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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, June 12, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Hovenweep NM Follow-up On 1998 Shooting Incident On May 29, 1998, three men - J.M., 26, R.M., 26, and A.“M.”P., 30 - shot and killed a police officer in Cortez, Colorado, wounded two Montezuma County deputies, then fled into Utah. Shortly thereafter, a dispatcher at nearby Mesa Verde National Park notified Art Hutchinson, superintendent at Hovenweep, that the trio's truck was headed west toward his area. Hutchinson informed his staff and headed out to close the entrance gate. As he stopped to advise some visitors of the situation, he saw the pickup approaching him at a high rate of speed, so pulled his unmarked government sedan forward to avoid blocking the road, dove to the passenger seat, and laid low while steering the car toward a barrow pit. One or more of the three men fired approximately 20 rounds at the car, but only two struck it. No shots were fired at the visitors' vehicle. Hutchinson radioed dispatch, checked on the visitors and advised them to leave the area. The three men bypassed the monument's closed gates in favor of a side road about a mile further on, then abandoned the vehicle in a nearby canyon. A massive search involving at least 500 officers from more than 50 agencies - including rangers from parks throughout the Four Corners area - ensued and continued for many weeks, focusing at one time on a section of Glen Canyon NRA. R.M. was found dead a week after the Cortez shootings, and A.P.'s skeleton turned up 17 months later. But J.M. was never found. Last week, though, a cowboy walking through rugged Cross Canyon east of Hovenweep came upon bones and a camouflage backpack. A closer look revealed the pack was laden with pipe bombs. Authorities inspecting the site turned up an AK-47 assault rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition along with survival gear. Authorities are all but certain the remains are those of J.M. The remains have been delivered to the FBI for positive identification, but it may prove impossible to determine the cause of death. Investigators remain uncertain as to why the three men, decked out in camouflage and armed with automatic weapons and pipe bombs, stole a 2 1/2-ton water truck in Ignacio, Colorado, then drove it to a residential area the next morning in Cortez and shot and killed officer Dale Claxton after he pulled up behind them in his cruiser. HYPERLINK "http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/07/news070607_1.htm" http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/07/news070607_1.htm 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: Servicewide - President George W. Bush has proclaimed June 2007 as National Oceans Month and the National Park Service is inviting the public to participate by visiting some of the nation's most beautiful landscapes, above and below the water. Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service. DSC - Cultural resource specialist Harlan Unrau will retire from Denver Service Center's Division of Planning July 1st after more than 34 years with the National Park Service. 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). --- ### --- |