NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

INCIDENTS

Mount Rainier NP

Search For Four Missing People Scaled Back

On Monday, the seventh day of the search for four people in two missing parties on Mountain Rainier, the mountain came out of the clouds for the first time, providing perfect weather for extensive air and ground operations. In spite of a major search effort, the parties were not located. With the return of winter weather and the odds of a favorable outcome declining daily, operations are being scaled back and will transition back to the park today. Investigators will continue to work on an in-depth investigation, and operations are shifting to an extended limited continuous search. Family liaisons worked with four separate families throughout the week. The consulate provided translators to assist in overcoming language barriers with family from Korea. Ninety-one people were assigned to the search over the course of the incident, which was managed by the Western Incident Management Team (Denny Ziemann IC). The team took over management of the search on January 21st, providing assistance to a park staff depleted by the impacts of the tragic shooting of Ranger Margaret Anderson. [Patti Wold, Incident Information Officer]

Haleakala NP

Search Conducted For Missing Hiker

A search was begun for a lost day hiker late last Sunday when he failed to meet a family member at Keonehe'ehe'e trailhead as planned. The day hiker arranged to be dropped off by a family member at the Halemau'u trailhead (elevation 7,990 feet) around midday on Sunday. He apparently planned to descend Halemau'u Trail into the crater and then ascend via the Keonehe'ehe'e (Sliding Sands) Trail five hours later - a distance exceeding 11 miles and 4,000 feet total elevation change. He was poorly prepared and did not possess a trail map. After the family member reporting the missing hiker, Maui Fire Department conducted a hasty search of the Halemau'u trailhead, but suspended the search when it became too dark. Search and rescue operations resumed at first light on Monday. Despite inadequate preparation, water, and clothing, he'd found his own way out of the crater overnight through Kaupo Gap and apparently hitchhiked back to Kahului. He was found to be in relatively good condition. [Navnit Singh, Public Affairs Officer]

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/):

National Park of American Samoa - Park staff have relocated to a new headquarters and visitor center building in the Pago Pago Harbor area. The old facility was completely destroyed in the earthquake and tsunami of September, 2009.

Chattahoochee River NRA - Chattahoochee River NRA and San Juan NHS are working together to offer a ranger cultural immersion program which allows for shared staffing and development.

Office of Communications - Rick Lewis has announced that he will retire on March 2nd after 44 years of federal service. Rick is an editor/visual information specialist in the WASO Office of Communications.

Cultural Resources - Sue Renaud retired on December 31st after more than 22 years of service to the National Park Service and its partners.

Statue of Liberty NM - Frank Mills, deputy superintendent at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, will retire on March 2nd after 37 years with the National Park Service.

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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).

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