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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, October 9, 2012 INCIDENTS Yosemite NP Search Underway For Missing Concession Employee A search is currently underway for 23-year-old J.R.G., an employee of DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite, Inc., who did not show up for work at the Wawona Hotel as scheduled on Saturday morning. This was to be Jessica's first day working at the hotel. Rangers checked at her park residence Saturday morning and found that she was not there. They determined that she'd last been seen walking east along Forest Drive near the stables in Wawona at approximately 11:30 a.m. that morning, and that she had just come from an orientation meeting with her supervisor at the Wawona Hotel. She was dressed in her work uniform, a dark green polo shirt with the DNC logo on it, black slacks and black Rockies work loafers. She was also wearing her dark green DNC jacket, which has the DNC logo on the left side of the chest. J.R.G. is a Hispanic female; she is 5' 3” tall, weighs approximately 170 pounds, and has shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. J.R.G. is fit and hikes regularly. She is described as being shy and reserved around strangers. She was in possession of her cell phone and personal ID. Search and rescue teams include six dog teams, the park helicopter, rangers on horseback and 23 rangers on foot. The search area includes the South Fork of the Merced River and in and around the Wawona area. The park is asking for assistance with any information on J.R.G.'s whereabouts. Please call the Wawona Ranger Station at 209-375-9520, or Yosemite Dispatch at 209-379-1992, if you have any information on her. [Scott Gediman and Kari Cobb, Public Affairs Office] Salem Maritime NHS Employee Stops Runaway Visitor Vehicle An 82-year-old Nevada woman lost control of her vehicle and was dragged backwards down a cobblestone driveway while visiting the park on September 26th. The woman was stepping out of her minivan when it started to roll backwards down the sloped driveway of the Hawkes House, dragging her along the cobblestones as she clung to the open driver-side door. Maintenance employee Nathaniel White was moving boxes on an adjacent sidewalk and responded to the woman's cries for help, running over to the vehicle as it rolled towards moving traffic on Derby Street. White positioned himself between the woman and the door frame and depressed the emergency brake pedal with his hand, safely bringing the vehicle to a stop. Chief ranger Mike Parr, interpretive ranger John Clarke, and White then treated the woman for multiple foot lacerations. She was released with no further complications. [Jonathan Parker, Public Information Officer] Blue Ridge Parkway Rangers Make Two Ginseng Poaching Cases On Sunday, September 30th, protection rangers in the Ridge District detected and apprehended two separate groups of poachers illegally taking ginseng from park lands. A group of four was seen digging illegally by rangers Jeremy Sears and Marc Cyr; three of them were cited for the illegal removal of the plant. Rangers Zeph Cunningham and Miranda Cook then contacted two people as they walked along the parkway to their vehicle. Further investigation resulted in the rangers discovering a bag stashed in the woods that contained a large amount of ginseng and digging tools. One of the people they contacted admitted to digging the ginseng and was placed under arrest. A search of their vehicle resulted in the discovery of a second bag of ginseng. Wild ginseng is currently being sold for $500 to $600 per pound. [Kurt Speers, Ridge 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/): Fire and Aviation Management - The theme of this year's Fire Prevention Week, which began on Sunday and continues through this coming Saturday, is the importance of fire escape planning and practice, urging everyone to “Have 2 Ways Out.” Office of Communications - The summer/fall edition of Arrowhead is now available online. There are two versions - a fully designed, accessible PDF and a text-only PDF. A link is provided. Biological Resource Management Division - Dr. Scott Abella started his new job as an ecologist with the Biological Resource Management Division's Restoration and Adaptation Branch on September 23rd. NPS Alumni - Elizabeth B. Armijo, 87, a retired employee of Amistad NRA, passed away on September 28th in Mesa, Arizona. * * * * The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). --- ### --- |