NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

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INCIDENTS

Mojave NP

Several Train Thieves Arrested, Another Dies Of Heat Exposure

On August 23rd, a joint effort by Union Pacific police, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and the National Park Service resulted in the arrest of four people for train burglary and a search for a fifth who was later found deceased from apparent heat exposure about five miles from the site of the attempted burglary. Over $30,000 worth of property was recovered. Around 2 p.m. that afternoon, rangers McDermott, Spillane and Cooperider were notified of a train burglary in progress near Cima, which is within the park. Union Pacific employees discovered between 10 and 15 people in the act of stealing 31 42-inch-wide televisions from a train. The employees told rangers that they'd fled in many directions into the desert. Rangers requested a helicopter and assistance from the sheriff's department and from the UP police. Upon arrival, the police told rangers that they had information that the would-be thieves were armed. A search was begun, and UP police later in the day intercepted a vehicle driven by a known accomplice, arrested him, then put an undercover team in the vehicle to drive the surrounding roads. The team located and arrested four other suspects in a remote area of the park about four miles from the scene of the burglary. They told officers that another member of their group was sick and that they'd left him under a tree about a mile away in the desert. McDermott and Cooperider retrieved ALS gear and along with UP officers started looking for him, finding him just after 11 p.m. He was DOA, having likely succumbed to complications from heat exposure (temperatures were over 100 degrees). [Kirk Gebicke, Operations Supervisor]

Indiana Dunes NL

Park Eradicates 10,000 Marijuana Plants

Each year, rangers locate and remove patches of wild growth marijuana from park property. This growth typically occurs in isolated areas and consists of what is commonly referred to as “ditch weed.” The stands are normally small and are limited to a few hundred spindly plants with few leaves. This season, possibly due to very favorable weather, the number and quality of these plants significantly increased. On August 21st, rangers, other park employees, and officers from the Burns Harbor and Portage Police Departments and the Porter County Sheriff's drug task force participated in a joint operation to clear out a significant patch of wild growth marijuana. The majority of these plants were in excess of 12 feet tall with full foliage. The patch of plants is in an area of the park known for the best salmon fishing in the Midwest and is frequented by anglers from all over the United States. Approximately 30 people worked for eight hours to remove over 10,000 marijuana plants from the park and secure them for later destruction. Local authorities place the value of these plants at approximately $800 per mature plant for a total haul of over $8,000,000. There was no evidence located that the plants were being tended or actively cultivated. [Mike Bremer, Chief Ranger]

National Capital Parks East

Officers Arrest Couple With Submachine Gun

Officers Scott Brecht and Jason Omo were on patrol of River Terrace just after 1 a.m. on August 21st to check into complaints of illegal activities there from park neighbors. They came upon two people in the park's playground area. Evidence indicated that they were involved in illicit behavior. The pair then began walking in the direction of the officers. The officers checked them out, then discovered an Uzi submachine gun in the place they'd just left. The weapon was loaded and the selector switch was set to full auto. Both were arrested and charged with weapon offenses and other violations. [Sergeant Robert Lachance, Public Affairs Officer]

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:

National Natural Landmarks/National Historic Landmarks - Vote for your favorite photographs from the National Natural Landmarks and National Historic Landmarks 2008 photo contests.

Great Basin NP - Great Basin NP has joined GLORIA, an international research project to assess climate change impacts on vegetation in alpine environments worldwide.

National Mall and Memorial Parks - Six NPS employees recently became League of American Bicyclists league cycling instructors following the completion of an intense three-day training session in Washington, D.C.

Yosemite NP - Paul Dettman, Jr., an engineering equipment operator at the park, will retire on September 3rd after 41 years of federal service - three years in the Army in Korea and Vietnam and 38 years with the National Park Service at Yosemite.

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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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