RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

Attention: Directorate
           Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
           CC: RAD Information Net

Day/date:  Friday, March 15, 1991

INCIDENTS

91-71 - Lake Meredith (Texas) - bomb

A water authority employee discovered a pipe bomb in the lake at 
the north end of the dam on the 14th.  The bomb, which was made 
from an 18inchlong section of galvanized pipe with caps on each 
end, had a primer cord fuse which had burned down to the hole in 
the cap where it entered the pipe.  It apparently had been in 
the water for several weeks, and may have been there for several 
months.  The employee picked up the bomb, examined it, pulled 
the fuse part way out, then placed it in the back of his truck 
and drove it to his office.  At the time the report was filed, 
the bomb was being guarded in a remote area and the Amarillo 
bomb squad was en route to the scene.  The FBI and ATF had been 
notified.  [Larry Neilsen, CR, LAME, via CompuServe message from 
RAD/SWRO, 3/14]

91-72 - Organ Pipe Cactus (Arizona) - MVA with Fatality

F.R., 19, of Tucson, was killed in a one-car motor 
vehicle accident south of the visitor center on the evening of 
March 13th.  F.R. was driving at speeds in excess of 90 mph 
when his vehicle left the road and rolled over.  Although F.R. 
was killed, his passengers incurred only minor injuries.  
Investigators indicated that they smelled the odor of alcohol at 
the scene, but were unable to conclude whether or not it had any 
bearing on the accident.  F.R. was wearing a seat-belt at the 
time of the accident.  [Harold Smith, Superintendent, ORPI, via 
CompuServe message from Herb Gercke, RAD/WRO, 3/14]

91-73 - Organ Pipe Cactus (Arizona) - Armed Robbery

Just before midnight on March 13th, two men robbed D.A., 
47, of Palm Desert, California, of $120 in the headquarters 
campground.  The men approached D.A. and asked for water, which 
he gave them.  They later returned with a small handgun, 
confronted D.A., and robbed him of the contents of his wallet.  
D.A., a former park ranger, was able to provide excellent 
descriptions of the two men.  A task force comprised of four 
rangers, two deputy sheriffs and two Customs officers has been 
assigned to the investigation.  A Blackhawk helicopter and crew 
have also been assigned to provide necessary assistance.  
[Harold Smith, Superintendent, ORPI, via CompuServe message from 
Herb Gercke, RAD/WRO, 3/14]

91-74 - Kings Mountain (South Carolina) - Recovery of Stolen Firearm

On the night of March 7th, rangers, FBI agents and Charleston, 
South Carolina, police officers recovered a rare Revolutionary 
War Ferguson rifle believed to have been stolen during a 1969 
burglary of the park's museum.  The weapon, valued at about 
$30,000, is one of only twenty believed to still be in existence.  
No arrests were made.  The investigation into the theft was 
reopened after an individual in Charleston recently called the 
Smithsonian Institute and an antique firearms dealer in 
Middleburg, Virginia, with an offer to sell the rifle.  The 
dealer contacted the FBI and the National Park Service, who 
subsequently obtained and executed a search warrant at the home 
of the couple who had the weapon in their possession.  Charges 
were not filed because it appeared likely that the weapon had 
changed hands several times before the couple acquired it.  The 
gun has been returned to the NPS for additional study, repair 
and future return to the museum display.  Several other items 
stolen in the 1969 burglary, including a Decard rifle, knife and 
tomahawk, are still missing.  [Telefax from FBI, Charleston, SC, 
3/11]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No reports today.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

1) During the summer of 1977, a female seasonal ranger at the 
west entrance station in Glacier was kidnapped, sexually 
assaulted, then released near St. Mary's, Montana.  Several days 
later, rangers in Yellowstone spotted the suspect vehicle, 
stopped it, and arrested the driver, J.V.  J.V. 
was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison, but was 
paroled after serving 12 years of that sentence in February of 
1990.  On March 10th, police officers in Garland, Texas, 
arrested J.V., 34, who now resides in that town, for posing 
as a police officer, using flashing lights on his car to stop 
female motorists, and, in at least one case, sexually assaulting 
one of the women he stopped.  He was charged with three counts 
of impersonating an officer and one charge of aggravated 
kidnapping.  Bail has been set at $250,000.  [UP news report; 
supplemental information from Gary Brown, ACR, YELL] 

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.

Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Schamp at security 
conference, Las Vegas, NV (3/10-3/17); Halainen on detail to House 
Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands (3/11-4/26); Henry
on SL (3/11-?); Marriott at counter-narcotics meeting, Colorado Springs,
CO (3/11-3/15).

Branch of Fire: Hurd at staff meeting in Boise, ID (3/11-3/15); 
Clark instructing S490590, NARTC, Marana, AZ (3/3-3/16); Farrel at 
meeting with fire research organization, Las Vegas, NV (3/13-3/17); Gale at 
ICS meeting at FLETC, Glynco, GA (3/11-3/14); Rutter on AL (3/11-3/15).

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone:  FTS 268-4874/6039 or 202-208-4874/6039
Telefax:    FTS 268-5977 or 202-208-5977
CompuServe: WASO-RANGER (Branch of R&VP); WASO-FIRE-WO (Branch of Fire)
SEAdog:     1/650