NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, April 26, 2010
INCIDENTS
Jefferson NEM
Attempted Self-Immolation Blocked By Rangers
Late on the evening of March 24th, ranger Steve Korsgren came upon a man wearing a construction-type traffic vest who was spray painting in the grass directly under the legs of the Arch. The park has a good deal of construction underway at present, and the man claimed to be a contractor. Korsgren worked with dispatch to check his story and found that he was not a contractor and had no business related to the ongoing construction projects. He also learned that the man was a Russian national. He was ticketed and released. Around 6 p.m. the following evening, the man returned with a gas can and more spray paint. A maintenance employee advised dispatch after seeing him walk up the Grand Staircase with the gas can. The man removed his traffic vest, poured gas on it, then put it back on. At about this time, rangers Charlie Burke and Lou Jahrling contacted him, whereupon the man started striking a lighter and yelling that he was going to set himself on fire. Following a brief struggle, the man attempted to flee; he was tackled by the rangers as he again attempted to strike the lighter, which failed to ignite. He was arrested and placed on a hold for psychiatric evaluation. A joint investigation with the local FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force is underway. [Pete Swisher, Chief Ranger]
Buffalo NR
Rangers Assist In Recovery Of Victim Of Fatal Fall
The park received a call from a local sheriff's office on Monday, April 19th, asking for the assistance of the park's high-angle rescue team in retrieving a hiker who fell off the bluff line leading to Whitaker Point in the Forest Service's Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area. A command post and staging area were established next to a social trail on private land, which provided quicker access to the accident scene. As park staff began to arrive, on-scene personnel radioed that the hiker had not survived the fall, estimated at between 80 and 90 feet. Ranger Melissa Lamm reached the bluff line, scouted the surrounding terrain, and determined that a high-angle recovery was necessary. A raise system was employed to bring the body back up to the bluff line. The body was then transferred to a wheeled litter and brought out to the staging area, where a county coroner and local funeral home van were waiting. The family of the deceased hiker, a 25-year-old man from Pittsburg, Kansas, was with him when he lost his balance along the edge of the cliff and fell over. He was a well-known former quarterback for Kansas State. Over 30 people from the Newton County Sheriff's Office, US Forest Service, Buffalo National River, and area volunteer fire departments, joined by local citizens, assisted with the recovery. For a related news story, click on the link below. [Lee Buschkowsky, Unified Incident Commander]
HYPERLINK "http://cjonline.com/sports/football/2010-04-19/former_ksu_qb_meier_dead_at_26" http://cjonline.com/sports/football/2010-04-19/former_ksu_qb_meier_dead_at_26
Amistad NRA
Mexican National Drowns In Rio Grande
On Friday, April 16th, rangers received a report of a body floating in the Rio Grande River. They found the body of a 20- to 35-year-old man about 32 miles upriver from the Amistad Dam. He had no identification; all he had in his pockets was a pack of Mexican brand matches and a packet of Tang. An autopsy was performed and he was found to have died from drowning. Photos and DNA samples were taken and the Mexican consulate contacted in hopes of identifying the man. The Val Verde County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation. [Regina Klein Dissler, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
Director's Office - Director Jon Jarvis was interviewed on C-Span's “Washington Journal” last Wednesday morning. Questions focused on the condition of the national parks and “how the U.S. should adapt its conservation strategy to the 21st Century.” A link to the interview is provided.
Climate Change Program - The NPS has created a new web site to communicate information on how parks are being affected by climate change and the actions that are being taken to deal with same. A link is provided.
Visitor and Resource Protection - On April 20th, Associate Director for Visitor and Resource Protection Steve Shackelton issued a memorandum to the field on length of service recognition for commissioned seasonal rangers. The full text is included.
Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service.
Pacific West Region - Cicely Muldoon has been named the new superintendent of Point Reyes National Seashore in northern California. She will report to the park in mid-May.
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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