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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, June 14, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Grand Teton NP Grizzly Attacks And Injures Visitor D.V., a 54-year-old resident of Lander, Wyoming, was injured by a grizzly bear around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, June 13th, while walking on the Wagon Road just below the corrals at Jackson Lake Lodge. D.V. surprised grizzly bear #399 and her three cubs, who were feeding on a freshly-killed elk carcass. The attack likely resulted from a defensive response by a bear, while protecting its food source. At this time, no adverse action will be taken against the bear involved in this incident. D.V. took an early morning walk at approximately 5:30 a.m. and was returning to his room at the lodge when the incident occurred. He reported watching an elk off to his right, then noticing the sow and her cubs approaching to his left, within ten feet of him. D.V. yelled, but one of the bears continued toward him; he yelled again, then jumped off the trail and laid on his stomach in a submissive posture. At this point, the bear inflicted puncture wounds and lacerations to D.V. before it was frightened off by the shouting of a Lodge Company wrangler who was nearby at the time. The wrangler administered emergency medical assistance to D.V. until park rangers arrived on the scene. A park ambulance then transported D.V. to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson for treatment of his injuries. Park officials have posted closures for the Wagon Road and trails in the Willow Flats area below Jackson Lake Lodge. Signs state that the area is closed due to bears frequenting the vicinity. The Wagon Road and trail closures will likely be in effect until the end of June, during the remainder of the elk calving season. Sow grizzly #399 and her three yearling cubs have been utilizing habitat in and around the Willow Flats area since emerging from hibernation this spring. This bear family has frequently been visible along park roadsides between Colter Bay and the Oxbow Bend turnout of the Snake River, one mile east of Jackson Lake Junction. These are not the only bears in the area; several other bears - black and grizzly - are also utilizing habitat in this location. This is the first bear incident involving injuries in Grand Teton National Park this year. The last time a grizzly injured a person in the park was in October of 2001, when a hunter from Minnesota surprised a bear on Schoolhouse Hill north of Moran Junction. That same year, a local resident was injured by a grizzly bear in March while backcountry skiing in the Upper Berry Creek area of the park. A previous grizzly-related injury in Grand Teton happened in August of 1994, when a jogger from Utah was attacked on the Emma Matilda Lake Trail. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer] Big Cypress NP Carjacking Victim Found In Park A Collier County deputy came upon a suspicious vehicle on Seagrape Drive near park headquarters just after noon on Monday, June 11th. As he approached it, he heard a woman screaming from the car's trunk. When he released her, she told him that she'd been carjacked in the Port Charlotte area, about 100 miles north of the park, around 7:30 a.m. that morning. An armed man had approached her when she was stopped at a stop sign and forced his way into her car. He told her to continue driving, asked her for money, then rifled through her purse but found nothing. After driving around aimlessly, he told her that they had to ditch the car. He directed her to Seagrape Drive, forced her into the trunk, then evidently left the area. It appears that only 15 to 20 minutes passed before the deputy came upon her. County officers and rangers coordinated a joint response, patrolling the few roads, parking lots and buildings in the area by car, nearby waters by boat, grounds by foot with a canine unit, and the entire area by air with two helicopters. The suspect was not found. The county's major crimes unit is leading the investigation. The FBI is monitoring the case. As a safety precaution, a lockdown of park headquarters and the visitor center was ordered at the onset of the incident. After more information was obtained, employees were sent home early and rangers conducted a staged evacuation of buildings, first clearing vehicles in the lot, then escorting employees to them. [Ed Clark, Chief Ranger] Curecanti NRA Violent Criminal Indicted By Federal Grand Jury On July 3, 2006, the Gunnison County Sheriff's Office notified the park that there was a man at the Gunnison Valley Hospital with a gunshot to his forearm who claimed that he'd been shot while fishing along the shoreline of Blue Mesa Reservoir. An NPS special agent and the park's chief ranger drove to the hospital while rangers conducted interviews of potential witnesses. The wounded man was identified as J.S.-A., an undocumented alien who was working construction in the area. J.S.-A. was later taken to Montrose County Hospital for surgery. Through a criminal investigation conducted jointly by Crested Butte officers and park agents and rangers, J.S.-A. was identified as the primary suspect in several residential burglaries and a violent attempted rape in Crested Butte. He had evidently shot himself accidentally with a handgun while in the park. A state search warrant was served at his residence and evidence pertaining to the burglaries and sexual assault was recovered. The handgun was recovered later on. J.S.-A. was subsequently identified as a suspect in several other residential burglaries and was charged with same by the Elbert County Sheriff's Office. Late last year, he was convicted in state court of sexual assault and on numerous burglary charges filed by both counties. Meanwhile, the investigation into J.S.-A.'s immigration status and criminal possession of a firearm and ammunition continued. With assistance from both ICE and ATF agents and at the direction of the assistant U.S. attorney, NPS agents were able to establish that J.S.-A. was a foreign national who was inside the U.S. illegally and that he'd been in possession of a firearm and ammunition both inside and outside NPS jurisdiction. On May 23rd, J.S.-A. was indicted by a federal grand jury, with a Curecanti ranger testifying at the hearing. The grand jury issued a true bill against J.S.-A. for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition (18 USC 922). The case is pending trial or plea agreement and J.S.-A. has been remanded to the custody of the US Marshals Service. [Linda Alick, Chief Ranger, and Brian Smith, Special Agent in Charge] 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: Boston NHP - The Battle of Bunker Hill Museum will open to the public in a ribbon-cutting ceremony today. The ceremony will mark the completion of a $3.7 million rehabilitation of the site that includes improved handicapped access to the grounds, repairs to the monument, a new lighting system, and the new museum. National Partnership Office - The Coca-Cola Company has joined the National Park Foundation and the NPS as a "Proud Partner" of America's National Parks. 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). --- ### --- |