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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, June 8, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Virgin Islands NP Illegal Immigrants From Haiti Apprehended Virgin Islands PD officers stopped a safari-style taxi on Centerline Road inside the park around 11 p.m. on June 1st and found 32 people inside, all Haitian nationals who'd been smuggled onto one of the park's southside beaches earlier that evening. They were held overnight on St. John, then transported to St. Thomas the next day by rangers and Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources officers and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for interviewing and possible deportation. ICE, VIPD and the park are following up on the investigation. A taxi operating under a commercial use agreement in the park may have been involved. Later that day, rangers investigated the probable drop area - a remote beach on Ramshead Bay - and found numerous bags of trash, piles of wet clothing, and human waste. They spent the afternoon cleaning the area and hauling out the refuse. Undocumented migrants continue to be smuggled into the U.S. via St. John, landing almost exclusively on park beaches. These incidents appear to be occurring about once every two weeks at a minimum. The smuggling activity causes aesthetic damage due to clothes and trash left behind and may also damage aquatic resources when the smuggling vessels beach and anchor. [Mark Marschall, Chief Ranger] Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP Search For Lost Couple Ends Successfully A couple on a three-day hike into the High Sierra in Sequoia NP in late May encountered a snowfield that covered the trail. Unprepared to cross it, they made the right decision to hike an extra 18 miles and return to their vehicle by a snow-free route. This, however, delayed the time of their expected return, and concerned family members accordingly contacted the park. About 20 rangers and California Highway Patrol officers began a search for them and a search helicopter was brought in. The pair were spotted from the helicopter on May 29th as they made their way back to Mineral King. They were within two miles of the trailhead - unhurt, but exhausted. [Alexandra Picavet, Public Affairs Officer] Chickasaw NRA Body Of Missing Man Recovered From Lake On the evening Sunday, June 3rd, members of a group swimming in Lake of the Arbuckles realized that one of their members - N.G., 29 - had been missing for 20 to 30 minutes and began searching for him. Park staff arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. With assistance from bystanders, they organized a human chain and swept the area where N.G. had last been seen, but without success. A park boat and crew were then dispatched and began dragging the area, again with no results. The search was suspended due to darkness, then resumed the following morning with assistance from an Oklahoma Highway Patrol dive team. N.G.'s body was found in about 11 feet of water, approximately 15 yards from shore and in the same area where he'd last been seen. [Susie Staples, Public Information 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: Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance - National Trails Day was celebrated last Saturday with events across the country, including everything from dedication of water trails to mountain bike rides to trail restoration and maintenance. 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). --- ### --- |