NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, May 14, 2012

INCIDENTS

Olympic NP

Missing Hiker Found After Three Day Search

The search for a missing hiker came to a successful conclusion early Saturday morning when he was hoisted from a drainage near the Irely Lake loop trail by a county sheriff's office rescue helicopter. D.S., 55, was dehydrated, slightly hypothermic and tired, but otherwise appeared in good condition. He was transported to a local hospital for further examination.

D.S. was reported overdue on Wednesday morning when he failed to return to work after a planned day hike on the trail. He'd begun his day hike on Monday afternoon with the intention of returning that afternoon. When he reached Three Lakes around 9 p.m., he attempted to loop back to the trailhead via a shortcut, but deep snow on the ridges and steep terrain in the drainage trapped him near the creek.

The park began a search for him on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday, observers in a search helicopter spotted tracks in the snow that led to the drainage near the Irely Lake loop trail. Ground personnel began tracking D.S. from that point. A King County heat sensing HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLIR" FLIR helicopter was brought in on Friday night to assist in the search. The helicopter's crew spotted a light source around midnight and D.S. was located with the FLIR about a half hour later. A second helicopter with a hoist was brought in at first light and lifted D.S. out.

Over 40 people were involved in the search, including personnel from Olympic National Park and Olympic Mountain Rescue. They were aided by a German shepherd search dog team from Pierce County and personnel searching from the helicopters.

[Rainey McKenna, 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/):

Independence NHP - Independence Hall has once again welcomed a member of the British Royal Family. Prince Edward's recent visit to Philadelphia included a tour of Independence Hall, where he reviewed the park's copies of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

Office of Risk Management - Warm weather and longer days bring more outdoors activity and a more active tick population, thereby increasing exposure to Lyme disease. More than 30,000 cases were reported last year and the trend has been upward. Information is provided on locations where it is most often found and how to prevent exposure.

Office of 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 May 11th.

Death Valley NP - Brent Pennington, chief ranger at Death Valley, will retire on May 31st after 34 years with the National Park Service.

Denver Service Center - After almost 35 years as an NPS historical architect, Paul Newman will retire on June 1st. Paul is a project specialist with the Denver Service Center Design and Construction Eastern Division.

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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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