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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, September 17, 2014 INCIDENTS Valley Forge NHP Man Electrocuted In Attempt To Steal Copper Wire A man broke into an electrical transformer box located outside of the park's Kennedy Supplee building around 4 a.m. on Saturday, September 13th. He was attempting to steal heavy gauge copper wire from within the transformer box and was electrocuted in the process. The box was secured and labeled with “Warning: High Voltage” stickers prior to his entry. The 41-year-old man was from the local area. Theft of copper and metal scrap at this site, which is currently unoccupied, has been an ongoing issue over the years. [Gregg Tinkham, Chief Ranger] Chickasaw NRA Domestic Dispute Investigation Lead To Murder Charges Rangers Heather Hamilton and Jim Churchman contacted K.L. and B.R. of Ada, Oklahoma, during a physical domestic fight they were having in the Panther Falls parking lot on Friday, August 29th. During a frisk of B.R., Hamilton removed a bloody hunting knife from his person. She also observed that B.R. had blood on his shoes. When asked about the blood, B.R. said that he had been killing rabbits. K.L. said she had recently smoked methamphetamine. Ranger Kane Seitz, working with drug K9 “Boomer,” discovered methamphetamine paraphernalia in the car. K.L. declined to provide her true identity at the time and assaulted rangers when she was taken into custody. Ranger Emily Henderson found methamphetamine that had been hidden in K.L.' buttocks. Two rifles, a shotgun, stolen checkbooks, and credit cards were found in the vehicle. The checkbooks, credit cards, and the vehicle belonged to Gary Gray, a resident of Ada, Oklahoma. Churchman and Hamilton attempted to make contact with Gray, but were unsuccessful. They therefore asked the Ada Police Department to conduct a welfare check on Gray. He was found in his residence with his throat slashed and blunt force trauma to his head. He was still breathing and was flown to the OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where he succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, September 5th. K.L. and B.R. were charged with numerous felony violations and extradited to Pontotoc County. They later admitted to law enforcement that they were responsible for Gray's injuries and are being held without bail. They have been charged with first degree murder, conspiracy to commit and felony, first degree robbery and larceny of an automobile. [Aaron Shandor, Chief Ranger] Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs Pilot Rescued After Plane Crash In Park On Tuesday, September 16th, rangers participated in the successful rescue of a 67-year-old man from San Jose whose plane crashed in a remote area of Sequoia National Park. The plane was reported missing when it failed to arrive as scheduled in Lone Pine, California, on Monday afternoon. The park was notified around 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning that a transponder signal had been traced to the Forgotten Canyon area of Sequoia National Park. At approximately 9 a.m., the wreckage was spotted near Funston Lake by the Civil Air Patrol and visual contact was made with the pilot. The park helicopter was used to insert a parkmedic and investigators at the crash site. The pilot was treated and transported to the Ash Mountain helibase, where he was transferred to a waiting SkyLife air ambulance and flown to an area hospital. The National Park Service is coordinating the investigation into the cause of the crash with the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration. The California Office of Emergency Services and Tulare County also assisted with this search and rescue operation. [Jana McCabe, 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): Fort McHenry NM&HS - Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine commemorated the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore and the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner with a week of commemorative activities. Jean Lafitte NHP&P - On September 5th, the park hosted a distinguished group of non-governmental organization, park management, wildlife refuge, and resource management professionals from 12 African countries. Everglades NP - On August 6th, a park firefighter and environmental education staff conducted a video chat that connected students in Fort Scott, Kansas, with Everglades National Park, almost 1500 miles away. Midwest Region - Tarona Armstrong has been selected as the superintendent of President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home NHS. She succeeds Laura Miller, now deputy superintendent at Buffalo National River. 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). --- ### --- |