|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, June 22, 2012 INCIDENTS Bandelier NM Rangers And National Guard Rescue Distressed Hikers On Tuesday morning, the Sandoval County 911 center received a cell phone call from a group of hikers in distress in the park's backcountry. Sandoval County provided Bandelier personnel with the call's GPS coordinates and archaeologist/rangers Heath Bailey and David Shiffler, who were already in the vicinity, immediately responded. The parties in distress - a 15-year-old boy, a 48-year-old woman and a 79-year-old woman - had planned to camp the previous night at Capulin Canyon, where there is a water source, but never made it that far. They'd run out of water several hours earlier and showed signs of heat exhaustion and dehydration. Bailey and Shiffler provided them with water and began a slow, six-mile hike out with them from Alamo Mesa towards park headquarters. As evening approached, the older woman began to show more serious signs of heat exhaustion, and the decision was made to evacuate her via helicopter. Chief Ranger Tom Betts coordinated the helicopter rescue with the New Mexico State Patrol and the National Guard, and a National Guard Blackhawk helicopter was dispatched to Alamo Canyon. The 78-year-old woman was extricated via short haul and airlifted directly to UNM Medical Center in Albuquerque, where she was treated and is now in stable condition. Rangers Iffy Khan and Paul Weddle hiked in with more provisions for Bailey, Shiffler, and the two remaining hikers. All made it safely to Frijoles Canyon near midnight. [Rod Torrez, PIO] Blue Ridge Parkway One Killed, Two Injured In Parkway Accident An accident involving a car and three motorcycles occurred late on the morning of Friday, May 25th. Three motorcyclists - J.K. of Missouri and two of his cousins - were northbound on the parkway when a southbound sedan reportedly crossed the center line and hit J.K. head-on. J.K.'s motorcycle was knocked back more than 20 feet; he hit the car's windshield and landed on the center line. The car then went off the road and down an embankment and J.K.'s cousins lost control of their bikes and went down after hitting the debris field. J.K. was killed; the driver of the car suffered injuries to her chest and stomach and was taken to a local hospital, as was one of the cousins, who sustained a broken ankle. A regional crash team spent the rest of the day reconstructing the accident. A dozen officers were involved and/or continue to be involved in the investigation, as is the county medical examiner. The preliminary crash team findings place the point of impact in the southbound lane. [Bobby Miller, District Ranger] Niobrara NSR Body Recovered From River Yankton County 911 received a call reporting a body in the river within the park last Saturday afternoon. The county SAR team retrieved it about a mile east of Discovery Bridge. An autopsy was set for earlier this week in an effort to identify the victim. The victim was wearing clothing similar to those of as person who is known to suffer from short term memory loss and was reported missing in Yankton on June 10th. Yankton County Search and Rescue was assisted by the Yankton Police Department, Cedar County Sheriff's Office, Crofton Police Department and Nebraska and South Dakota Game and Parks. National Park Service staff will remain involved until the incident is concluded. [Andrew Branum, Park 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/): Santa Monica Mountains NRA - The National Park Service, along with its partners, dedicated a new interagency visitor center in Santa Monica Mountains NRA on Saturday, June 9th. The new facility provides a single point where the park's 35 million annual visitors can learn about the area's local, state and federal park systems. Alcatraz Island - The 50th anniversary of an escape from Alcatraz was marked with a visit to the island by relatives of the Anglin brothers and the US marshal still assigned to the case and by a panel discussion for the media hosted by the National Park Service. Pacific West Region - Shelley Hall has been selected as the new superintendent of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. She replaces Jim Hammett, who recently retired after serving as the park's superintendent for 18 years. Washington Office - Visitor and Resource Protection has issued an announcement for a GS-0025 or GS-0304-14/15 supervisory law enforcement/program manager. The person selected will serve as chief of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Services. Closes: July 6th. Upcoming Training and Conference Calendar - The following entries have been added to this week's calendar - a course on strategic conservation planning using a green infrastructure approach, a green infrastructure program, a class on how to record oral histories, and one new FLETC offering. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |