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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, September 22, 2014 INCIDENTS Joshua Tree NP Search In Progress For Missing Woman On Monday, September 8th, N.T., 84, left the Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree, en route to her quilting class at the Yucca Valley Community Center. She never arrived there. N.T.'s vehicle was discovered by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department on Friday, September 12th, after her son reported her missing. The car appeared to have become disabled while turning around on a life estate private road in the park. The sheriff's department started an immediate search of the area using patrol personnel, aircraft, bloodhounds, and their own search and rescue teams. They did not realize at the time that this was an obscure portion of the park, but upon notification began cooperative efforts with park staff. Rangers and volunteers from the park's SAR team, JOSAR, are coordinating search activities with the sheriff's department on both sides of the park boundary. N.T. has still not been located. [Jennie Kish Albrinck, PIO] Pictured Rocks NL Rangers Respond To Diving Emergency On September 18th, the Coast Guard in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, received a call for assistance from the research vessel David Boyd, which was inspecting a newly-discovered shipwreck in Lake Superior. The captain declared a SCUBA emergency and requested medical assistance for a 64-year-old diver who had ascended too quickly from a 220-foot-deep dive. The nearest Coast Guard vessel was five hours away, so assistance was sought from rangers in Grand Marais, Michigan. Rangers Shaun Hughes and Matt Davis responded in the park boat along with members of the Burt Township ambulance corps and the local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. After battling waves up to six feet high, rangers made contact with the David Boyd approximately eight miles offshore of Grand Marais. Park and local EMTs boarded the research vessel and found the diver to be suffering from probable decompression sickness - he was weak and lethargic and unable to move or bear weight on his legs. EMTs continued treatment as the ailing diver was transported to a waiting Valley Med Flight helicopter at the Grand Marais harbor. He was then transported to a hyperbaric chamber in Marquette, Michigan, where he is still undergoing treatment. Other assisting agencies included the Alger County Sheriff's office, Burt Township Fire Department and USCG Air Station Traverse City. INCLUDEPICTURE "https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET [John Patmore, Chief Ranger] Grand Teton NP Previously Convicted Felon Sentenced For Weapons Possession On January 11th, rangers arrested S.G., 39, for camping in an undesignated area and possession of about four ounces of marijuana. He was also found to have a loaded firearm in his possession. In addition to being a wanted person in two states, S.G. was also found to be a previously convicted felon who'd been found guilty of domestic violence. A special agent from the Investigative Services Branch and a special agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation in coordination with the U. S. Attorney's Office. On August 12th, S.G. was sentenced in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentence includes 27 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised probation and payment of a $500 fine, a $250 fee to offset drug testing and treatment, and a $100 special assessment for the crime victim's fund. [Investigative Services Branch] 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): Vicksburg NMP - The Civil War diaries of a Union soldier from Iowa who participated in the siege of Vicksburg in 1863 were donated to the park by the soldier's great-grandson in a ceremony at the Iowa Memorial on September 17th. Geologic Resources Division - The Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate has issued a call for proposals from parks and central offices for Geoscientists-in-the-Parks positions for the spring and summer of 2015. Fire and Aviation Management - The Structural Fire Program has developed an online course for park structural fire coordinators and is seeking ten beta testers to complete the course's initial offering. Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the Service. This report covers activities in Congress for the week ending September 19th. Natural Resource Stewardship and Science - Eva DiDonato has been selected as the new chief of the Ocean and Coastal Resource Branch in the Service's Water Resource Division. 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). --- ### --- |