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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, June 19, 2012 INCIDENTS Denali NP&P Search For Missing Climbers Suspended A two-day ground search of the debris path from a fatal avalanche on Mt. McKinley has been suspended after clues were found confirming the likely location of four deceased climbers. Y.K., Ma.S., Mi.s., and T.S. of the Miyagi Workers Alpine Federation (MWAF) expedition are presumed to have died in the avalanche, while one team member, H.O., survived the event with a minor hand injury. The fatal avalanche happened at approximately 11,800-feet on the West Buttress and was originally believed to have occurred early on the morning of June 14th. However, NPS rangers have since confirmed with both H.O. and multiple teams on the mountain that the slide occurred during the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 13th. H.O. first reported the event to NPS rangers when he arrived at the Kahiltna Base Camp Thursday afternoon. An aerial hasty search took place on Thursday, followed by an initial four-member NPS ground search on Friday. On Saturday, an expanded 10-person ground crew consisting of NPS rangers, volunteer patrol members, a dog handler, and a trained search and rescue dog probed and further investigated the debris zone. During the search, NPS mountaineering ranger Tucker Chenoweth descended into the same crevasse that the survivor Hitoshi H.O. had fallen into during the avalanche. While probing through the debris roughly 30 meters below the glacier surface, Chenoweth found a broken rope end that matched the MWAF team's rope. He began to dig further, but encountered heavily compacted ice and snow debris. Due to the danger of ice fall within the crevasse, it was decided to permanently suspend the recovery efforts. There have been six climbing fatalities on Mt. McKinley this season. Since 1932, a total of 120 climbers have perished on the mountain, 12 due to avalanches. The four avalanche fatalities that occurred this week were the first to occur on the popular West Buttress route. [Maureen McLaughlin, PIO] Baltimore-Washington Parkway Traffic Enforcement Operation Results In Many Arrests, Citations In anticipation of an event that bordered the Baltimore Washington Parkway in Prince George's County, Maryland, the United States Park Police assigned a detail of officers to traffic enforcement. The traffic enforcement operation ran from June 6th to June 10th, concentrating in the late evening to early morning hours. As a result of the operation, 41 arrests were made, 29 for DUI, and over 300 traffic citations were issued. [Sergeant Paul Brooks, Public Information Officer] Chattahoochee River NRA Search Conducted For Man Suffering From Alzheimer's A 72-year-old Georgia man who was reportedly suffering from dementia wandered away from his residence close to the park's boundary on the afternoon of May 24ths. City of Duluth police conducted a search that night without locating the man. The park communications center received a call for assistance early the following morning. Rangers Sean Perchalski and Paul Forward conducted a search of the river by boat along with a state patrol helicopter. The missing man was located within 15 minutes of launching. He was found alive, lying face up in about three inches of water on the river bank. He was extremely hypothermic and treated for exposure while being transported back to the boat ramp. Upon arrival he suffered a cardiac arrest on the bow of the boat. Paramedics immediately began CPR as they loaded him into the waiting ambulance, but the man was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived at the hospital. [Sean Perchalski, Supervisory Park Ranger] Mount Rainier NP Car Clouter Pleads Guilty To Charges On June 4th, M.M. pled guilty to charges filed for his role in a series of vehicle break-ins in Mount Rainier National Park during the summer of 2010. M.M. pled guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of conspiracy to commit unauthorized use of a credit card. This case resulted from an extensive investigation by rangers and NPS Investigative Services Branch special agents following a series of vehicle break-ins that occurred at numerous trailheads and parking areas in the park. Evidence was meticulously documented at the scene of each break-in, leads were followed up based on receipts and other identifying information based on the use of stolen credit cards and identification, and evidence based on the use of stolen cards was documented by investigators to help make the case. As part of the investigation, a search warrant was executed at the residence of M.M.'s co-conspirator, P.W.. Rangers and agents were able recover both items that were stolen in the park and illegal narcotics from P.W.'s residence. P.W. is currently serving a sentence of 24 months and one day in federal prison for her role in the break-ins. [R. Chuck Young, Chief Ranger] 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/): Park Planning and Special Studies Division - The Park Planning Facilities and Lands Directorate has announced changes to park planning that will give parks the ability to respond to pressing issues more quickly and efficiently. Office of Communications - For three years, the “National Park Getaway” series has been helping people find new places to reconnect with nature, history, family and friends. Participation is sought from parks that have not yet been featured. Denver Service Center - Denver Service Center's just-released annual report describes operations for the past fiscal year, including year-end analysis from the contracting services, design and construction, planning, transportation, and information management divisions. Office of Communications - Director Jarvis has selected Shane Compton as the Service's new associate director for information resources. Compton has been the bureau's deputy associate director for information services since 2004. Office of Policy - Chick Fagan, chief of National Park Service's Office of Policy in Washington, will retire on June 30th. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |