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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, August 1, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Saint Croix NSR River Enforcement Operation On Saturday, July 28th, rangers coordinated an interagency enforcement operation in partnership with the Wisconsin State Patrol and Washburn County Sheriffs Department. A three-mile stretch of the Namekagon River was chosen for this operation, since recent summer visitor counts have estimated more than 1,500 people use this short section of river to kayak, canoe and inner tube. This intense visitor use has led to frequent law enforcement incidents over the past few years. The 12-hour operation resulted in one felony arrest and one misdemeanor arrest, 20 violation notices, and 26 warning notices on federal and state charges, including felony battery, disorderly conduct, interfering with agency functions, underage possession of alcohol, gift of alcohol to underage persons, possession of marijuana, opened container of alcohol in a vehicle, vehicle equipment violation, possession of fireworks, excessive speed, failure to use a seatbelt, failure to comply with traffic control devices, littering and various closure violations. Three EMS incidents were also handled during the operational period. Seven rangers, three state troopers, and three county deputies participated in the operation. More enforcement operations are being planned for the future. Namekagon district ranger Chuck Carlson served as IC, ranger Duane Grego served as operations officer. [Bob Whaley, Chief Ranger] Cape Hatteras NS Two Fishermen Rescued, Third Drowns On Thursday, July 26th, Q.N.“A.”T., 33, of Springfield, Virginia, and four companions were fishing in Oregon Inlet from the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge. Q.N.T. and his companions climbed over the protective railing onto the bridge's catwalk and lowered themselves to the base of the pilings under the bridge, at which point Q.N.T. fell into the water. At the time, there was a moderate outgoing tidal flow. Two of Q.N.T.'s companions, T.L. and H.N., both of Fairfax, Virginia, jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue Q.N.T.. Q.N.T.'s other two companions attempted to throw a rope and a styrofoam cooler to him, but with no success. All three were swept away from the bridge toward the ocean. T.L. and H.N. were both pulled from the water by individuals in a private fishing boat. Q.N.T. was last seen floating about 200 yards east of the bridge before he was lost from sight. Lai and H.N. were transported by a North Carolina Marine Patrol vessel to U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Station Oregon Inlet, where both were treated by Dare County EMS for minor injuries and released. Search operations were conducted until dark on the 26th and again until noon the following day, when active search operations were suspended. Periodic checks of area beaches and waterways continued through early Sunday afternoon, when the body of a man resembling Q.N.T. was found 13 miles off the coast by individuals on a private vessel. [Jon Anglin, Bodie Island District Ranger] Hot Springs NP Ranger Intercedes In Assault Ranger David Anderson was flagged down by a citizen on the evening of July 19th and advised of a disturbance in progress about 40 yards from the ranger station. Anderson notified city police and monitored the situation while awaiting their response. He saw a man assault a woman by throwing a cup at her, then physically striking her. Believing the woman to be in danger of imminent bodily harm, he went to her assistance. The man, seeing him approaching, reached into a vehicle and retrieved an object that he then stuck in his waistband. He would not obey commands to remain still, made repeated movements toward his waistband, then turned to flee. Anderson brought out his taser, which suffered a cartridge malfunction when it was fired. As the man fled from the area, Anderson saw that the item he'd secreted in his waistband was a gun, probably a semi-automatic. He remained on scene with the woman, then searched the immediate area at the request of the arriving officer. A few minutes later, Anderson saw the man walking about two blocks from the scene and took him into custody without incident with the assistance of ranger Luke Johnson. The man, who'd discarded the gun, was booked into jail on various charges and is currently on active parole supervision. [Dennis Stock, Chief 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: US Park Police - James Patrick Deely Jr., 71, a longtime U.S. Park Police officer who later held security positions with the Energy Department and the Smithsonian Institution, died on July 17th. Lake Mead NRA - Lake Mead is recruiting for several highly motivated protection rangers who are interested in lateral reassignments to Meadview, Katherine Landing, Temple Bar, Echo Bay, and Boulder Basin. 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). --- ### --- |