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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, July 9, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS War in the Pacific NM Man Arrested For Theft Of Memorial Panels Sometime during the early hours of July 4th, 34 of the 99 bronze plaques on the memorial wall at the park were stolen. The panels were apparently pried of the wall with a crowbar. On July 6th, a 24-year-old man was arrested for the theft and seven of the 34 brass panels that were pried off and stolen from the Asan Bay Overlook were recovered. J.U.R.M.E. was arrested on charges of theft of property, criminal trespass, guilt established by complicity, and criminal mischief. A tip to Guam Crime Stoppers led to Elibosang's arrest. A woman from Xiongs Family Recycling called Guam Crime Stoppers and told authorities that the scrapyard had purchased the brass panels, which contain the names of Chamorros and Americans killed and/or tortured during the war. The woman's tip led to J.U.R.M.E., who police found at 6 p.m., fishing near Dead Man's Curve in Asan. He was taken into custody and later arrested in Tiyan. [Pacific Daily News] Olympic NP Major SAR For Overdue Hiker Comes To Happy Conclusion The search for 45-year old M.O. came to a successful conclusion on Saturday afternoon when M.O. called the park from the Lake Mills area, reporting that she was tired and hungry but was otherwise fine and did not need medical attention. M.O. set out to hike the 18.5-mile-long High Divide trail on Monday, July 2nd. After traversing the High Divide, which is still covered with heavy snow, M.O. lost the route near Heart Lake and spent most of the next three days traveling through thick vegetation, up and down the extremely rugged Cat Creek Basin and Mt. Fitzhenry. She had carried extra food with her and ate the last meal on Friday evening. On Saturday, she made her way to Lake Mills in the Elwha Valley. As she headed north along the shoreline, she thought she heard an airplane, but rather it was a motorboat that she successfully flagged down. The boat's operator took her to a boat ramp, where she called 911. Park staff drove her to park headquarters, where she was reunited with her family. M.O. began her hike on Monday; on Wednesday morning, friends in the Seattle area notified the park that she was overdue. The search for M.O. began on Wednesday and continued through Saturday. Staff and volunteers from Olympic National Park, Washington State Patrol, Thurston County Sheriff Swiftwater Rescue Team, Olympic Mountain Rescue, Grays Harbor Search and Rescue Dog Team, and Island County Search Dogs were involved in the effort. [Kathy Steichen, Public Affairs Officer] Cape Hatteras NS Man Drowns After Getting Caught In Rip Current T.R., 49, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was at the beach with his family at the end of Liberator Way in Hatteras Village on the afternoon of July 1st. According to witnesses, T.R. was swimming with his niece when both were caught in a rip current. T.R.'s brother-in-law was able to get his daughter back to the beach, and two vacationing firefighter/EMT's went to help T.R. When they reached his location, though, he was face down in the water. T.R. was brought back to shore, where CPR was begun by the firefighters, a nurse, and a physician's assistant. Dare County paramedics arrived and took over from them. With the concurrence of the medical examiner, they pronounced him dead a short time later. Ranger Jamie Sanders investigated this incident for the NPS. [Paul Stevens, Law Enforcement Specialist] Cape Hatteras NS Man Drowns In Rip Current Off Ocracoke On the evening of July 4th, Hyde County dispatch advised the park that several swimmers were in trouble near the airstrip on the ocean side of Ocracoke Island. J.P., 42, was swimming with a friend and family members in the ocean just off Ramp #70 when they became caught in a rip current. The family members and friend, helped by other beachgoers, managed to get back to shore safely. J.P. was also brought back to shore, but was not breathing when pulled out of the water. CPR was started by an off-duty Ocracoke EMT and another park visitor. NPS rangers responded, along with off-duty NPS lifeguards and Ocracoke EMS. Ocracoke EMS continued advance life-support procedures while transporting J.P. to the Ocracoke Health Center. He could not be revived, though, and was pronounced dead. [Norah Martinez, Chief Ranger] Delaware Water Gap NRA Fatal Fall Into Dingmans Creek Early on the morning of Thursday, July 5th, two fishermen came upon the body of a woman in the creek just upstream from the top of Dingmans Falls. The park's high angle rescue (HAR) team was called in to recovery the body, which was in a difficult location to reach. The team, comprised of park employees, volunteers and employees from New Jersey state parks and forests, specializes in technical rescue and recovery operations. About 20 people were involved in the recovery and the associated investigation. From evidence found at the scene, it appears that the woman - subsequently identified as R.S., 40, of M.S. - died following a fall of about 40 feet from a cliff overlooking the creek. An investigation continues into the circumstances surrounding the incident. [Deb Nordeen, Public Affairs Officer] Denali NP&P Suicide Victim Found In Park On the evening of Monday, July 2nd, the park's communication center was notified of the discovery of the body of a young man hanging from the railroad trestle above Riley Creek. Rangers responded and found the body hanging by a rope looped around the neck from one of the low girders of the train trestle at ground level. The victim was identified as a 21-year-old man from Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia, who was employed as a seasonal worker at the Denali Bluffs Hotel, located outside of the park near the entrance to the Denali Park Road. He was last seen alive sometime on Saturday, June 30th. All indications are that the death is a suicide, but the investigation is continuing. [Kris Fister, 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: Salem Maritime NHS - Friendship of Salem, a full-rigged tall ship based at the park, was chosen to lead 20 international vessels in the parade of sail that marked the end of Tall Ships Rhode Island 2007. Park Facility Management Division - Ben Hawkins, chief of facility management, design and engineering for Intermountain Region, will be acting division chief through the summer. His successors as acting division chief have also been named. 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). --- ### --- |