NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, July 10, 2008

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INCIDENTS

Denali NPP

Second Fatal Collapse In Three Days On Mt. McKinley

For the second time in a week, a mountaineer has collapsed and died while climbing Mt. McKinley. P.T.B., 20, of Jakarta, Indonesia, was descending the West Buttress route on the night of July 7th when he collapsed about a quarter mile from the 17,200-foot high camp. P.T.B.'s guides began CPR and immediately called for assistance from another guided team at the high camp via family band radio. CPR was performed for over one hour, but efforts to revive P.T.B. were unsuccessful. P.T.B. was a client on a Mountain Trip expedition that began a West Buttress ascent on June 22nd. The team's three clients were all members of a scouting group from Indonesia. P.T.B., one of his teammates, and their two guides had reached the summit late in the afternoon of July 7th. The cause of death is unknown at this time. P.T.B.'s remains are currently in a protected and generally flat area outside of the 17,200-foot high camp. The National Park Service plans to recover the remains with the high altitude Lama helicopter when weather permits. [Maureen McLaughlin, PIO]

Olympic NP

Injured Climber Rescued From Mount Deception

On the afternoon of July 4th, a backcountry ranger on patrol on the rugged east side of the park received a report that a 17-year-old boy had fallen approximately 100 feet while descending Mount Deception and had sustained serious head injuries. The ranger enlisted assistance from a nearby mountaineering group in order to reach the victim's position while a US Coast Guard rescue helicopter was launched from Air Station Port Angeles. The USCG helicopter located the boy just as the backcountry ranger was arriving at the scene of the accident, which was in a narrow chute on the south side of Mount Deception. The helicopter was forced to divert for additional fuel prior to attempting the hoist, so the ranger, one of the Good Samaritan mountaineers and the injured climber's partner treated and stabilized him. The Coast Guard helicopter returned a second time, but again had to abandon its rescue effort because the helicopter's hoist cable was not long enough to reach the victim, who was at the bottom of the chute. A Navy rescue helicopter from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station with longer hoist capability was dispatched to the park and reached the scene as darkness fell. Faced with the probability that the boy would not survive the night, the Navy continued operations until well after dark, performing a night hoist in the steep canyon. The boy was successfully hoisted aboard the helicopter just before 11 p.m. and flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. At last report, he was in serious but stable condition. [Kevin Hendricks, Chief Ranger]

Yellowstone NP

Fugitive Arrested On Felony Charge

On July 14, 2006, an Old Faithful ranger stopped the driver of an older model Dodge van for several traffic violations. A check on the man - V.M., 49 - showed that his Montana driver's license had been suspended due to a number of DUI convictions, failures to appear in court, and driving without insurance. V.M. was arrested. During the search incident to the arrest, the ranger found two pieces of Yellowstone obsidian on his person and a quantity of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, an opened container of alcohol, and a .38 caliber Charter Arms hand gun with five rounds of ammunition within his reach in the van. V.M. entered into a plea agreement and was sentenced on the misdemeanor charges to six months in prison and a $1400 fine. Based on Meyer's prior conviction for homicide, park special agents opened an investigation into his being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm (18 USC 922g). The US Attorney's Office agreed to prosecute and V.M. was indicted on the felony charge by a grand jury in January, 2007. By the time a felony arrest warrant had been issued and a detainer filed, V.M. had served his misdemeanor sentence and been released from prison. The felony warrant was entered into NCIC. A year-and-a-half long investigation and search for V.M. by the special agents, the US Marshal's Service and detectives from Kalispell PD proved fruitless. On June 28th, however, V.M. was involved in a vehicle accident and hospitalized in northern Montana. Montana Highway Patrol officers ran a routine NCIC check on V.M. and came across the felony warrant. V.M. fled from the hospital, though, before officers could be sent over to arrest him. On the morning of July 1st, two NPS agents following up on a lead found him in the front yard of his residence near Kalispell. They arrested him without incident and transported him to Missoula, where he appeared before a federal magistrate and was remanded to the custody of a US marshal pending removal to the Wyoming judicial district and a trial on the felony charge. [Brian S. Smith, Special Agent in Charge, IMR]

Big South Fork NRRA

Teenager Drowns While Trying To Swim Across River

J.R., 16, of Pine Knot, Kentucky, drowned while swimming in the Big South Fork River around 4 p.m. on Monday, July 7th. The accident occurred just below the Leatherwood Ford parking area. According to witnesses, J.R. was swimming with several other youths and was attempting to cross the river when the accident occurred. Due to the location, it was necessary for members of the group to drive to the top of the gorge in order to contact rangers. Park staff and local EMS personnel responded. Initial efforts to find him through snorkeling and boat and bank searches were unsuccessful, so a diver was summoned to aid in the effort. He found J.R.'s body within a few minutes of entering the water. [Frank Graham, Chief Ranger]

Hot Springs NP

Suicide Victim Found In Park

Rangers were notified of the discovery of a body on park land in the woods at the end of Holly Street on the afternoon of July 7th. They secured the scene, then contacted the FBI and asked for assistance. The local FBI evidence response team was dispatched. Preliminary findings indicate that the man was a suicide victim and that he'd been dead for several days. Efforts are underway to identify him, and his body has been sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy. Ranger Amanda DeFriese is the case officer. [Dennis Stock, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

Other stories can be read on InsideNPS at one or the other of these two sites:

NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index

Non-NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

Please note that both publications carry a combined NIFC/NPS fire report. That is generally posted around 8 a.m. Eastern.

Among the stories in today's edition are the following:

Washington Office - With the goal of better preserving and enhancing the natural and cultural heritage of the nation's public lands and waters, five U.S. government agencies - including the National Park Service - have joined with the National Geographic Society in the signing of a ground-breaking framework to formally adopt the principles of geotourism.

Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center - The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center has posted a number of new documents to its web page, including several learning videos, newsletters and a safety awareness study anniversary survey.

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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:

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 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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