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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, October 17, 2014 INCIDENTS Crater Lake NP Sexual Assault Investigation Underway On August 15th, rangers were advised by a student intern working in the park of a sexual assault that had occurred four days previously. The intern reported that she'd befriended a group of six Pacific Crest Trail hikers and had allowed them to spend the night in the park dormitory where she was living while she worked in the park. During the night, a man in the group sexually assaulted her. He left the park the next day to continue hiking on the PCT. The case is currently still under investigation. Rangers are being assisted in the case by a special agent from the NPS Investigation Services Branch and detectives from the Oregon State Police. [Curt Dimmick, Chief Ranger] Crater Lake NP Two Charged With Felony Theft From Park Gift Shop Park dispatch received a report on August 27th that a woman had stolen jewelry from the Rim Gift Shop. Visitors and shop employees saw her putting jewelry into her handbag, then leave the building. A park maintenance employee saw her get into a red Jeep Cherokee driven by a man and leave the area. Chief Ranger Curt Dimmick saw the vehicle speeding south on Munson Valley Road a short time later in an apparent attempt to flee the park. He was able stop the vehicle on west Highway 62. The driver and passenger, a husband and wife, were arrested and transported to the Jackson County Jail in Medford, Oregon. An impound inventory of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of over $7,700 worth of merchandise which had been stolen from the Rim Gift Shop along with several more items that may have been stolen from other stores. Both husband and wife had prior convictions for theft along with other charges and were currently on probation for a previous theft charge from Curry County, Oregon. On September 4th, both were indicted by a federal grand jury on felony theft charges. A jury trial is currently scheduled for later this fall. [Curt Dimmick, 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): Archeology Program - The National Park Service will join the Archaeological Institute of America and a host of other professional organizations, states, and local municipalities tomorrow in celebrating the fourth International Archaeology Day, with additional events throughout the month. Today's Almanac - Tropical Storm Ana is expected to bring heavy rains and high surf to the Hawaiian Islands from late tonight through this weekend. A tropical storm and flashflood watches are in effect for the Big Island. San Antonio Missions NHP - Jason M. Byrd, a park guide at San Antonio Missions NHP since 2004, passed away on October 15th after a short illness. He was 36 years old at the time of his death. Youth Programs Division - The NPS and the Student Conservation Association will be holding the fifth annual NPS Academy in 2015. Parks interested in participating in the program are asked to submit proposals by November 14th. Northeast Region - The National Park Service, through it's Designing the Parks initiative, is partnering again with the Van Alen Institute on a competition called National Parks Now. US Park Police - The United States Park Police recently hosted a two-week motor training school for law enforcement officers. A graduation ceremony took place on October 3rd at the Anacostia Operations Facility in Washington, DC. US Park Police - On September 26th, the United States Park Police hosted the 117th Counter Narcotics Terrorism Operational Medical Support (CONTOMS) graduation ceremony at the Anacostia Operations Facility in Washington, DC. 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). --- ### --- |