NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, November 8, 2010

INCIDENTS

Lake Roosevelt NRA

Man Sentenced For ARPA Violation

Kettle Falls resident S.M. pled guilty to unauthorized removal of archaeological resources from the park on Tuesday, November 2nd. Lake Roosevelt staff had repeated contacts with S.M. between 2005 and 2008 regarding his use of a metal detector in the park and behavior consistent with artifact collecting. A search warrant executed on S.M.'s residence and vehicle resulted in the recovery of over 3,000 artifacts. Among the seized items were projectile points, stone weights and tools, stone flakes, a gun flint and a gun cartridge. S.M. was sentenced by a federal judge to three years' probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and an additional $2,000 in restitution. The judge also ordered S.M. to serve 30 days home detention and banned him from the recreation area for three years. Beth Lariviere was the case officer and was assisted by park archeologist Ray DePuydt. The prosecution was assisted by special agent Todd Swain. [Bill Archard, South District Ranger]

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Two Arrested And Indicted For Vehicle Break-in

A Great Smokies employee parked her vehicle at a trailhead in late August and headed out into the backcountry on a hike. While gone, her vehicle was broken into and personal property was stolen; her credit cards were subsequently used numerous times at local establishments. Ranger Michael Garner and agents Jeff Carlisle and Kirby Styles began an investigation. A surveillance video of a man and a woman and their vehicle was obtained, and the serial numbers of the victim's camera and camera lens were entered into NCIC. A hit was received shortly thereafter showing that the camera was pawned at an area pawn shop. The suspects were then identified through the shop's records and were both interviewed. M.H. and C.H. confessed to the crime and were charged on a five-count indictment, including bank fraud for attempting to utilize the stolen credit cards to obtain funds through a bank ATM machine. The H.'s trial is set for January. [Russell Roy, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Region]

Grand Canyon NP

Rafters Find Body In Colorado River

On the afternoon of November 3rd, rafters on a private river trip discovered a man's body near river mile 21. The park was notified and rangers were flown in via helicopter to investigate. Due the lateness of the hour, they remained on scene through the night. The body was flown out the next afternoon and turned over to the county medical examiner for autopsy and identification. [Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Officer]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):

Office of Communications - Director Jarvis attended the annual professional conference of the Association of National Park Rangers in Bend, Oregon, last week. He presented the keynote address, entitled “The Current and Future State of the National Park Service,” and participated in a service project at a state park with association members and others.

Office of Communications - The National Park Service recently presented its 2010 National Accessibility Achievement Awards. Recipients included Yosemite, C&O Canal, Saratoga, Homestead, and Harpers Ferry Center. Photo.

Servicewide - Three parks - Zion NP, Delaware Water Gap NRA and Great Smoky Mountains NP - and the US Park Police have joined the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a two-year-long, high visibility enforcement effort to deter impaired driving.

US Park Police - In late October, the United States Park Police and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program teamed up for the kickoff of Operation Checkpoint Strikeforce to combat drunk driving. Photo.

Grand Canyon NP - The National Park Service and the Grand Canyon Association dedicated a new rim-based amphitheater and landmark feature at Mather Point on Grand Canyon's South Rim on Monday, October 25th. Photo.

Morristown NHP - Randy W. Turner, superintendent of Morristown National Historical Park since January 2005, will retire on January 3rd after more than 35 years with the National Park Service. Photo.

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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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