 STF protection ranger (lateral) at NOCA and the other for a GS-12 assistant chief ranger at NATR. 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). --- ### --- |