NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

INCIDENTS

Zion NP

Injured Climber Rescued From Minotaur Tower

Just before 1 a.m. on July 1st, a climber, after running over two miles to get to a phone, reported that his partner had fallen approximately 40 feet and sustained serious injuries off the first pitch of the Moonlight Buttress route. He then returned to the area with two rangers, but in the darkness and steep terrain he was unable to find his injured friend. SAR team members gearing up along the roadside could see a faint headlight glow about a quarter mile down canyon from the base of the Moonlight Buttress, though, and therefore shifted their response. Subsequent investigation revealed that the two inexperienced climbers had planned to climb the route despite never having visited Zion before and never having practiced the aid climbing techniques typically utilized on the route. During their approach in fading light, the climbers mistook the Minotaur Tower for Moonlight Buttress and attempted to climb, in the dark, a crack system not associated with any standard climbing routes. Rescuers determined that the climber's injuries were not immediately life threatening, so technical rigging operations were suspended until daylight. A 300-foot-high, steep-angle lowering and wheeled litter evacuation brought the climber to the roadside around 9 a.m. The climber survived the night with multiple injuries and was transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center via the park's ambulance. [Brandon Torres, Canyon District Ranger]

Grand Teton NP

Injured Man Rescued From The Grand Teton

A New York man was rescued from the Grand Teton on the evening of Thursday, July 5th. D.P., 28, of Brooklyn, New York, was ascending the mountain between the Headwall and Lower Saddle around 6 p.m. when several rocks broke free, striking him and causing a significant injury. A member of D.P.'s climbing party continued to the Lower Saddle to seek help. Two park rangers on a routine backcountry patrol there were notified of the accident and immediately began a rescue operation. Once on scene, the rangers stabilized D.P.'s injury and provided emergency medical care. With the help of other climbers in the area, they brought him to the park's seasonal hut on the Lower Saddle, where they waited for a helicopter to evacuate him from the mountain. He was flown to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson for further care. D.P. was on the first day of a two-day guided climb of the mountain when he was injured. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Specialist]

Rocky Mountain NP

Two Hikers Rescued In Separate Same-Day Operations

Park rangers successfully completed two rescue operations on Friday, July 6th. In both cases, rangers worked through monsoonal rain, hail and lightning to find and rescue the visitors. W.P. III, 51, of Arvada, Colorado, became separated from his family near the campground at Sandbeach Lake in the Wild Basin region of the park and was reported missing by family members around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Rangers found W.P. about 5 p.m. on Friday after they'd heard him blowing a rescue whistle. He was dried off and warmed up by rescuers on scene and was able to walk with rangers to the trailhead, about four-and-a-half miles away. He was then transported to Estes Park Medical Center for non-emergency care. In another incident on Friday, rangers at the Longs Peak Ranger Station were notified at about 1 p.m. of an injured man on the Estes Cone Trail. At about 2:45 p.m., they reached D.S., a 78-year-old visitor from Chicago, and found that he had an ankle injury. They treated his injury onsite and assisted him on horseback to the trailhead. D.S. got himself to the Estes Park Medical Center for treatment shortly after 5 p.m. [James Doyle, Chief of Communications and Legislation, IMRO]

Lake Meredith NRA

Man Drowns In Lake On Fourth Of July

Around 8 p.m. on the Fourth of July, Borger PD began receiving 911 calls regarding a man having difficulty swimming across Sanford-Yake Cove. Witnesses said that C.J., 21, started to swim across the cove to meet up with his brother and friends, who were camping in South Canyon, when he started to have problems swimming. He began yelling for help and then went under the water. Within minutes of receiving the call, Texas Parks and Wildlife officers launched a boat and started to search the cove. National Park Service rangers arrived minutes later and started witness interviews. Efforts to locate C.J.'s body proved fruitless that night and the search was suspended after midnight. Searching continued Thursday morning with the assistance of Texas Parks and Wildlife officers, Amarillo Police Department divers, and Clarendon Fire Department divers. C.J.'s body was recovered early on the afternoon of July 5th. Additional assistance came from the Hutchinson County Sheriffs' Department and Fritch EMS and Fire Department. Supervisory ranger Dale Culver was the incident commander. [Dale Culver, Operations Chief]

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/):

Department of the Interior - Secretary Salazar has directed that flags at all Department of the Interior facilities be lowered to half staff today in memory of the crew members of an Air National Guard tanker that crashed while fighting the White Draw Fire.

Fort Laramie NHS - Over a three-day weekend in mid-June, the park commemorated the 175th anniversary of artist Alfred Jacob Miller's 1837 trip to the Rocky Mountain West. The event blended history, art, art history, and living history.

Office of Communications - The Service has announced the award of battlefield protection project grants that will affect more than 75 battlefields nationwide.

Office of Communications - The Service has announced that it will expand bicycle access in parks nationwide while preserving the agency's responsibility to prohibit bikes in wilderness and other areas where they would have significant impact on the environment or visitor safety.

Workforce Management - Associate Director for Workforce Management Jerry Simpson has announced his retirement, effective August 3rd, following six years with the NPS and over 36 years of federal service.

Mount Rushmore NM - Seasonal interpretive ranger Terry Lee Kirkhart, 64, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, July 3rd, while hiking with his family on his lieu day.

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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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