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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, June 7, 2011 INCIDENTS Great Smoky Mountains NP Rangers Deal With Memorial Day Weekend Incidents Over the Memorial Day weekend, rangers responded to a variety of incidents, including eleven motor vehicle accidents (six involving motorcycles and three requiring helicopter transports), five significant EMS calls (including a cardiac arrest and a snake bite), two searches for missing hikers, and four rescue operations. Highlights included: Saturday - Dispatch received a report of a 60-year-old man suffering from a pre-existing heart condition. He was located at the Tri Corner Knob backcountry shelter on the Appalachian Trail, with the closest trailhead nine miles away. Rangers began an evacuation risk assessment utilizing a helicopter and a carryout team, while, simultaneously, Appalachian Trail ridge runner Caleb Grey and ranger/EMT Tabbatha Cavendish began hiking to the shelter. The Tennessee Highway Patrol responded with two helicopters, one of which was capable of hoist operations. The man was lifted directly from the shelter to the helicopter and flown to a nearby airport, where he was then driven via ambulance to a hospital. He was found to be in atrial fibrillation and ultimately needed electrical cardioversion in order to establish a normal heart rhythm. Ranger Ellen Paxton served as incident commander. Sunday - Around noon, a volunteer Appalachian Trail ridge runner notified dispatch of an abandoned backpack on the AT about a mile south of Mollies Ridge Shelter. He expressed concern that the pack might belong to a through hiker who had been reported as suffering from a possible stroke or other medical emergency. The ridge runner searched the pack at the direction of supervisory ranger KK Stuart and found several thousand dollars in cash and traveler's checks, a wallet, and assorted backpacking supplies. He searched the surrounding area and found a 50-year-old man who was walking away from the trail. The hiker was reported to be disoriented and having difficulty walking. Rangers Kent Looney and Samuel Salter responded on horseback to assess the situation. They met the ridge runner and hiker at Mollies Ridge Shelter. They evaluated the hiker and consulted with medical control before determining that he suffered from an underlying medical issue but was not having a medical emergency. The hiker refused further assistance despite the rangers' strong efforts to convince him to exit the backcountry. Monday - Supervisory ranger Steve Spanyer received additional information thru a series of conversations with the above hiker's family which led to the determination that he might be suicidal. Rangers Marc Eckert and Brad Griest were dispatched to the Appalachian Trail to search for the hiker. Eckert and Griest found him asleep at Russell Field Shelter. They watched the man throughout the night and contacted him when he awoke in the morning. Eckert and Griest were able to convince him to exit the backcountry voluntarily. They arrived at Cades Cove around noon on Tuesday. Rangers facilitated phone calls between the hiker and two family members, which resulted in him agreeing to a voluntary psychological evaluation. He was transported to Blount Memorial Hospital. The ER physician and mobile crisis counselors determined that the man was likely a danger to himself and transferred him to Lakeshore Hospital for further evaluation. Spanyer served as incident commander. [Steve Kloster, Tennessee District Ranger] Grand Teton NP Seriously Injured Skier Rescued From Mount Teewinot Rangers enlisted the help of Teton County Search and Rescue and their contract helicopter on Saturday to rescue a backcountry hiker/skier who was seriously injured after taking a tumbling fall just before 8:30 a.m. while ascending Teewinot Mountain (elevation 12,325 feet) with two companions. J.S., 39, slipped and fell approximately 2,000 feet. J.S. and his partners were well equipped with helmets, ice axes, and crampons, though, and were wearing avalanche beacons at the time of the accident. J.S. also had a whippet (a ski pole with a head like an ice axe), a commonly used tool when skiing on hard and steep snow. J.S. and his two companions left the valley at 4 a.m. on Saturday morning with the intention of summiting Teewinot and skiing down its east face. About 500 feet below the summit, J.S. slipped on the snow and took a tumbling fall. The Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received a 911 call minutes after the accident from a skier who saw J.S. fall. The witness, a wilderness emergency medical technician, skied down to where J.S. came to rest and provided him with emergency medical care until help arrived. Two rangers hiked up to J.S. and reached the scene at 11:20 a.m. Rangers then prepared a site for Teton County SAR to insert one of its members, Dr. AJ Wheeler. TCSAR's rescue team reached J.S. shortly thereafter and prepared him for a short-haul evacuation to the valley floor at Lupine Meadows, where a park ambulance then transported J.S. to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson for further treatment. While attending to J.S. on Teewinot, TCSAR members and Grand Teton rangers avoided a small wet avalanche that came down the gully where J.S. was located. The team was able to move J.S. and themselves from harm's way with the help of two avalanche spotters higher up on the peak. The Bridger-Teton National Forest avalanche report rated the avalanche danger on Saturday as “moderate” to “considerable” as warmer afternoon temperatures create unstable snowpack. For up-to-date avalanche forecasts, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.jhavalanche.org/" http://www.jhavalanche.org , or call the avalanche center at 307-733-2664. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Specialist] Blue Ridge Parkway Suicide Victim Found Below Interstate Bridge On Friday, June 3rd, the body of a 57-year-old local woman was discovered by rangers below the I-26 Bridge, approximately 100 feet from the top. Rangers discovered the body after her car had been observed in the area for more than 24 hours, but adjacent to an access point of the Mountains to Sea Trail. A registration check revealed no wanted notices or any other issues, but when the vehicle was physically checked it was found unsecured with her purse, car keys and several handwritten notes indicating she had taken her life in plain view. The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol assisted with the investigation, with the sheriff's office taking the lead and making family notifications. [Tim Francis, Pisgah District 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/): Gulf Coast Parks - More than a year after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Gulf Islands National Seashore resource advisors continue to monitor long-stretching shorelines, working to assure that oil is removed from the park's 106 miles of picturesque white sand beaches. Risk Management Division - The winners of the highest awards bestowed by the National Park Service for outstanding public and employee safety achievement for the individual and group categories for 2010 have been selected. John Day Fossil Beds NM - A Polaris EV LSV, on loan to the park for a year, is the latest addition to a green energy revolution taking place in a remote site at John Day Fossil Beds. Photo. Intermountain Region - Douglas Neighbor has been named superintendent of Big Thicket National Preserve. Photo Lowell NHP - Ted Davis retired on June 2nd after 43 years of government service, with 26 years as Lowell National Historical Park's facility manager. 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). --- ### --- |