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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, January 12, 2012 INCIDENTS White Sands NM Newly Engaged Couple Found By Interagency Searchers On the afternoon of Monday, January 9th, the park learned that two visitors who had been hiking within the dunes since noon were lost and unable to find their way out. R.V. and K.R., both of Oklahoma, left to go hiking with their three dogs, Stitch, Suzy, and Griswald. After finding a suitably beautiful spot within the dunes, R.V. proposed to K.R. The newly engaged couple than attempted to hike back to their car, but were unable to find their way back. Rather than continue to wander becoming more lost, they contacted a cousin via cell phone and requested that help be sent. An interagency effort was begun that involved the NPS, the Alamo West Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Army. While two Army Rescue Blackhawk helicopters were en route from Fort Bliss, approximately an hour away, Holloman Air Force base diverted an F-22 Raptor from a training mission to the search effort. The pilot of the Raptor was able to positively identify the couple with their three dogs. Two Air Force drones were also tasked, which were able to relay specific coordinates and monitor the lost hiker's location and movement from the air while the Army helicopters were en route. The hikers and their dogs were transported by the Army Blackhawks out of the dunes to the command post, where they were examined by NPS and Alamo West EMS for exposure to the below freezing nighttime temperatures. K.R. accepted R.V.'s marriage proposal. The newly engaged couple invited the Blackhawk crew to the wedding. The search effort was greatly aided by the assistance of the military aircraft, which utilized night vision and infrared equipment to safely locate the hikers after nightfall. Ranger Kelly Roche acted as IC. [Becky Wiles, Acting Superintendent] 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/): Boston NHP - On December 11th, Old South Meeting House, now part of Boston National Historical Park, hosted a reenactment of the Boston Tea Party and transported visitors back in time to witness that historic event. Redwood N&SP - Rangers from both the NPS and California State Parks recently participated in the "Shop with a Hero" program, a national effort that pairs children from local schools with law enforcement, emergency personnel, firefighters, military personnel and other professionals. Cuyahoga Valley NP - Rangers from Cuyahoga Valley National Park have just completed a third year of involvement with the local Fraternal Order of Police "Shop with a Cop" program. US Park Police - On December 17th, US Park Police Explorer Post #1791 donated over nine boxes of toys to the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC. The donated toys were the largest single donation the medical center received during the holiday season. Northeast Region - Michael Creasey has been selected as superintendent of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP and the executive director of the Conservation Study Institute. * * * * The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced with the support of the Office of the Assistant Director for Information Resources and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). --- ### --- |