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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, August 19, 2014 INCIDENTS Yellowstone NP Young Girl Dies In Fall Into Canyon An eight-year-old California girl was killed in a fall into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone on the morning of Sunday, August 17th. The young girl was hiking with family members along the trail to the brink of the Lower Falls when the accident occurred. About two thirds of the way down the trail toward the observation platform, she reportedly stepped off the trail, lost her footing, and fell approximately 550 feet into the canyon. Park personnel retrieved her body around noon on Sunday. [Al Nash, Public Affairs Officer] Lake Mead NRA Search In Progress For Missing Swimmer Rangers are searching for a missing 31-year-old Southern California man who was last seen in the water near Cottonwood Cove on Lake Mohave. Just after noon on Saturday, August 16th, the park received a report that the man had jumped off a boat into the water, had begun struggling, and soon disappeared underwater. Witnesses said the victim was not wearing a life jacket. Rangers, Nevada Department of Wildlife game wardens and employees from the nearby marina immediately began searching for the missing man, who is believed to be around 100 yards from the shoreline in an area that is 80 to 100 feet deep. The water in the area is usually clear, but visibility is currently very limited due to recent storms, making the search more challenging. Crews are continuing to search the area. The incident is under investigation. [Christie Vanover, Public Affairs Officer] Yellowstone NP Body Of Missing Concession Employee Found The body of a young man missing in since the evening of Monday, August 11th, has been recovered. Twenty-two year old D.L. had gone tubing Monday with friends on the Lamar River near Tower Junction. Shortly after reaching the point where the Lamar River flows into the Yellowstone River, his two companions managed to get to the river's edge and get out of the much faster moving water. D.L. was last seen being swept downstream, separated from his inner tube and without a life jacket. Search efforts began Monday evening. At its peak, over 50 people were involved in the search, which included a helicopter, three dog teams, and several groups of searchers on foot. Late last Friday, searchers spotted what they thought was a submerged body pinned to a large rock in a very steep and dangerous section of the Yellowstone River, about a quarter mile downstream from where D.L. was last seen. A swiftwater rescue team from Gallatin County, Montana, was called in on Saturday to navigate the river. Using kayaks and a raft anchored to both banks of the river, they were able to dislodge and recover D.L.'s body on Saturday afternoon. A helicopter was utilized to remove his body from the remote area. The corner made a positive identification Saturday evening. D.L., who was from northeastern Georgia community of Demorest, was in Yellowstone working as a summer seasonal employee at Roosevelt Lodge. An autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death. Floating the river is prohibited by park regulations. [Al Nash, Public Affairs Officer] Glacier Bay NP&P Rangers Assist In Treatment Of Poisoning Victim On the night of Tuesday, August 12th, rangers responded to a mutual aid request made by the Alaska State Troopers. Gustavus Volunteer Fire Department's EMS squad had responded to a 911 call regarding a 57-year-old emotionally disturbed woman who had ingested poisonous mushrooms and was refusing medical attention. The Gustavus volunteers contacted the Alaska State Troopers office to request law enforcement assistance in order to place the patient under protective custody. Rangers responded and waited until the air ambulance flight crew arrived. They then conducted an Operational Leadership GAR assessment and executed a plan led by the flight nurse to restrain and sedate the woman in order to transport her to Juneau for further evaluation. The woman was flown to Juneau without further incident. The park had received a ‘be on the lookout' call from the Alaska Regional Communication Center, advising that a welfare check on her was needed. According to the center, she'd arrived in Gustavus on the Alaska state ferry. The woman's lifelong partner said that she did this about once a year, and had once ended up under protective custody in Madagascar. Rangers were unaware that she had been staying at a private residence. [Gus Martinez, Bay District 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): Shenandoah NP - Shenandoah National Park and its partners successfully restored nine peregrine falcons to the park earlier this summer. Another pair already residing in the park fledged three young this year. Mesa Verde NP - Mesa Verde National Park became a classroom for 80 educators who participated in a teachers' workshop funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities this summer. National Capital Region - In mid-July, NPS staff from the Civil War Defenses of Washington and Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail hosted an eight-mile "Hike Through History" for the Civil War sesquicentennial. US Park Police - Pilot Sergeant Kenneth Burchell and Rescue Technician Sergeant David Tolson have received the Airborne Law Enforcement Association's Captain ‘Gus' Crawford Memorial Aircrew of the Year Award for 2014. 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). --- ### --- |