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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, October 3, 2014 INCIDENTS Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs Missing Hikers Found In Remote Area Of Kings Canyon Searchers found missing hikers R.P. and M.P. in a remote area of Kings Canyon National Park late on Wednesday afternoon. Both were in good condition. Five rescuers assisted the couple on Wednesday evening and hiked out with them yesterday. The P.'s wilderness permit indicated that they planned to hike the Rae Lakes Loop, departing from Cedar Grove on September 25th via the Woods Creek trail and returning September 29th on the Bubbs Creek trail. Information from other hikers helped to focus the search area. The Charlotte Creek drainage, where searchers found them, is within the area of their intended route. In addition to teams on foot, searchers used the park helicopter and horse patrols. [Jana Friesen McCabe] Grand Canyon NP Rangers Deal With Multiple Same Day Incidents Rangers and flight crews were kept busy on Wednesday September 24th, as seven people were evacuated from the canyon via helicopter in seven separate incidents: A 53-year-old woman on a private river trip with cardiac problems was evacuated from the National Canyon area. A 69-year-old woman on a commercial river trip who'd suffered a femur fracture was short-hauled via helicopter from Havasu Creek to a landing zone near the Colorado River for evacuation to the South Rim. A 33-year-old man from a private river trip was evacuated from the mouth of Havasu Creek after suffering a serious laceration in the groin area. A 43-year-old female backpacker with an acute abdomen (appendicitis) was evacuated from Phantom Ranch. A 29-year-old man with cardiac issues was extracted from the North Rim developed area. A 52-year-old male backpacker with a leg injury was evacuated from the Nankoweap area. A 51-year-old woman on a commercial river trip with a knee
injury was evacuated from the Nankoweap area. In addition to the medevacs, there were several other incidents, including: a flipped and stuck raft below Crystal Rapids that necessitated four rangers and two sling loads of equipment flown in to begin a two-day recovery operation; a warrant/intoxication arrest in the South Rim developed area; an intoxicated and possibly suicidal person approximately a mile and a half down the Bright Angel Trail; and a HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia" hyponatremic 65-year-old woman treated and transported via NPS ambulance from the South Rim after attempting to hike rim to rim in a day. Rangers Abby Confer and Peter Maggio served as the incident commanders for the majority of these incidents. [Brandon Torres, Branch Chief of Emergency Services] Kennesaw Mountain NBP Rangers Successfully Intervene In Suicide Attempt On September 30th, rangers were dispatched to a possible suicide in progress on top of Kennesaw Mountain. A ranger located the 54-year-old woman, who had taken numerous sleeping pills and was threatening to drive her vehicle and her two dogs off of the mountain. A ranger began negotiating with the woman and continued until backup units arrived. While he kept her distracted, he also convinced her to hand over her two dogs. As she handed the ranger the dogs, the backup officer was able to reach in and turn off the ignition. The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment and evaluation. [Anthony Winegar, Chief 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): Office of Communications - The National Park Service has designated nine days in 2015 as fee-free days when admission to every park will be free. Links are included to a number of related informational websites. Office of Communications - Director Jarvis will host his next monthly webchat at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 7th. This webchat will focus on tools available to start planning for the Service's centennial. Andersonville NHS - Andersonville National Historic Site observed National POW/MIA Recognition Day on the third Friday of September through a series of partnership programs and events over several days. Northeast Region - The NPS has awarded grants totaling more than $1.7 million to help preserve land at four of America's Civil War battlefields threatened with damage or destruction by urban and suburban development. Lake Mead NRA - Julie Drugatz has been named the chief of commercial services at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. She assumed her new role on August 24th. Servicewide Training Calendar - The following have been added to this week's calendar - an announcement for the 2015-16 facility manager leaders program and an offering of three interrelated courses (CISM, family liaison, and managing stress and developing resiliency) in one session at Rocky Mountain NP. 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). --- ### --- |