|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, May 21, 2014 INCIDENTS Lake Mead NRA Staff Deal With Multiple Same-Day Incidents Last Sunday proved a challenging day for park staff, who were involved in 15 significant incidents, including a death, numerous rescues, medical emergencies and near drownings. Reports on several of them follow: A 12-year-old boy nearly drowned at Cottonwood East on Lake Mohave. A bystander provided immediate life-saving care and took the boy to a hospital. Paramedics from the Mohave County Sheriff's Office located them en route shortly thereafter and began providing care. The boy was transported to Kingman, Arizona, and was later flown to Sunrise Hospital in Nevada in critical condition. He was not wearing a life jacket. Rangers rescued a five-year-old girl from drowning at Special Events Beach on Lake Mead. The girl was playing on a knee board when the wind carried her approximately 200 yards from shore and blew her off the board. Two bystanders attempted to rescue her but were flipped off of their personal watercraft. A ranger reached her just as she went under and grasped her about four feet underwater. She was transported to a nearby hospital by Mercy Air in fair condition. Nevada Department of Wildlife game wardens rescued the two bystanders, who had no reported injuries. The National Weather Service reported 20 to 30 mile per hour wind gusts at the time of the incident. The girl was not wearing a life jacket. A 23-year-old man was rescued along Gold Strike Canyon Trail after being injured while hiking. He was treated on scene and carried a mile and a half to the trailhead with the assistance of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Search and Rescue personnel and taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. A 30-year-old man from Mexico City was killed in an apparent motor vehicle accident. Around 3 p.m., dispatch received a call from a visitor who found him near a motor vehicle on Northshore Road. Rangers and Nevada Highway Patrol officers responded and determined that he'd evidently been involved in a single-car accident. He was not wearing a seatbelt. Speed appears to have been a contributing factor. [Christie Vanover, Public Affairs Officer] New River Gorge NR Man Caught Stealing Metal From Bridge Construction Site Rangers and a Fayette County deputy responded to a construction site at the Prince Bridge to investigate a report that a man was stealing metal from the site. The bridge, which spans New River, is being replaced. The suspect, who had left the remote area by the time rangers arrived, was found at a local recycling facility. His vehicle was loaded with metal parts that he admitted to having taken from the construction site. The construction superintendent was notified and came to the recycling facility, where he identified the metal as property of his company. The items were photographed and released. Due to the high value of many of the items and with the concurrence of the local assistant United States attorney, the case will be presented to a grand jury. INCLUDEPICTURE "https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET [Jeff West, 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): Jean Lafitte NHP&P - Student volunteers provided much needed TLC to Chalmette National Cemetery while a renowned street artist painted a mural in Louis Armstrong Park during an alternative spring break project sponsored last month by the Student Conservation Association and American Eagle Outfitters. Intermountain Region - Unwanted sound, urban encroachment and lack of privacy for traditional practitioners are a few of the challenges facing the integrity of sacred places in urban areas. A regional sacred places writing team experienced these impacts at Petroglyph NM during a meeting in April. Wilderness Stewardship - The Washington Office has issued a memorandum entitled “Backcountry Use Permit Tag Issue” to all regional directors and regional chief rangers. The full text is included. Cane River Creole NHP - Zydeco Grammy winner Chubby Carrier recently visited local schools to speak with students about the Cane River region's history as home to numerous clubs and dance halls that showcased blues, jazz, creole and zydeco music. State and Local Assistance Programs - Pat Gillespie of the State and Local Assistance Program Office in Washington is retiring on May 31st after 30 years of federal service, all of it with the National Park Service. 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). --- ### --- |