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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, July 24, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Agate Fossil Beds NM Stolen Artifacts Recovered National Park Service investigators have found and recovered a duffle bag containing items that were stolen from the park earlier this month. The specific location where the duffle bag was found has not been disclosed, except that it was in northeastern Colorado. A museum curator from Intermountain Regional Office assisted with an inventory and assessment of the bag's contents. All of the items have been accounted for and appear to be undamaged. “The items that were taken from the collection are priceless,” said superintendent Blanca Alvarez Stransky. “They are important pieces that tell part of the story of American history. The staff here at Agate would like to thank all the agencies involved for their hard work and vigilance in recovering these artifacts.” On Tuesday, July 10th, maintenance workers arrived at work to discover that sometime during the previous evening the visitor center had been burglarized. Items from the James Cook-Red Cloud Collection had been taken from the museum display cases. Two brothers, G.G. and M.M.G., are being held in federal custody in Denver, Colorado. They have been charged by the United States Attorney's Office, District of Colorado, with interstate transportation of stolen goods in violation of Title 18, United States Code. Both men will be in court this week for additional legal proceedings. Special agents and law enforcement rangers from both Intermountain and Midwest Regions have been coordinating their efforts along with the other agencies due to the large geographic and multi-state area this crime occurred in. The investigation and recovery effort has been a collaborative effort with numerous law enforcement agencies including the National Park Service, Nebraska State Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Park Police, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Logan County (Colorado) Sheriffs Office, Sioux County (Nebraska) Sheriff's Office, Omaha (Nebraska) Police Department, and the United States Attorneys Offices for the Districts of Colorado and Nebraska. [Mike Johnson, MWRO] Rock Creek Park Man Convicted In 2003 Sexual Assault
J.K.B., 41, originally of Danville, Virginia, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for first degree sexual abuse in superior court in Washington, DC, last Friday. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for life following his incarceration. In the early morning hours of July 4, 2003, a woman was sexually assaulted in the park near Adams Mill and Klingle Roads. She told Park Police officers that she was walking home when she was physically attacked, dragged into the woods, and sexually assaulted. Her assailant then fled with her purse. The woman was able to flag down a cab and make her way home, where she reported the assault to police. Officers canvassed the area but were unable to find the man despite a detailed description provided by the woman. Items of evidence with DNA on them were collected and provided to the FBI's DNA laboratory in Quantico, Virginia. In May, 2004, the FBI isolated male DNA which positively matched J.K.B.'s DNA. He was arrested shortly thereafter. On the eve of the trial, J.K.B. pled guilty to first degree sexual abuse. The U.S. attorney praised the diligent and persistent work off USPP detective Michelle Ludwick, USPP mobile crime lab technicians Raul Matias and Shelley Hill, and the numerous USPP and Metro PD officers who assisted in investigating this case. [Sergeant Robert Lachance, Public Information Officer] War in the Pacific NHP Majority Of Stolen Plaques Recovered The Guam Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Park Service have recovered 27 of the 34 bronze nameplates that were stolen from the Asan Bay Overlook Memorial. The plates were found in Hong Kong. The recovery stemmed from a cooperative effort by the FBI, Hong Kong customs and excise officials, Hong Kong police, the Department of Homeland Security, and Customs and Border Protection. No further arrests have been made. Other details of this investigation will be provided at a later date and time. [KUAM, Guam] Grand Teton NP One Killed, Six Injured In Rollover Accident Twenty-one NPS and Teton County personnel with four ambulances and a rescue truck responded to a rollover accident on Wilderness Road in the North District at 1:45 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, July 21st. The road passes through the park to Forest Service camping areas and wilderness trailheads. Rangers were first on scene and began triaging six of the seven victims with the assistance of a number of bystanders. The seventh occupant was found and assessed by rangers and deputies at an emergency checkpoint established on Pacific Creek Road to identify witnesses and additional victims. Five of the seven were taken by three park ambulances to St. John's Hospital. The driver - M.S., 21, of Valley Alabama - had been ejected from the pickup. He was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, but succumbed to his injuries. Alcohol and speed were the primary factors in the accident. [Patrick W. Hattaway, North District 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: Richmond NBP - On May 27th, following a 48-year hiatus, the park reopened its Log Cabin Visitor Center at the Fort Harrison battlefield. The historic cabin was the first building affiliated with the preserved Civil War battlefields around Richmond. Social Science Program - Parks Canada and the National Park Service have announced the establishment of a new cross-border working group to address issues of mutual interest, as well as to share expertise and support social science research efforts in both countries. 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). --- ### --- |