NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, August 19, 2013
INCIDENTS
Devils Tower NM
Injured Climber Rescued From Devils Tower
Rangers responded to a report of a rock climber trapped on Devils Tower on the afternoon of August 9th.
K.S. was walking across a ledge on top of a popular climbing route called “El Cracko Diablo” when a four-foot-tall boulder that he leaned against rolled onto his legs, pinning him in place 530 feet above the ground.
Ranger Sean Nelb and a local climbing guide climbed to K.S.'s location. While rangers were responding, other climbers on the ledge were able to free K.S. from the boulder after 20 minutes of being trapped.
Although his condition was stable, K.S.'s left leg had a puncture wound, exhibited a slight deformity, and was extremely painful. It was determined that he could not rappel down on his own, so he was placed in a rescue triangle and lowered 230 feet with Nelb to another ledge where rangers were staged with a Stokes litter. After transferring him to the Stokes litter, he was lowered 300 feet to the ground, where more rangers carried him to a waiting ambulance.
The incident concluded after four hours of effort from more than 20 personnel. Amazingly, X-rays showed that K.S. had not broken any bones, and he was walking later that evening. Chief Ranger Drew Gilmour was incident commander for the rescue.
[Drew Gilmour, Chief Ranger]
George Washington Birthplace NM
Young Boy Drowns In Bridges Creek
Ranger Owen McDaniel received a radio call from the park's 24-hour dispatch center at Shenandoah regarding a possible drowning at the Potomac River beach on the evening of August 11th.
McDaniel arrived on scene within a few minutes and was directed by visitors to Bridges Creek, which is a tidal inlet of the Potomac River. They reported that a three-year-old boy had disappeared while playing with his sister and was thought to be underwater in the creek.
McDaniel entered a deep section of the creek with several bystanders in an attempt to locate the boy. Local EMS and fire department personnel, sheriff's deputies, command staff, a helicopter with a flight medic, the park's chief ranger and some off-duty first responders soon arrived on scene to assist.
After about a half hour, the boy was found by a bystander and pulled from the water. Aggressive measures were taken by EMS and fire department personnel to resuscitate the boy, but he was pronounced dead after arrival at an area hospital.
Because this drowning occurred just outside of the park boundary, the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office is the lead agency in the follow up investigation.
[Wayne Rose, Chief Ranger]
Cape Hatteras NS
Suicide Victim Found In Car At Sandy Bay
On the afternoon of August 12th, a visitor who pulled into the Sandy Bay beach access parking area observed a man in the cargo area of a station wagon. The weather at the time was hot and sunny, and the visitor was concerned about the man's wellbeing. He tried to get a response from him and dialed 911 when efforts to do so proved unsuccessful.
Hatteras Island rangers, Dare County Sheriff's Office officers, and Dare County Emergency Medical Services personnel responded. The determined that the man, identified as a 27-year-old resident of Fayetteville, North Carolina, had died of a drug overdose and determined that the death was a probable suicide, as a note was found.
The man's body was transported to Outer Banks Hospital pending transfer to the Greenville Medical Examiner's Office. The incident is under investigation by the park and county.
[Benjamin Brdlik, Park 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/):
Olympic NP - The removal of the dams on the Elwha River was put on hold last October while the Service addressed issues associated with the water intake structure at the Elwha water facilities. Throughout the Elwha River Valley, though, park scientists continue to be busy with restoration and monitoring projects.
Fire and Aviation Management - The National Multi Agency Coordinating Group at NIFC has issued a memorandum entitled "Wildland Fire Situation and Response" that addresses the current high level of fire activity and the need for support from all of NIFC's participating agencies.
Special Park Uses - Five new special park use applications forms have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget and are now available to the field. A link is provided to a site where you can obtain them.
Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - Russell Roy has been selected as the division's deputy chief heading the Investigative Services Branch as a one year temporary promotion. He will assume his new duties on September 8th.
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The Morning Report is 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@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).
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