NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

INCIDENTS

Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs

Searchers Rescue Three Overdue Skiers Following Major Storm

On April 6th, three skiers were reported overdue when they failed to return from an ambitious trans-Sierra ski trip through the park. Investigation revealed that Fresno-area residents M.B., E.S. and R.S. had been dropped off at the Shepherd Pass trailhead outside of Independence, California, on April 1st and that they planned to conclude their trip at Wolverton on April 5th. All three were well outfitted and very experienced in winter backcountry travel, though none of the three had attempted the route before. They were carrying maps, a compass, a GPS unit, and food for five days. A major winter storm hit the central Sierra Nevada mountains on April 4th, bringing with it more than four feet of snow, winds exceeding 100 mph, and temperatures around 0° Fahrenheit. Due to the hazardous weather and the party's being 24 hours overdue with a limited food supply, a search was begun. The winter caretaker at the Pear Lake Ski Hut began a ground search on April 6th, but reported no sightings of the overdue party and no tracks along their route in the Pear Lake area. On April 7th, a helicopter was ordered and assigned to fly the group's route and check locations where others had historically encountered problems. At approximately 11 a.m., the helicopter crew spotted the party just southwest of Colby Pass. The men were in good condition, but three to four days behind on their itinerary due to the recent storm and low on supplies. The party was evacuated to Ash Mountain by helicopter. [Adrienne Freeman, Acting Public Affairs Specialist]

Grand Canyon NP

Man Steals Concession Vehicle While Intoxicated

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 13th, park law enforcement rangers responded to a report of a stolen Xanterra work truck. The responding rangers processed the scene of the theft and located the truck in the woods adjacent to a nearby apartment building. Rangers contacted an on-call special agent with the NPS Investigative Services Branch and a joint investigation was begun. Rangers tracked distinct footprints to a nearby residence where they arrested a man who was interviewed by agents and confessed to stealing the truck while intoxicated. He was charged with one felony count of theft as well as an associated misdemeanor charge. The man remains in federal custody. [Robert W. Mullikin, Special Agent in Charge]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:

Pinnacles NM - Biologists at Pinnacles National Monument have verified the successful hatching of a condor egg inside the monument. The young nestling is the first California condor known to hatch at Pinnacles in over 100 years.

Northeast Region - The first-ever multi-region chief ranger ALERT (annual law enforcement refresher training) course was held last week at the National Conservation Training Center. Over 100 parks, units and sites were represented. Photo.

Harpers Ferry Center - Harpers Ferry Center has posted the first edition of Wayside Exhibits: A Guide to Developing Outdoor Interpretive Exhibits in PDF format on its web site. Photo.

Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - Police Week, which begins on May 4th this year, will include recognition of the 26 NPS rangers and Park Police officers on the National Law Enforcement Memorial. A link to a full list of events is provided.

To see these and other stories posted on InsideNPS (or NPS Digest, its public version), click on one or the other of the following links (please note that not all stories in the former appear in the latter):

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

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

NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/notify" http://inside.nps.gov/notify

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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. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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