NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

INCIDENTS

New River Gorge NR

Rangers Involved In Two Interagency Searches In Two Days

Rangers were contacted about a missing woman by the Fayette County Sherriff's Department on the evening of Friday, April 22nd. She had been out partying with a female companion when the vehicle they were in got stuck. The two women took refuge in an abandoned house and fell asleep; when the missing woman's companion awoke, she was alone. She walked out and summoned assistance. Tracking dogs and hasty teams were employed in a search for the woman in the Horseshoe Creek area, a remote area of Fayette County adjacent to the Gauley National Recreation Area (administered by New River). The search was scaled back that night due to darkness, but resumed Saturday morning. Tracking dog teams, ground teams, and river sweep teams were deployed. A spotter in a state police helicopter flying over the Gauley that afternoon saw a body floating in the river below Diagonal Ledges. An interagency recovery team pulled the body from the water at shortly thereafter and determined that she was the missing woman. An investigation is underway. Assisting in the incident were the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, the Nutall and Ansted Fire Departments, the Oak Hill Swiftwater Rescue Team, the West Virginia Canine Team, the Fayette County Rope Rescue Team, and the West Virginia State Police. Karl Keach served as the IC for the incident, and is the lead case investigator for the NPS. Rangers were then called out around midnight on Saturday night to search for three missing people. They'd been on a rafting trip on the Gauley River, but had decided to leave the raft and hike out from Iron Ring. A hasty search team consisting of an NPS ranger and Kesler Cross Lanes volunteer fire department members located the trio around 2 a.m. The team hiked into the remote area and made contact with the men around 4:30 a.m. The arduous hike out continued until after daylight. The rescue party and rafters made it to the search command post around 9 a.m. Justin Cawiezel investigated the incident and determined that the three boaters had asked to be let out after having difficulty with some of the big rapids. A mutiny had occurred and the three passengers were let out on the bank by the guide, who then continued down to the takeout at Masons Branch. Frank Sellers served as the IC on this incident. [Jeff West, Chief Ranger]

Joshua Tree NP

Climber Dies In Accident On Saddle Rock

On Monday, April 18th, park rangers were notified of a climbing accident in the Saddle Rock area of the park. Saddle Rock, a prominent granite spur on the north side of 5,461-foot Ryan Mountain, offers one of the steepest vertical rock faces in Joshua Tree. D.P., 33, of Loomis, California, was climbing Saddle Rock with a companion on a route known as “Walk on the Wild Side.” D.P. had just finished belaying his climbing partner down a pitch and was in the process of descending himself when he fell more than 100 feet, suffering severe and ultimately fatal injuries. Notification was received about 15 minutes after the accident occurred. Rangers and members of the volunteer SAR team, Joshua Tree Search & Rescue, responded. They helped D.P.'s climbing companion complete his descent and recovered D.P.'s body. San Bernardino County Medical Engine 36 was dispatched to the incident as well as a unit from Morongo Basin Ambulance. Riverside County Sheriffs' Office handled the investigation, and a member of the county coroner's office declared D.P. dead at the scene. The last park climbing fatality occurred on March 15, 2009. [Joe Zarki, Public Affairs Officer]

Shenandoah NP

Local Resident Commits Suicide On Park Trail

Late last week, a 53-year-old Luray man was found dead on the Mary's Rock Trail, part of the Appalachian Trail, about a half mile from the Panorama parking area. The body was found by a couple hiking the trail. The couple had met the man on their way up the trail and described having a pleasant conversation with him before they continued their hike. Upon their return, they found the man lying along the trail, a victim of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Investigators concluded that his death was a suicide. [Pete Webster, Deputy 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/):

Indiana Dunes NL - An enthusiastic crowd recently came out to Indiana Dunes to help launch “Park Prescriptions,” a program in which health care professionals actually write prescriptions for their patients to take a walk, bicycle, paddle, or otherwise use the park as a place for health and physical fitness.

Hawaii Volcanoes NP - Mardie Lane, the park's public information officer, retired on March 31st after more than 30 years of service. Photo.

Cabrillo NM - Jason Richards has been named chief of interpretation and education at Cabrillo. 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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