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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, August 22, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Blue Ridge Parkway Former Employee Sentenced For Threatening To Kill NPS Agent On August 17th, former Blue Ridge Parkway maintenance supervisor K.A. was sentenced to five years in prison for threatening to murder an NPS special agent and for possession of a machine gun. In 2005, NPS special agents led an investigation that resulted in the conviction of K.A. for possession of child pornography, possession of an unregistered machine gun, and theft of government property. K.A. was sentenced to just under six years in prison. While in prison, he threatened to murder the NPS special agent who headed up the investigation and solicited outside help on several occasions to assist with his plan. During the solicitations, K.A. disclosed the locations of a number of weapons he had hidden during the initial investigation. Special agents with the NPS and ATF were able to recover these weapons. Twelve guns were found, two of them machine guns. K.A.'s five year prison sentence is to be served consecutive to his previous sentence, bringing the total time of incarceration to almost 11 years. [Investigative Services Branch] George Washington Memorial Parkway Hate/Bias-Related Vandal Arrested R.B., 47, of no fixed address, was apprehended in Arlington County, Virginia, on Thursday, August 16th, on a warrant for destruction of property out of the District of Columbia. R.B. is the primary suspect in a US Park Police investigation into numerous hate/bias-related vandalism cases in the district and in Virginia. Arlington County police arrested R.B. on the warrant, then contacted the USPP in response to a recently released information bulletin specifying that he was being sought in this investigation. USPP detectives took him into custody. R.B. is suspected of vandalizing National Park Service property in the warrant — specifically, writing hate/bias-related words on trash receptacles along the parkway's bike path. R.B. has been a suspect in 14 recent USPP hate/bias-related vandalism cases involving swastikas and pornography. He's been arrested by the Park Police several times since 1997 for similar crimes. [Sgt. Robert Lachance, Public Affairs Officer] Everglades NP Two Arrested Following Cuban Smuggling Incident On August 11th, the Coast Guard contacted Everglades National Park dispatch to request assistance in catching a “go-fast” boat - a 38-foot Fountain - whose operators had allegedly dropped a group of Cuban migrants on Bush Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, then fled north, possibly through the Everglades. The Coast Guard was pursuing the vessel by air but did not have any boats in the area. Rangers Steven Rice and Sean Blake waited in the Pavilion Key area and saw the Fountain run aground on a key just before 5 p.m. The two men on board ran into the dense mangrove brush. Rangers began a search for them with assistance provided by personnel from US Fish and Wildlife, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Collier County Sheriff's Office, and Customs and Border Patrol. A canine team followed tracks from the vessel and a helicopter equipped with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system attempted to locate them from the air. The two men managed to elude capture, though, and the search was suspended around 11 p.m. Rangers took the vessel back to the Gulf Coast Ranger Station. Rangers Sean Blake and Steve Rice returned to the site in plain clothes and an unmarked vessel the following morning, hoping that the men would emerge from hiding to request a ride off the island. They found the two men waiting on the beach and arrested them without incident. The men claimed that they'd been dropped on the island early that morning by an unknown man who had paid them to perform a Santeria ritual, but they were still wearing the same footwear rangers had spent the evening tracking. The vessel's hull identification numbers, including a second number concealed by the manufacturer, had been removed and the vessel appeared to have been stolen. The two men were turned over to Border Patrol agents. Meanwhile, rangers at Dry Tortugas confirmed that 27 Cuban migrants were dropped off on Bush Key at approximately 22 p.m. on August 11th. [Bonnie Foist, Chief Ranger] Lake Roosevelt NRA Body Of Boater Found After Extended Search The body of J.F., 67, was found on the Colville Confederated Tribes shoreline of Lake Roosevelt on Friday, August 17th. On Thursday, August 9th, J.F. left from the Grand Coulee Yacht Club in his sailboat and was expected to return on Monday, August 13th. J.F. was seen sailing his vessel near the Camel Bluffs area during a period of high winds on the evening of August 12th. On the following day, J.F.'s family found his abandoned 22-foot Catalina sailboat against a steep wall of rocks in the Camel Cliffs area and notified the park. A search was begun by NPS rangers, Colville Confederated Tribes rangers, Lincoln County Sheriff's Office personnel, volunteer searchers and family members. An extensive water and shoreline search was conducted, and an air search was undertaken by a helicopter from Fairchild Air Force Base. On the morning of August 17th, the missing boater's body was located by his brother, L.F., and volunteer searchers David and Bonney Schmidt. The body was transferred to the Ferry County medical examiner's office. The park is conducting an investigation. A family liaison officer from the NPS is providing support services to the family. [Margaret Goodro, Chief Ranger] Upper Delaware S&RR Teenage Boy Drowns In Delaware River A.D., 17, drowned while swimming in the river with his brother and cousin around 4 p.m. last Sunday afternoon. A.D. was about three-quarters of the way across the river, swimming towards the Pennsylvania shoreline, when he became fatigued, panicked, began calling for help, then went underwater. Those swimming with him were unable to help, so called 911. Rangers and local fire, rescue, EMS and law enforcement personnel all responded. A visitor spotted A.D. in the water and was able to recover him and load him onto a raft. CPR was begun and he was taken to the New York shore, then turned over to a Tusten volunteer ambulance crew and taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital. He was pronounced dead on arrival. The investigation continues. [Al Henry, 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 are, respectively, HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/ and ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). * Great Smokies - About 150 participants helped celebrate the Student Conservation Association's 50th anniversary at Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Thursday, August 16th. A special highlight was the naming of the 50,000th SCA volunteer to work in the park. * Hawaii Volcanoes - A major lava bench along the coastline of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has collapsed into the ocean. * Channel Islands - Robert “Bob” Rydgig, a dedicated, long- term volunteer for Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, died of a heart attack on Wednesday, August 15th, following a dive off Anacapa Island. * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-686-3828). --- ### --- |