NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, August 8, 2011

INCIDENTS

Sleeping Bear Dunes NL

Passengers Rescued From Sinking Ship

On the evening of July 25th, a distress call was transmitted by the 50-foot-long vessel Pictured Rocks, advising that it was taking on water and going down in Lake Michigan in five- to seven-foot seas within the park. The vessel was located six miles offshore from Sleeping Bear Point and had 54 passengers on board. The initial response included four NPS rangers from the mainland, a ranger and vessel from North Manitou Island, four fire departments, two Coast Guard helicopters from the USCG Air Station in Traverse City, and a marine unit from the USCG station in Frankfort. The captain ran the vessel onto the beach just south of North Bar Lake within the park, where most of the passengers were able to disembark from the vessel. Two were lifted by helicopter off the vessel and taken to the beach for treatment, and another three were transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. All 54 passengers were accounted for along with the crew. It appears that the junior captain who was operating the vessel made some tactical errors in steerage and thrust applications, resulting in the wheel house windows all being blown in by a wave or waves. The vessel lost all electronics and some or all steering. The wheel house had a foot of water in it from the waves. The vessel was removed from the beach the next afternoon after an all-day sand excavation operation. The Coast Guard is leading the investigation. [Phil Akers, Chief Ranger]

Glacier NP

Hiker Injured By Grizzly Bear

A hiker on the trail from Many Glacier to Piegan Pass was attacked by a grizzly bear around noon on Friday. The 50-year-old visitor from St. Paul, Minnesota, was hiking by himself when he rounded a bend in the trail and encountered a sow grizzly with a sub-adult grizzly. Although he was carrying bear spray, he was unable to utilize it before the bear attacked. He sustained bites to his left thigh and left forearm before the bear grabbed his foot, shook him, released him, and left the area. The man hiked back toward Many Glacier, encountering a naturalist ranger leading a hike while on the way. The ranger notified dispatch while the man continued to the Many Glacier Ranger Station, where he was treated for his injuries and transported to the Blackfeet Community Hospital in Browning. The hiker was reportedly making noise as he hiked. The trail from Piegan Pass to Feather Plum Falls is closed at this time, and rangers are investigating the incident. [Denise Germann, Public Affairs Specialist]

Upper Delaware S&RR

Teenager Drowns While Attempting To Swim Across Delaware

A teenager drowned in the Delaware River last Thursday evening - the third drowning in the Upper Delaware to occur within a period of just over a week. The park learned of the possible drowning at 6:45 p.m. Rangers responded along with emergency personnel from several local agencies. Investigation revealed that eleven people ranging in age from 17 to 21 had attempted to swim across the river from New York to Pennsylvania just below Skinner's Falls Rapids, a distance of about 150 feet. The last to leave the New York shoreline was a 19-year-old from Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. About halfway across the river, he began having difficulty staying afloat. Two 17-year-olds attempted to grab hold of him and get him to shore, but he began pulling then underwater, forcing them to let him go. The Sullivan County dive team began searching for him and recovered his body around 8:15 p.m. in about ten to twelve feet of water near the point last seen. River conditions at the time of the incident were typical for this time of summer. The river height was 3.5 feet and the temperature in the low 70's. The incident is currently under investigation and the NPS is the lead investigating agency. [Joe Hinkes, Chief Ranger]

Grand Canyon NP

Man Falls 200 Feet To His Death

Park dispatch received a call from a visitor reporting a man over the edge below Lookout Studio on the South Rim on Friday afternoon. Rangers responded and called in the park's helicopter to help search for the body, which was found more than 200 feet below the rim at approximately 2:30 p.m. Members of the park's technical rescue team hiked a short distance down the Bright Angel trail, then traversed the canyon's edge to reach the body. It was then flown to the South Rim and transferred to the county medical examiner. The National Park Service is investigating the fatality as a possible suicide. The fall was witnessed by several visitors in the area. [Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Specialist]

Yosemite NP

Body Of One Of Three Swept Over Vernal Fall Recovered

Searchers have recovered the body of H.D., 22, one of three people who were swept over the 317-foot-high Vernal Fall in mid-July. His body was found in the Merced River about 240 feet from the base of the fall on Friday afternoon. Recovery operations took approximately four-and-a-half hours to complete and required technical rigging and swiftwater trained personnel. H.D. and two others - N.Y., 27, and R.B., 21 - were seen being swept over the waterfall on July 19th. The area where the three were swept away is signed as a dangerous area, and the trio had crossed a metal guardrail placed there to keep visitors away from the fast moving water. River water levels in Yosemite continue to remain higher and colder than usual for this time of the year. Rangers and SAR personnel are continuing recovery efforts in the Merced River below Vernal Fall for any signs of N.Y. and R.B.. The Mist Trail, leading to the top of Vernal Fall, will intermittently and temporarily be closed until N.Y. and R.B. are recovered. [Kari Cobb, 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/):

Workplace Enrichment - The Employee Benefits Survey will be administered in mid-August for the first time in five years. This comprehensive assessment reviews the importance of benefits on recruitment and retention in the federal government and helps to guide decision making in these areas.

Office of the Comptroller - Three new training videos on the NPS Scorecard have been added to the Scorecard website. The webinar topics are Scorecard Basics, Scorecard for Division Chiefs, and the Grouped Scorecard Pilot.

Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the NPS.  The House and Senate are in recess until September 6th, but three bills relevant to the NPS have nonetheless been introduced.

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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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