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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, March 31, 2011 INCIDENTS Blue Ridge Parkway Man Pleads Guilty To Parkway Murder On April 6, 2010, an 18-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man were watching the sunset at Rock Point overlook on the parkway near Stuart's Draft, Virginia, when they were attacked by a man with a shotgun. The injured man - T.P.D. - later died of his injuries, but the woman - C.S.F. - survived and was able to give an accurate description of the attacker. Based on a Crime Stoppers tip, investigators arrested Ralph Leon Jackson, 57, at his residence near the park. On March 23rd, Jackson pled guilty to one count of assaulting C.S.F. with the intent to commit murder, one count of using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, one count of the premeditated murder of T.P.D. by shooting him with a firearm, and one count of using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to the murder of T.P.D. Jackson has agreed to a life sentence in federal incarceration on the murder count and a term of incarceration within the sentencing guidelines on the remaining counts. By making this plea, Jackson will avoid potential capital punishment. Jackson will be formally sentenced on June 9th. This murder case was successfully investigated by NPS rangers and special agents, the Augusta County Sheriff's Office, the Augusta County Commonwealth Attorney's Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The USPP aviation unit provided air cover during the arrest operations. [Jeff Pascale, Supervisory Special Agent] Grand Canyon NP Hikers Injured In Rock Fall Two hikers were injured by a human-caused rockfall on the South Kaibab Trail below the South Rim on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 29th. Just after 2 p.m., park dispatch received a report that a man had been injured by a rockfall in “the chimney,” a section of tight switchbacks located immediately below the rim. Emergency response personnel were immediately dispatched to the location. Upon arrival, they found that two people - a nine-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man - had suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the human-caused rockfall. They were stabilized and brought up to the rim. The nine-year-old was taken to the North Country Grand Canyon Clinic, where he was treated and released; the 18-year-old was transported via ambulance to Flagstaff Medical Center for treatment. Investigators have determined that the rock fall was unintentionally caused by the activities of a visitor on a switchback above the injured hikers. [Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Specialist] 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/): Great Basin NP - Deep in a muddy cave in Great Basin National Park, park staff found tiny amphipods, also known as freshwater shrimp, moving about a pool of water. It's been determined that the amphipods are a new species to science. Photo. Delaware Water Gap NRA - Pat Lynch, chief of resource management and science at Delaware Water Gap, will retire on May 1st after 32 years with the National Park Service. Photo. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |