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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, October 27, 2014 INCIDENTS Flight 93 NM Post-Fire Investigation Continues; Collections Inventory Completed The National Park Service has completed a thorough inventory of the museum collection items lost in the fire that destroyed Flight 93 National Memorial headquarters on October 3rd. The findings of the inventory, conducted with the assistance of museum professionals and archeologists from the National Park Service's Museum Emergency Response Team, confirm the findings of the initial inventory completed within 48 hours of the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, though arson and foul play have been ruled out. There were significant losses, including objects being prepared for exhibit in the new visitor center. In all, 334 original photographs and 25 recovered items and personal mementos of passengers and crew members of United Airlines Flight 93 were lost. The photos had been loaned to the memorial by family members for digital reproduction. The digital reproductions of all photos were recovered. The lost objects include a boarding pass from United Airlines Flight 93, a parking receipt from Newark International Airport, and various identification cards of passengers, all recovered from the crash site. Approximately 113 small objects and paper items donated by family and friends for the general collection were also lost. “These items are irreplaceable and we are devastated by their loss,” said Jeff Reinbold, superintendent of Flight 93 National Memorial. “Nonetheless, this only strengthens our resolve and commitment to create a memorial that reflects the lives and heroic actions of the 40 passengers and crew members and fully tells the story of Flight 93.” Gordon Felt, president of the Families of Flight 93 said, "For many of us, the fire represents a wrenching second loss. But that cannot deter us - indeed it must push us forward - toward completion of the memorial so that those on board and their collective actions will stand to inspire future generations.” Also lost were approximately 100 visitor tributes and items from the 2001 investigation and recovery of Flight 93 that were being considered for the exhibit. These include items donated by the FBI and others that responded to the crash of Flight 93. The 110 boxes of tribute items left by visitors at the temporary and permanent memorials since September 11, 2001 were also lost; these included decorative items, cards, children's artwork, lapel pins, religious items, patches, and toys. Approximately 100 of these items were being considered for temporary or rotational exhibits. As previously reported, the American flag that flew above the United States Capitol on September 11, 2001, was also among the destroyed items, but the Congressional Gold Medal was stored in a separate facility and not damaged by the fire. At the time of the fire, all of the items slated for display in the new visitor center were in the temporary curatorial storage and processing area at the Flight 93 National Memorial headquarters in preparation for a visit from exhibit fabricators for the new visitor center, scheduled for later in October. The long-term storage of the object and archival collection is at a high-security facility in the Pittsburgh area. Approximately 90% of the memorial's collection is housed at that facility, where many government agencies, including the National Archives, store materials. “We continue to be grateful that no lives were lost in this terrible fire and that thanks to the quick-thinking of our on-site staff and the efforts of local emergency responders, a number of critical items were able to be saved,” added Reinbold. Among the items saved from the fire are: Three audio recordings of phone calls made by passengers and crew members to family from Flight 93. Of the 834 oral history interviews conducted by the memorial, either the original audio or a written transcript or both were recovered for all interviews. For 250 of the interviews, the original audio has been lost The entire collection of photographs from the crash site, the investigation and recovery, and memorial services and activities was saved. This includes thousands of images stored on 463 disks. More than 35,800 of the 38,000 comment cards left by visitors were recovered. Extensive paper files on the lives of each passenger and crew member, videos of the recovery and investigation, and the reference library were also saved. The fire at the headquarters of Flight 93 National Memorial on October 3rd destroyed three buildings which served multiple functions for the operation of the memorial, including administrative and staff offices for the National Park Service and the Friends of Flight 93, conference facilities, and temporary storage of some of the memorial's archival and curatorial collection [Mike Litterst] Bryce Canyon NP Three Charged With Theft From Park Gift Shop On the afternoon of October 7th, Bryce Canyon Lodge Gift Shop management reported that approximately $8,600 in jewelry and other items had been stolen during the previous night. There was no video footage available and no signs of forced entry or other physical evidence, leading rangers to suspect it was an "inside job." Through numerous interviews over the next week, several possible local suspects emerged. On October 15th, rangers located one of the suspects, a lodge employee, and interviewed him about the theft. After initial denials the employee implicated two other individuals and confessed to obtaining the keys and stealing items during two separate burglaries. One of the implicated suspects had recently left his job at the Lodge, but was staying at a local area hotel with family. The other implicated individual was still a lodge employee, who had denied involvement in a prior interview and written statement. Bryce Canyon having proprietary jurisdiction, rangers coordinated with the Garfield County Sheriff's Office and the county attorney. An arrest warrant was secured from the local magistrate for the former employee staying at a nearby hotel. On the morning of October 17th a ranger and a county deputy served the warrant, taking the man into custody without incident. He also confessed. In consultation with the county attorney, rangers had intended to serve the third suspect with a court summons. However, further investigation revealed he was a likely flight risk as he intended to soon leave Utah. He was also supposed to have remained in Colorado in order to serve a probation sentence. A related warrant had also recently been issued for his arrest if found within Colorado. He was arrested in the park without incident by rangers on the evening of October 18th. In total, rangers recovered approximately $25,000 worth of stolen items, including some from an off-trail cache located within the park. The three suspects each face Utah state misdemeanor and felony charges, including burglary, retail theft (shoplifting), obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to commit a felony. Lodge management was educated about improving physical security measures and inventory tracking practices. The successful conclusion of the investigation is a testament to the continued close cooperation between Bryce Canyon and the local authorities. [David Sutherland, Park 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): National Capital Region - National Capital Region and its parks are investing $29 million in 81 individual energy efficiency and water conservation projects throughout the region. This unprecedented commitment to reducing energy use and generating energy from renewable sources is the largest to date among the nine bureaus in the Department of the Interior. Today's Almanac - A strong storm system will bring heavy rain, high winds and snow above 4,000 feet to the Pacific Northwest over the next few days. Yosemite NP - Judi Weaser, branch chief for vegetation and ecological restoration in Yosemite's resource management and science division, passed away on October 21st after a long battle with cancer. Natural Resource Stewardship and Science - This week -- October 26th to November 1st -- has been designated as National Bat Week. During this week, parks are encouraged to focus on the many contributions bats make to national park ecosystems. Big Bend NP - On October 18th, Big Bend National Park hosted a new community event, “Good Neighbor Day.” About 650 people attended, many of them first-time park visitors. Northeast Region - The Service has awarded $2.2 million in grants to help preserve land at four of America's Civil War battlefields -- Gettysburg, Manassas, North Anna, and Rappahannock Station. Grand Teton NP - Retired Ranger Gary Wise passed away at a New York hospital early in the morning on October 5th following a courageous battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. 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). --- ### --- |