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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, July 16, 2014 INCIDENTS Grand Teton NP Woman Dies In Snake River Rafting Accident A rafting accident on the Snake River resulted in the death of one member of a private boating party on the evening of Sunday, July 13th. A 63-year-old Jackson woman was riding in a rubber raft just north of the Moose Landing with five other people, including her husband, when the raft hit a mid-stream obstruction, overturned, and spilled all six rafters into the river. After the raft flipped, five of the boaters were able to reach a gravel bar in the middle of the river. A passing private raft picked up the stranded boaters and floated them the remaining three-quarters of a mile to the Moose Landing, where they were met by park rangers and emergency medical providers. The woman, though, was caught in the fast-moving current and swept downstream. Bystanders near the Dornan's landing on the east bank of the Snake River saw something floating in the water and determined that it was a person. They quickly reached the riverbank, pulled the woman out of the water, and started CPR in an attempt to revive her. Paramedics took over and continued for 45 minutes, but couldn't revive her. Numerous rangers and EMTs responded to both the Moose Landing and Dornan's to rescue the boaters and provide medical care. The circumstances leading to this rafting accident are under investigation. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer] Hot Springs NP Rangers Join In Child Sex Trafficking Operation Earlier this year, the FBI contacted rangers at Hot Springs National Park and requested their participation in an operation targeting commercial child sex trafficking in the state of Arkansas. The local operation involved numerous law enforcement agencies and was part of a national initiative called "Operation Cross Country 8." The multi-agency effort targeted child predators and prostitution and had as its objective the rescue of child sex trafficking victims. A Hot Springs ranger was assigned to work alongside the FBI and officers from other law enforcement agencies to jointly combat the sex trade activity that affects operations at Hot Springs National Park and other jurisdictions within the state. The operation included enforcement actions in seven cities throughout the state of Arkansas and resulted in the recovery of two juvenile victims and multiple arrests. More information about "Operation Cross Country 8" may be found at the link below. HYPERLINK "http://www.arkansasmatters.com/story/d/story/2-juveniles-rescued-36-prostitutes-arrested-in-ope/17714/oucb5o7jjUWaKmwuQuRKwA" ".U8QJWmKvj34.email" http://www.arkansasmatters.com/story/d/story/2-juveniles-rescued-36-prostitutes-arrested-in-ope/17714/oucb5o7jjUWaKmwuQuRKwA#.U8QJWmKvj34.email [John Hughes, Chief Ranger] Hopewell Culture NHP Auto Burglar Sentenced To Long Jail Term On January 9th, a man smashed the window of a vehicle in the Hopewell Mound Group parking lot, a unit of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, and stole a purse hidden in the trunk. He then made several hundred dollars worth of fraudulent purchases with the credit card. The victim contacted the Ross County Sheriffs Department and a detective was able to obtain video of the man, but not the suspect vehicle. Through the park's surveillance cameras, ranger Keith Gad obtained a detailed description of the vehicle, a late 2000's dark-colored Buick Century with only one working light on the front of the vehicle. On January 11th, surveillance cameras showed that a second vehicle was broken into at the same location by the same man. On January 12th, Gad waited in the area to see if the suspect vehicle would return to the parking lot. It did, but it did not enter the park this time. Gad followed it, noting that the front plate and rear plate had each been intentionally obscured with globs of mud and that the front headlight was not working. When the car stopped at a nearby grocery store, the ranger identified the man as 38 year-old R.S. of Chillicothe. R.S. was arrested on multiple felony warrants from both Ross and Fayette counties, and was subsequently convicted on several charges of breaking and entering, burglary, and receiving stolen property. He was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months incarceration. These were the first two vehicle break-ins that have occurred in that parking area since surveillance cameras were installed over five year ago in response to dozens of car clouting cases. INCLUDEPICTURE "https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET [Rick Perkins 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): Denali NP&P - research report released last week offers new insights into the dynamics of Denali's wolf population. When a breeding wolf dies, its sex and the size of its pack can determine whether that pack continues or disbands. Intermountain Region - On June 22nd, 650 members of the United Methodist Church attending the Rocky Mountain Annual Conference made a pilgrimage to Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. Southeast Region - Southeast Region is realigning the management structure of four South Carolina Revolutionary War parks -- Cowpens, Kings Mountain, Ninety Six and Overmountain Victory -- in an effort to increase collaboration and efficient use of resources. Valley Forge NHP - The threat of rain didn't keep more than 1,500 adults and children from participating in Valley Forge's Community Picnic in the Park on Independence Day. Wilderness Stewardship Division - The 2013 recipient of the Director's Wes Henry National Excellence in Wilderness Stewardship Award is Kelly Bush from North Cascades National Park. 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). --- ### --- |