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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, August 20, 2014 INCIDENTS Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs Search Underway For Missing Hiker On Tuesday, August 19th, park staff, supported by searchers from Yosemite SAR and that park's dog team and personnel from the California Highway Patrol, began a search for a 46-year-old California man who was reported overdue from a backpacking trip in Kings Canyon. On August 10th, G.M. departed on a solo hike from the Roads End area of Kings Canyon National Park. He planned to hike to Gardiner Basin via Gardiner Pass. After several days in the basin, he planned to hike out Gardiner Creek to Woods Creek and return to Roads End in Cedar Grove by August 17th. G.M. is described as being 6 feet tall and weighing from 160 to 170 pounds. His hair is blond and he sports a big beard. G.M. is wearing a bright blue shirt, green wool pants and black boots. He's carrying a red internal frame backpack, fishing gear and either a blue tarp or an orange tent. The park is asking anyone who was in this area from August 10th to August 17th or who might have information on the missing man to call 559-565-3118 or 888-677-2746. [Dana Dierkes, Public Affairs Officer] Natchez Trace Parkway Three Killed In Two Accidents Over Two Days One person was killed and a second seriously injured in a rollover accident near milepost 146 in Leake County on Tuesday, August 5th. The driver of a Hummer H3 lost control of his vehicle when he suffered a medical emergency. Both he and his juvenile passenger were ejected from the Hummer. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene; the juvenile suffered major but non-life-threatening injuries. Two other passengers, both of whom were wearing seatbelts, suffered only minor injuries. On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 6th, a serious collision occurred between a pickup truck and a motorcycle near milepost 289 just north of Pharr Mounds. The two motorcycle riders, P.D. and G.N., both 56 of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, were pronounced dead at the scene. Evidence and witness statements indicate that Donnie Sartain of Tishomingo, Mississippi, crossed the center line, striking the motorcycle head on. On August 7th, Sartain was charged in U.S. magistrate's court with one count of driving under the influence-manslaughter. Additional charges are pending. [Sarah Davis, Chief Ranger] Glen Canyon NRA Teenager's Body Recovered From Lake Powell Park dispatch received a 911 call reporting a missing swimmer near Bullfrog Marina around mid-afternoon on Thursday, August 14th. Rangers immediately began a boat and air search of the area, continuing until it became dark. They resumed their efforts the next morning, joined by a park dive team. The body of the 19-year-old, a Mexican national living in the Salt Lake City area, was recovered late that morning. He is presumed to have drowned. The incident was jointly investigated by the National Park Service and Kane County Sheriff's Office. [Public Affairs] 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): Office of Communications - Director Jarvis will hold a webchat today at 2 p.m. Eastern. This webchat will focus on plans for the NPS centennial. [Internal only] Fire and Aviation Management - A successful and popular wildland fire resource advisor course was presented as a webinar for the first time between April 29th and May 1st in an attempt to provide greater access to this important curriculum. Office of Interpretation, Education and Volunteers - A five-member team from the NPS recently traveled to Costa Rica to meet with park officials and managers, discuss issues faced by both agencies, and exchange technical information. Yosemite NP - Yosemite National Park held its annual Hetch Hetchy terrorist response training session in June at the O'Shaughnessy Dam at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. 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). --- ### --- |