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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, October 17, 2012 INCIDENTS Grand Canyon NP Capital Murder Fugitive Receives Life Sentence On April 22, 2011, rangers apprehended a capital murder fugitive, T.B., who'd reportedly been panhandling at a scenic overlook. When rangers investigated, T.B. fled and jumped over the canyon's edge, leading to an extensive technical rescue. A joint investigation was conducted by Grand Canyon National Park, the Investigative Services Branch of the National Park Service, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Evidence Response Team, the Plano (Texas) Police Department, and the Texas Rangers. On August 23rd, two protection rangers from Grand Canyon National Park, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer (formerly with the NPS), and a National Park Service special agent testified in the T.B. trial in McKinney, Texas. On August 30th, T.B. was found guilty of capital murder after an eight day trial. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. [Investigative Services Branch] Cape Hatteras NS Fisherman Drowns In Ocean Off Ocracoke Beach Rangers, Ocracoke EMS, and the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched to South Point on Ocracoke Beach last Thursday morning in response to a report of man who'd been pulled from the ocean. They found visitors performing CPR on a 72-year-old North Carolina man and took over the efforts to resuscitate him. He was taken to Ocracoke Medical Clinic, where he was later pronounced dead. He reportedly entered the water in an effort to retrieve his fishing pole, which had been pulled out of its holder and into the water. [Paul Stevens, Chief Ranger] Grand Canyon NP Visitor Killed In Accident On North Rim On the morning of Tuesday, October 9th, park dispatch received a report of a motor vehicle accident on Highway 67 just outside of the park. Rangers responded to the accident as a cooperating agency, planning to assist the Arizona Department of Public Safety. When they arrived on scene, they found the vehicle on its side approximately two-and-a-half miles south of the entrance station, well inside the park boundary. The driver, a 57-year-old Maryland woman, died at the scene; her passenger was taken to Kane County Hospital in Kanab, Utah, where he was treated for minor injuries. Preliminary indications are that the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree, causing it to roll on to its side. Both the driver and passenger were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the accident. An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the National Park Service and DPS with the assistance of the Coconino County medical examiner. [Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Specialist] 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/): Geologic Resources Division - The National Park Service and over 220 partners are celebrating our nation's rich fossil heritage and promoting science education today, the third annual National Fossil Day. Fort Matanzas NM - The National Park Service and the University of South Florida have partnered on a digital survey of Fort Matanzas to help park managers better evaluate its current condition. Mississippi NR&RA - Park staff have helped develop a report on the state of the Mississippi River that shows that progress has been made in improving the health of the river, but that new issues of concern are also emerging. Southeast Region - Charles Daniels, the occupational safety and health manager for Great Smokies, has received the 2011 Regional Director's Individual Safety Achievement Award. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |