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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, October 15, 2012 INCIDENTS Glacier NP Search Underway For Two Missing Hikers A search is underway for two hikers who were reported missing by family members after they missed their flight from Montana to the East Coast and failed to return home. It's believed that 32-year-old N.P. from Virginia and 32-year-old J.H. from Maryland departed from the North Shore trailhead at Two Medicine on Tuesday, October 9th. According to their backcountry permit, the two men planned to camp at the Oldman backcountry campground on Tuesday night and return to Two Medicine on Wednesday, October 10th. Rangers located their vehicle late on Friday and began a search early on Saturday morning. The weather has been quite challenging for the search operation. Search personnel are encountering up to 18 inches of snow on trails, snow drifts, limited visibility and very windy conditions. Aerial operations were limited yesterday due to low visibility and extremely windy conditions. A recently used fire ring and tracks were identified in the area of the search on Sunday. It is believed the evidence may be related to the missing hikers. It's likely that due to winter weather conditions and snow covered trails, the two men may have gone off trail. The fire ring and tracks were found in the Nyack Drainage on the west side of the Continental Divide, which includes some very dense, steep and treacherous terrain. According to their backcountry permit, N.P. and J.H. were planning to hike from the North Shore trailhead at Two Medicine on Tuesday and camp at the Oldman Backcountry Campground on Tuesday night. It's believed that they planned to hike to Pitamakan Pass and along the Continental Divide to Dawson Pass, returning to Two Medicine on Wednesday. The entire loop, as planned, is approximately 17 miles in length. Approximately 50 people are involved in the search, including personnel from the park and Flathead Country Search and Rescue. N.P. is six feet tall, weighs approximately 180 pounds, and has brown hair and blue eyes; J.H. is six feet tall, weighs about 200 pounds, and has brown hair and green eyes. N.P. may be wearing a red hooded rain jacket and J.H. may have a blue North Face beanie hat. Anyone who may have any information or may have been in the area and seen hikers who meet these descriptions is encouraged to contact the park at 406-888-7805. [Denise Germann, Public Affairs Officer] Virgin Islands NP Park Institutes Closures Due To Tropical Storm All ports in the territory were closed over the weekend due to the imminent passage of Tropical Storm Rafael. St. Thomas employees were unable to report for work on either Saturday or Sunday. Staggered closures were in effect in the park on Sunday due to the storm's approach, but the Trunk Bay and the Cruz Bay visitor centers remained open. Plans were to reopen the park yesterday if weather permitted. [Mike Anderson, Deputy Superintendent] Bandelier NP Rangers Guide Lost Hiker Out Of Backcountry Rangers and Sandoval County Sheriff's Office personnel successfully concluded a search for a lost 23-year-old woman on October 9th. The woman was on a solo loop hike in the park but missed a trail junction and hiked for some distance before realizing her mistake. Knowing that she would not be able to get back to the trailhead before nightfall, she bushwhacked to the mesa top to get a cell phone signal and called 911 for help. Staff at the Sandoval County 911 center who picked up the call were able to determine the phone's GPS coordinates and passed them on the sheriff's office. A deputy drove to Dome trailhead and made cell phone contact with the woman. He was also able to see a light she carried and she could see his. Rangers were advised of the situation and began hiking to the woman's location at 9:45 p.m. They reached her around 12:45 a.m. by navigating about two-and-a-half miles off trail, following the GPS coordinates to her location. She was in good condition and hiked out with the rangers, meeting the deputy at the trailhead. All parties were back to their vehicles and clear of the area by 7:15 a.m. [Chris Judson, Public Affairs Officer] Olympic NP Rangers Participate In Interagency Enforcement Operation Over a two-day period in mid-September, rangers participated in an interagency enforcement operation to “cooperatively develop, test and evaluate procedures and protocols in responding to threats to our national borders” and ports on the Olympic Peninsula. To assist in this effort, rangers conducted a traffic emphasis during two night shift patrols on Highway 101, the most heavily used throughway for traffic between Port Angeles and seaports to the south and west. They made over 106 vehicle stops and issued citations for a variety of traffic, vehicle, drug and paraphernalia possession related violations. Several individuals with misdemeanor warrants out against them - and one with a felony warrant - were taken into custody and transported to the Clallam County jail. Search dogs and detectives from OPNET (the local drug task force) assisted in the effort. Other agencies involved in the north Olympic Peninsula-wide effort included US Customs and Border Protection (including both air and marine units), the Coast Guard, Washington State Patrol, Clallam County Sheriff's Office, Port Angeles Police Department, Sequim Police Department, Neah Bay Police Department, Civil Air Patrol, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, and Elwha Police Department. [Colin Smith, 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/): Channel Islands NP - Remote, isolated, rugged, and sometimes inaccessible, Channel Islands National Park can be challenging to experience. Now, through advanced technology, the Channel Islands live ocean webcam brings the park's prolific and diverse marine environment directly to you. Office of Communications - A new National Park Service CD entitled “Songs for Junior Rangers” will have kids singing, dancing, and laughing as they learn fun facts about history and nature. National Natural Landmarks Program - The votes have been counted and the winners selected in the ninth annual NNL photo contest. Photographs were submitted of 69 different NNL sites from 28 states and Puerto Rico, each one representing the beauty and diversity of the nation's natural heritage. Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the National Park Service. This report covers activities since September 28th. The House and Senate are in recess until November 13th. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |