NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Friday, March 14, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Lewis and Clark NHP
Man Sentenced In Theft Of Sacagawea Statue
An Oregon man has been sentenced to 50 days in jail for his part in the previously reported theft and destruction of the statue of Sacagawea that was located within the park. M.B., 42, of Gearhart got what the judge said was the maximum sentence he could impose for the theft - 50 days in jail, 24 months on probation, fines totaling $348, reimbursement of $450 to pay the cost of his court-appointed attorney fees, and restitution of $20,000 to the park to be paid along with other suspects. The judge said the state's sentencing guidelines didn't allow a harsher sentence. He and the county prosecutor also said that public sentiment is building against such sentences and noted that Oregonians will consider two measures this fall to deal more sternly with crimes such as drug dealing, theft and identity theft. The charges in this case were theft, criminal mischief and abuse of a venerated object. Oregon's sentencing grid amounts to a spreadsheet with the severity of a crime as one axis and a suspect's record as the other. The statue of Sacagawea and her baby, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, disappeared from the park on January 20th. It had been bolted into a concrete footing. A Bend scrap dealer tipped police that sellers of the statue's remains had approached him. The statue had been hacked to pieces. "Based upon the press' attention to this, we realize this is a despicable crime," said M.B.'s attorney. "Mr. M.B. would like to apologize to the public for being involved in this peripherally." David Szymanski, the park's superintendent, said the crime "had a larger impact than just removing something of value from the park. It forced us to think about what services and facilities we can leave open to the public." He said park staff would like to leave the gate open until 10 p.m. on summer nights when it's light until late in the evening, but most of the staff leaves earlier. "This particular case isn't going to make us throw in the towel, but it will certainly make us rethink how we do things," he said. [Salem Statesman Journal]
Great Smoky Mountains NP
Driver Killed When Car Crashes, Overturns In Little River
M.J., 24, of Toccoa, Georgia, was killed in a single vehicle accident along Little River Road on Monday, February 25th. M.J. was heading east on the road sometime in the early morning hours in a 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier when his vehicle failed to negotiate a right hand curve, left the roadway, became airborne, then rolled into the river and came to rest submerged upside down in the water. The accident was reported to ranger Bill Ramsey around 8 a.m. When Ramsey got to the scene of the accident, he discovered the Cavalier on its rooftop and submerged in the river's frigid waters below a 25-foot-high rock wall. He called for a dive team from the Blount County Rescue Squad and additional support. More than 40 people from several agencies responded. The divers were able to attach a cable to the vehicle so that it could be pulled from the river. M.J.'s body was then discovered inside. There was no evidence that he'd attempted to take corrective actions to prevent the accident from occurring. The cause remains under investigation. Ramsey was the incident commander. [Steve Kloster, Tennessee District Ranger]
Olympic NP
Suicide Victim Found On Shore Of Lake Crescent
Rangers and an NPS special agent checked out a report of a body found on the shoreline of Lake Crescent on February 22nd. The man's body was found with a fatal gunshot wound, evidence indicating an apparent suicide. Although the investigation was hampered by lack of identifying documents or an associated vehicle, the body was nonetheless identified within several hours through a collaborative effort by investigators and members of the public in the immediate area. Information found at the scene revealed that the weapon had been purchased recently at a store in Port Angeles, and the agent was able to obtain footage of the man purchasing the weapon. Autopsy information further confirmed his identity. A chilling aspect of the investigation is that the man had carried his shotgun undetected through the grounds of Olympic Park Institute, an educational facility with numerous children, educators and staff on site. [Mark O'Neill, Lake District Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS:
Mount Rushmore NM - The park was proud to host the first-ever American Indian Elders' Summit last month. American Indian elders from South Dakota tribes shared their views and ideas on what information about their history, culture, and language could be presented at the park.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6299" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6299
Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by both the NPS and its partners across the nation. Today's additions include equipment operators safety courses at Delaware Water Gap and Big Cypress, an annual LE refresher at Upper Delaware and another at Big South Fork, an intro to archeology and paleontology enforcement offered by BLM in Arizona, and a wildland fire investigation course in Colorado.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=775" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=775
Events Calendar - Today's listing of upcoming NPS and NPS-related events across the nation. New this week are a change in dates for the Great Smokies reunion set for spring, 2009 and an evening astronomy event at Navajo.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=776" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=776
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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).
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