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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, June 21, 2012 INCIDENTS Grand Teton NP Felony Assault Suspect Arrested On the morning of June 18th, rangers received information regarding the possible whereabouts of a felony assault suspect wanted by the Aspen Police Department in Colorado. The information received from Aspen PD included postings on Facebook where the suspect, D.C., 29, said that he was spending the summer in the Jackson Hole area. Photographs on the site appeared to have been taken on Jackson Lake. After confirming that D.C. was actively wanted in Aspen following a physical assault that occurred in May, 2010, rangers Daniel Stark and Ryan Bock determined that D.C. also had a criminal history that included possession of controlled substances, kidnapping, domestic violence, harassment and assault. The investigating rangers found that D.C. was employed by a park concessioner and contacted the company. Coordinating with concession managers, rangers located D.C. in his dormitory room and arrested him without incident. Based upon evidence found at the arrest scene, D.C. is also being charged with possession of a controlled substance. [Patrick W. Hattaway, North District Ranger] Blue Ridge Parkway Woman Reports Sexual Assault In Park Picnic Area A Virginia woman reported that she was attacked and raped by two men at the Ground Hog Mountain picnic ground on Mother's Day. On Sunday, May 13th, the woman was transported to a local hospital, where she reported the assault to hospital staff. They in turn contacted park dispatch that evening and reported the incident. Rangers interviewed the woman, who said that she'd been walking the trail that runs through the picnic area around 3 p.m. that afternoon when she was attacked from behind by the two men. They assaulted her and then fled. She said that another woman had helped her back to her car, that she then left the area, and that about four hours after the attack she decided to go to the hospital due to the pain of her injuries. Rangers conducted a consent search of her vehicle for evidence of the crime and found a receipt dated May 13th and time stamped at 3 p.m. from a location more than 20 miles from the scene of the alleged attack. The woman was released the next day. Following consultation with the U.S. Attorney's Office, rangers turned the case over to Patrick County investigators. They contacted the woman and arranged a second interview. She reluctantly consented and the investigators met with her on May 20th. She refused to provide additional details regarding the incident. The investigation continues. [Bobby Miller, Plateau District Ranger] Glacier NP Canoeists Rescued From Lake McDonald On the afternoon of Saturday, June 16th, employees of the Glacier Park Boat Company reported a capsized canoe and two people in the water on Lake McDonald. The boat company employees rescued the pair from the water and transported them to the Lake McDonald Lodge, where rangers assessed their condition and took them to their vehicle. The rangers also retrieved the canoe and returned it to them. Both boaters were wearing life jackets. [Denise Germann, Public Affairs Officer] Blue Ridge Parkway Two Seriously Injured In Parkway Accident Early on Wednesday, May 16th, park dispatch received a report of an accident with injuries on the parkway. Rescue personnel determined that the driver and his passenger were not wearing seatbelts when the accident occurred and had suffered head injuries, broken bones and lacerations. According to the driver, the accident had occurred around 11 p.m. the previous night. He said that a deer had crossed the road in front of him, causing him to swerve and go off the road and run head on into a creek embankment. The woman who was his passenger was thrown into the back seat, where she remained for the rest of the night. He said that he'd twice climbed up to the road shoulder in an attempt to summon help, which was corroborated by the blood trail he left along and across the parkway. On his second try, a passing driver saw him sitting on the shoulder and called 911. Both the man and woman were flown to Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment. Rangers conducting an inventory search of the vehicle found empty alcohol containers, a pipe containing a green leafy substance, and three containers of a synthetic drug. The operator subsequently admitted to having consumed alcohol before the accident and to possession of the drugs. Charges filed so far include operating without a driver's license, unsafe operation and possession of controlled substances. Additional charges, including DUI, are pending. [Bobby Miller, Plateau District 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/): Fort McHenry NM&HS - On Monday, June 18th, 200 years to the day after the United States declared war on Great Britain, thereby beginning the War of 1812, the park observed the anniversary with a program entitled “From Enemies to Allies.” The event commemorated the start of the war and celebrated the alliance between the U.S., Great Britain and Canada that has been forged in the two centuries since the conflict. Aztec Ruins NM - Representatives from parks, governments, businesses, and tribes across the Four Corners joined National Geographic to promote geotourism, which offers opportunities to expand sustainable tourism development in the Southwest. Florissant Fossil Beds NM - On June 11th, park staff stepped outside of the park's boundary to welcome and connect to 593 active duty military and dependents from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, inviting them to visit Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and the additional 396 national park service areas that the NPS administers. Southeast Region - Madeline Yordan, management assistant at Virgin Islands National Park, has announced her retirement on July 31st. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |