NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

INCIDENTS

Glacier NP

Remains Believed Found Of Hiker Missing Since 2008

New evidence has been found that is believed to be related to a 2008 missing hiker incident. In August, 2008, rangers and many other individuals and organizations were involved in an extensive search effort for a missing hiker, Y.-J.H., a native of Malaysia. The search effort began on August 21, 2008 after the park received word from Y.-J.H.'s family that he was three days overdue from a lengthy and arduous planned hike in the park's backcountry. After more than 2,500 hours of searching in difficult terrain and challenging conditions, the intensive effort was scaled back in early September of 2008. Since then, rangers have continued to respond to new leads and analyze new information related to the investigation, including a report of suspected evidence earlier this summer. On July 3rd, a hiker found portions of two items of clothing matching the description of clothing identified in the initial search efforts and was able to pinpoint the location of the items in steep cliffs off the Floral Park route, Y.-J.H.'s intended route. Rangers have returned to the site a couple of times for further investigation, with assistance from members of the Flathead County Sheriff's Department and Search and Rescue Team. Numerous pieces of evidence have been found, several of which closely match the items identified in Y.-J.H.'s equipment list. The evidence also includes some bone fragments that are being analyzed for DNA identification by the Montana Department of Justice's Crime Laboratory. Rangers believe the evidence was transported down slope from the cliffs above by water and snow avalanches. Deep snow and steep terrain are extending the recovery efforts, which will continue as weather conditions allow or definitive proof is found. Rangers are in contact with Y.-J.H.'s wife and mother. [Denise Germann, Public Affairs Specialist]

Grand Teton NP

Rangers Recover Body Of Fallen Climber

Rangers have located the body of climber who fell approximately 2,500 feet to his death on the northwest side of the Grand Teton sometime on Sunday, July 31st. After searching by foot for nearly seven hours on Monday, rangers eventually spotted the climber's body from the air. D.I., 45, of Springfield, Missouri, had undertaken a solo, one-day climb of the Grand Teton, but failed to return at an appointed time late Sunday evening and was reported overdue at 8:45 p.m. D.I. began his solo climb of the Grand Teton at 1:45 a.m. on Sunday morning. When he failed to meet his wife at day's end, she notified the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center that he was overdue. Because of the late hour and approaching darkness, rangers made arrangements to begin a search at daylight on Monday morning. Inclement weather prevented use of the Teton interagency contract helicopter and delayed the response by rangers stationed at a high elevation hut sited on the Lower Saddle of Grand Teton. Park rangers and guides from the Exum School of Mountaineering began a search by foot at 8 a.m. Dense clouds and heavy rain made it difficult to locate the missing man during the morning ground search, but rangers did find a small backpack near Grand Teton's Upper Saddle that they assumed belonged to D.I. When weather conditions improved in the afternoon, rangers launched the contract helicopter to conduct an aerial search. They ultimately located D.I.'s body at 1:45 p.m. in Valhalla Canyon, which lies on the northwest flank of the 13,770-foot Grand Teton. Using a long line attached to the helicopter, rangers flew D.I.'s body early Monday evening from Valhalla Canyon to the Lupine Meadows rescue cache where they were met by the Teton County coroner. Rangers are investigating the fatal accident. Because D.I. was climbing alone, though, the circumstances surrounding his fall may never be known. D.I.'s experience was limited to scrambling peaks with little technical difficulty. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Specialist]

Mount Rainier NP

Overnight Search Ends When Hiker Walks Out To Trailhead

A party of three day hikers left Pinnacle Peak Trailhead at 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 31st. Two hours into the hike, they split up on their way to the west ridgeline of Castle Peak, with two of the hikers turning back to the trailhead and one deciding to continue on. The two returning hikers waited at the parking lot for two hours. When their companion did not show up, they went to get help. They notified a maintenance worker in Paradise, who in turn informed rangers. Two rangers were sent as a hasty team to search the point last seen and surrounding area. The overdue hiker was inexperienced and was not prepared for an overnight stay in the park's backcountry. After searching most of the night, the hasty team returned from the field without success. As a morning briefing for the search incident was underway and additional search teams were being deployed, the missing hiker walked out to the trailhead. He reported that clouds came in during the evening, obscuring his view, and he lost his way during his descent and strayed off the trail. He said that he found shelter by some large rocks and slept until the morning. At first light the sky had cleared and he reoriented himself and hiked out. He was uninjured. Thomas Payne served as incident commander for this operation. [R. Chuck Young, Chief Ranger]

Blue Ridge Parkway

Rangers, Officers Successfully Intervene In Suicide Attempt

On July 28th, rangers were notified by Biltmore Forest PD of a possible drug overdose near Milepost 390. Rangers responded and met with Biltmore Forest officers, who'd come upon a woman within her vehicle who appeared to be asleep but could not be awakened. The engine was also running. The vehicle was entered and the woman was found to be unconscious but with a pulse. Several bottles of empty prescription drugs (Ambien) were found, as was an empty bottle of alcohol. A stick had also been inserted into the vehicle's exhaust pipe. EMS was notified and the woman was taken to Mission Hospital for evaluation and treatment. Investigation revealed that she had a history of mental illness and was currently under psychiatric care. [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/):

North Cascades NP - Volunteer training was recently held in the park to kick off the Cascades Butterfly Project. Fourteen citizen scientists turned out to become a part of this long-term effort to help biologists identify and count subalpine butterflies in order to document trends in these sensitive species as climate changes.

Editor's Desk - A Servicewide serious incident reporting system has been in place since 1986 and has led to thousands of timely reports from parks on an array of incidents. Particulars are provided on the system along with a link to the relevant reporting procedures.

Grand Canyon NP - Dave Uberuaga was installed as the 24th superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park last Thursday in an installation ceremony held on the South Rim. 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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