NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, March 20, 2014

INCIDENTS

Buffalo NR

Hypothermic Hiker Rescued From Ponca Wilderness

On March 16th, northwest Arkansas received about two inches of rain overnight and had temperatures in the low 30s, leading to a sleet/snowstorm that eventually dropped three to four inches of snow.

While on patrol in the Steel Creek area of the park, protection ranger Mark Miller contacted a visitor for speeding. The man told Miller that he was rushing in order to shuttle out people who'd hiked out from an overnight stay in the Ponca Wilderness, adding that one of the hikers, a young woman, was not feeling well due to being sick earlier in the week.

Miller offered to assist with the shuttle and hiked down the trail to check on the young woman. He contacted several members of the hiking party who affirmed that she wasn't feeling well, but did not give Miller the impression that she was in need of assistance. Further down the trail, he contacted a man from the party who informed him that she was unconscious.

Miller immediately stepped up his response, contacting the Midwest Region Ozark Communication Center and asking that they send out an alert for the Buffalo Search and Rescue Team. A mile and a half down trail, Miller found the 17-year-old girl, who was semi-conscious, wrapped in a wet sleeping bag with her mother. She was placed in a heat blanket and a sleeping bag and then onto a litter for transport and was treated for hypothermia and very low blood sugar by an on scene paramedic.

Responders conducted a carryout over a mile and a half of very rough muddy trail and across one high water creek. The mother was treated for mild hypothermia and was able to hike out on her own.

Due to nearly whiteout conditions, the Air Evac helicopter was unable to respond, so the girl was taken by ambulance to North Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Harrison, Arkansas, which is over an hour from the trailhead. At the hospital her core temperature was discovered to be 84 degrees. Miller's attention and quick response likely saved the lives of two under prepared hikers.

Fifty four responders, most of them volunteers, assisted in the rescue. They came from the following agencies and organizations - Buffalo River Search and Rescue Team, Harrison Fire Department, Tri County SAR Team, Mennonite Search and Rescue Services, Newton County Sheriff's Department and SAR Team, North Arkansas Regional Medical Center, and the Arkansas Forestry Commission.

The weather was atrocious, but that did not stop the volunteers from coming out to assist. Buffalo National River staff are very appreciative of their valuable assistance.

[Karen Bradford, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers):

United States Park Police - On Saturday, March 15th, members of the United States Park Police Horse Mounted Patrol Unit from the San Francisco Field Office participated in the 163rd St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown San Francisco.

Office of Communications - Director Jarvis will host his next monthly webchat this coming Wednesday as part of his ongoing commitment to engage in dialogue with all members of the NPS family. It will be held at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

Social Science Program - The Aldo Leopold Research Institute has partnered with the University of Georgia to conduct a survey of wilderness managers, planners and staff. A link is provided to the survey. Responses are due by April 30th.

Visitor and Resource Protection - Forest Service Officer Jason Crisp, killed in the line of duty in North Carolina last week, was laid to rest on Monday. Those wearing mourning bands or ribbons are now to return to normal wear.

Southeast Region - Southeast Region is putting a recently developed sustainability interpretive action plan into effect. The ultimate goal of the plan is to encourage sustainable behavior in visitors' personal lives and careers.

To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites:

NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index

Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/

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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