NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

INCIDENTS

Joshua Tree NP

Search In Progress For Two Missing People

Two people have been reported missing after a weekend excursion that may have taken them to Joshua Tree National Park. T.N. of Landers, California, and H.M. of Lakewood, California, were reported by family members as overdue after a Thanksgiving weekend trip in T.N.'s four-wheel drive Chevy Silverado pickup truck. Family members said that T.N. and H.M. intended to visit the park on Saturday, November 24th, to drive some of area's backcountry roads. Park rangers were notified of the missing individuals on Sunday night. Interviews with park staff led rangers to believe that a vehicle with a driver matching T.N.'s description entered the park about mid-morning on Saturday. Rangers searched all park backcountry roads on Monday in an effort to locate the vehicle and the missing people. Neither was found. The park also contacted the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for assistance with an aerial search of the park. A fixed-wing CHP aircraft and a CHP helicopter flew over the park Monday in an effort to see if the vehicle was driven off road. The aerial search was also unsuccessful. At present, it is uncertain if H.M. or T.N. remain in the park or left the park before they were reported overdue. Park rangers have no information about where they might have been intending to visit while in the park. A missing persons report has been filed with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in Lakewood, California. [Joe Zarki, Public Information Officer]

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/):

Climate Change Response Program - Director Jarvis this week released the National Park Service Climate Change Action Plan. A companion document to the bureau's Climate Change Response Strategy, the plan will guide park managers as they plan for and respond to climate change today and in the future.

Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - The National Park Service's new National Search and Rescue Academy graduated its first class earlier this month. Graduates included participants from the NPS, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security.

Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP - Superintendent Diann Jacox has announced her retirement from the National Park Service effective January 3rd. Her retirement will come after almost 34 years with the National Park Service.

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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).

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