NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, June 16, 2011

INCIDENTS

Yosemite NP

Rangers Rescue Three Men And A Dog

Rangers have successfully undertaken a variety of search and operations since last Thursday, ranging from a complex, high-angle rescue on El Capitan to the rescue of a family pet.

On Sunday, dispatch received a call for help from 26-year-old M.S. of Evergreen, Colorado, who reported a leg injury due to a lead fall while rope soloing on El Capitan. M.S. was stranded at the top of the 23rd pitch of the Muir Wall climbing route, approximately 900 feet below the summit. Early Monday morning, a search and rescue team was transported by helicopter from Crane Flat to the summit of El Capitan. They lowered a rescuer to M.S. and then raised both to the summit. M.S. was then transported to Crane Flat by helicopter and later transported by ground ambulance to John C. Fremont Hospital in Mariposa.

Last Thursday afternoon, an eleven-year-old black Labrador named “S.” escaped its leash and chased a squirrel over the stone wall at the popular Tunnel View lookout, falling down a steep embankment leading to an area of extreme exposure typical to Yosemite. Park custodian Greg Warren was at Tunnel View at the time of the incident. He radioed for help and attempted unsuccessfully to find the dog. Responding rangers were also unable to locate “S.” and were left to assume the worst. On Saturday, though, resource manager Ryan Leahy was in a wooded area below the lookout and heard the dog whimpering from below the rim. Leahy and ranger Matt Stark rappelled approximately 100 feet to the dog. They found that it was uninjured, but trapped on a small exposed ledge. Warren, members of the park bear management team, and several rangers performed a quick rope raise and brought the dog safely back to the rim.

On Saturday, rangers dealt with two incidents in which people were injured in recreational activities. In the first, a snowboarder suffered a fractured femur while snowboarding in the Inyo National Forest just east of Mount Dana. Ranger Chris Bellino was lowered to his location via helicopter and the injured man was evacuated to a local hospital. In the second, a 64-year-old man suffered serious injuries in a hang glider accident in Leidig Meadow; he was flown out of the park by helicopter.

[Kari Cobb, Public Affairs Officer]

New River Gorge NR

Climber Injured In Fall

A 25-year-old Colorado woman was climbing on the Fern Creek Party Wall on the evening of June 13th when she fell about 15 feet and slammed into the wall, knocking herself unconscious. The Fern Creek Party Wall is part of the Endless Wall climbing area. The climber was employing traditional methods and was almost at the top of the 5.10-rated Biohazard Route when the accident occurred. She'd just placed a cam device for protection and was leaning back to rest when the placement failed and she fell about 15 feet. The next piece of protection held, though, and her belayer was able to catch her. Although wearing a helmet, the impact knocked her out for about 30 seconds. After she regained consciousness, she was lowered the rest of the way and carried out to a waiting ambulance by Fayette County's high-angle rescue team, assisted by local firefighters. She was then flown to Charleston for evaluation. Although she complained of dizziness, hearing loss and back pain, her injuries were not deemed severe and she was soon released. [Jeff West, Chief Ranger]

White Sands NM

Woman Dies While Hiking Alkali Flat Trail

A 23-year old woman from Sheldon, Iowa, died yesterday while hiking the Alkali Flat Trail. E.H. was hiking with a friend when she began experiencing symptoms of distress. E.H.'s friend quickly hiked back to the trailhead to retrieve additional water and ice from their car and called 911 from her cell phone around 1 p.m. When the friend returned to the scene, she found E.H. unconscious and began CPR. Upon receiving the 911 call, rangers hike about a half mile to her location on the trail and continued CPR. Paramedics from Alamo West Volunteer Fire Department also responded and provided assistance, but were unable to revive her. The Alkali Flat Trail is a five-mile loop trail traversing the park's dunes. The high temperature yesterday was near 100 degrees. Hikers are advised to be prepared for extreme temperatures and bring at least one gallon of water per person, sunglasses, sunscreen, and high energy snacks. Rangers are investigating the incident. The cause of death is being investigated by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. [Becky Wiles, Chief of Interpretation]

Indiana Dunes NL

Rangers Intervene In Suicide Attempt

A troubled individual from the local community parked in the Mount Baldy parking lot on the morning of June 10th with the intent of committing suicide. Local authorities broadcast an “attempt to locate suicidal subject armed with a handgun” bulletin. Around 5 p.m., visitor use assistants Brandon Waters, Matthew Wineland, Sharon Welsh and Jermaine Dancer, who had been assigned to help visitors in the parking lot, identified the vehicle and called for assistance. Rangers Rich Eshenaur, Thomas Lang, Kelly Caddell, Julie Ladd and Kyle Hudick discovered that the windows of the car were tinted very darkly. They could barely make out the shape of someone moving inside the car. After seeking proper cover, the rangers unsuccessfully attempted to open a dialogue with the driver. After ten minutes, he rolled down his window, and the rangers were able to talk him into getting out of the car. He was taken into protective custody and transferred to a local hospital for evaluation. A search of the car did not reveal any weapons, but a plastic bag with tape around the edge was found. The man said that he had placed the bag over his head and taped it in place in an attempt to end his life, but later took it off. [Mike Bremer, 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/):

Palo Alto Battlefield NHP - Palo Alto Battlefield NHP and the Midwest Archeological Center hosted the 21st annual workshop for geophysical archeology on the week of May 23rd. During the course, attendees found evidence of the historic Fort Brown. Map.

Office of Communications - Duncan Morrow will be retiring this month. During his 41 years with the National Park Service, he worked for 12 of the Service's 18 directors - and with two others in their retirements.

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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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