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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, July 24, 2014 INCIDENTS Gates of the Arctic Backpacker Rescued From Kobuk River Headwaters During the early hours of July 21st, rangers were notified that A.C. of Anchorage, Alaska, had activated his inReach device (a HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_emergency_notification_device" satellite emergency notification device) and that he was seeking rescue. The inReach device indicated that A.C. was located on the headwaters of the Kobuk River. Text communications from A.C. indicated that he had flipped his pack raft, that he was hypothermic, and that he was requesting assistance. Rangers coordinated rescue efforts with Brooks Range Aviation and Kingdom Air Corps personnel in a hasty search effort and ultimately worked with the Alaska National Guard's Rescue Coordination Center in A.C.'s recovery. A.C. planned to travel from the Dalton Highway to Kotzebue, Alaska, on a solo backpacking and pack raft trip and had been in the backcountry for about 29 days. Travel conditions caused A.C. to cut short his initial planned trip and he was headed to Walker Lake for an early pickup when he flipped his pack raft in the Kobuk River. Weather conditions and A.C.'s location prevented the first attempts at rescue and delayed his recovery until about 2 p.m. He was found to be in good condition on a gravel bar. He was flown to Bettles, where he declined medical attention. [Gary Youngblood, Chief Ranger] Grand Teton NP Hiker Killed In Fall Near Inspiration Point The body of an overdue hiker was discovered on Tuesday afternoon near the mouth of Cascade Canyon. W.C., 36, of San Francisco, California, did not have a pulse when one of several search teams found him lying below a steep cliff band near Inspiration Point. He was pronounced dead at the scene by park EMTs in consultation with the park's medical director. W.C. headed out late on Sunday afternoon from the southeast shore of Jenny Lake with the goal of hiking to Lake Solitude in the North Fork of Cascade Canyon. He did not return to his campsite at Jenny Lake Sunday evening and was reported overdue by his girlfriend at noon on Monday. W.C. had not planned on an overnight stay in the backcountry and did not carry equipment necessary for spending a night in the mountains. A hasty search was conducted on Monday afternoon by rangers who were on routine patrol and additional rangers were called into service. Two rangers also flew in the Teton Interagency contract helicopter to conduct an aerial search until darkness prevented further efforts. The aerial search was temporarily delayed by intense thunderstorms that passed across the Teton Range and battered the peaks with heavy rain, strong winds and lightning strikes. Seventy-four people gathered early Tuesday morning to begin a full-scale search for the missing hiker. Park employees and Teton Interagency fire personnel—plus a Teton Interagency helitak crew, a Teton Interagency contract helicopter, four search dog teams from Wyoming K-9 and JH Search Dogs, and several park volunteers—thoroughly searched numerous backcountry locations in Cascade Canyon and Paintbrush Canyon and surrounding areas in a coordinated effort to locate the overdue hiker. After nearly six hours, one of 19 assigned search parties discovered W.C. His body was extricated from Inspiration Point via a helicopter long-line and turned over to the Teton County coroner. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer] 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): Gullah Geechee NHC - The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, in an effort to advance heritage tourism and cultural awareness, has provided two highway signs for each of the 27 counties in the Gullah Geechee Corridor. Northeast Region - Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area hosted the first-ever “Enjoy the View” workshop in May. The goal of this Call to Action item is to protect clean, clear air and spectacular scenery in the parks. Office of Communications - Albany Pine Bush in eastern New York has been designated a national natural landmark. The site, located in Albany County, is one of the best examples of an inland pine barren ecosystem in the world. Martin Van Buren NHS - On Saturday, July 19th, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site celebrated its establishment in 1974 with a “pop up museum” at the Kinderhook Farmer's Market. Fort Smith NHS - Gary Montag, who retired as a maintenance mechanic from Fort Smith National Historic Site this past January, passed away on July 1st at his home. Southeast Region - Gil Noice, cartographer and surveyor for Southeast Region's Land Resources Program Center, and Barbara Goodman, superintendent of Timucuan E&HP, have received DOJ's Outstanding Civil Client Investigator Award. 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). --- ### --- |