NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

INCIDENTS

Grand Teton NP

Rangers Evacuate Ailing Snowshoer

On February 6th, rangers conducted a lengthy rescue operation to evacuate an incapacitated snowshoer from the Phelps Lake overlook. M.H., 40, of Sacramento, California, became ill while snowshoeing to the overlook with her husband, Don Happel, and could not continue hiking the final two-and-a-half miles to their vehicle at the Death Canyon trailhead. Ten rangers and park staff coordinated a multi-phase evacuation that involved both rescue skiers and snowmobiles. Rescue skiers hauled a toboggan with M.H. aboard down the steep Phelps Lake moraine, and rangers on snowmobiles, who had staged on the northwest shore of Phelps Lake below the moraine, transported her the remaining distance to the trailhead, located on the Moose-Wilson Road. The rescue and evacuation took nearly eight hours to complete. Although Sunday's weather was sunny with mild afternoon temperatures, physical conditions changed as the evacuation stretched into the evening hours. With darkness and colder temperatures, rangers resorted to using headlamps for visibility and emergency gear to keep M.H. warm and protected from the cold nighttime air. After reaching the trailhead, M.H. declined further medical attention and departed the area with her husband in their personal vehicle. M.H. and Happel, who arrived in Jackson Hole on February 3rd, had a couple of days to acclimatize to the higher elevations of the Teton backcountry before their Sunday excursion. They were equipped with good winter clothing, water, and high energy snacks for their snowshoe outing. They also carried a GPS unit, a compass, and a cell phone, which they used to summon help. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Specialist]

Richmond NBP

Man With Metal Detector Caught Digging In Park

During the late afternoon hours of Saturday, January 31st, protection rangers were notified by the Hanover County Dispatch Center that a park neighbor had reported seeing a suspicious vehicle parked on private property adjacent to the Gaines' Mill battlefield unit. The rangers searched the area and found a man with a metal detector digging holes inside the park boundary. A total of three holes were found. The metal detector, a shovel, and a small bag of artifacts were confiscated. Numerous charges were filed, with a March court date scheduled. The incident is being investigated by both the NPS and the Hanover County Sheriff's Department. [Tim Mauch, Chief Ranger]

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/):

Fort Pulaski NM - Park staff recently found a message in a bottle that had been thrown into the ocean in 1981. The 11-year-old author, now 41, was delighted to hear that it had been found, and was bestowed with a belated Junior Ranger badge.

Office of Communications - The National Park Service has awarded $340,000 to eight projects that will link existing national historic and scenic trails to national parks and other Federal facilities.

Midwest Region - Retiring Midwest Regional Director Ernest Quintana was honored on his last day of service to the federal government with the announcement of the establishment of the Ernest Quintana Diversity Scholarship Fund. 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 Communications and 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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