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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, April 30, 2012 INCIDENTS Grand Canyon NP Missing Man's Body Found Below South Rim Last Thursday afternoon, rangers received a report from a Peregrine Fund staffer of a possible body below the South Rim in the Mather Point area. Due to poor weather conditions and the late hour, rangers had to wait until Friday to confirm the report. They spotted the body that morning and rappelled 500 feet to the victim's location. The body was retrieved by helicopter and turned over to the county medical examiner, who tentatively identified the victim as 47-year-old S.O. of Tempe, Arizona. Rangers had been trying to find him since his car was found abandoned in a parking lot on April 16th ( HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/headline.cfm?type=Incidents&id=6122" click here for the original report). An investigation into his death is underway. [Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Officer] Grand Canyon NP Search For Suicidal Woman Culminates With Body Discovery Rangers retrieved a woman's body from below the Trail View overlook on the South Rim on Friday morning. She had been the subject of a search since early Thursday morning, when Phoenix PD contacted the park and reported that the potentially suicidal woman might be in the park. Rangers immediately began simultaneously searching for her in primary visitor areas and seeking clues to help them narrow down the search area. Shortly before 8 a.m., a bus driver reported that a woman fitting her description had gotten out of the shuttle about an hour earlier. Rangers then found her vehicle at the Bright Angel Lodge, confirming that she was likely at the west end of the village, so search efforts were concentrated in that area. Just before 11 a.m., the weather cleared enough for the park's helicopter to be launched and join the search. Fifteen minutes later, an observer in the helicopter spotted a body about 100 feet below the Trail View overlook. Rangers were dispatched to the scene to conduct an initial investigation and prepare the body for transport, but retrieval of the body had to be delayed until Friday due to poor weather conditions. An investigation into her death is being conducted. [Shannan Marcak, 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/): Palo Alto Battlefield NHP - Palo Alto Battlefield is the first unit in the Service to provide visitors with an eBird “Trail Tracker” kiosk - an interactive birding tool that is customized with park-specific maps and a species list that enables park visitors to enter and review bird observation data for the area. Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the National Park Service. This report covers activities during the week ending on April 27th. Redwood N&SP - Ranger David Keltner has received an outstanding community service award from the Del Norte County district attorney. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |