NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, February 28, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-77 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - Search; Probable Suicide

Just before 7 p.m. on February 18th, night shift rangers noted a vehicle in the
South Boundary parking area.  When it was still there at 10:30 p.m., an
investigation was begun and it was learned that the owner was depressed and
possibly suicidal.  A search was begun with the park helicopter and eight
ground searchers.  The body of the victim was found about 250 feet below the
canyon rim just east of Mather Point.  [John Piastuck, IC, GRCA]

96-78 - Petrified Forest (Arizona) - Pursuit; Damage to Park Property

At noon on February 15th, the state highway patrol asked rangers for assistance
in a high speed pursuit of a stolen vehicle.  The vehicle, driven by J.V.,
eventually left the interstate, went through a highway retaining fence,
and crossed about 500 feet of park land before slamming into some boulders. 
The oil pan was torn from the vehicle and its oil spilled out.  J.V. fled
officers on foot into the park, where rangers Debbie Krueger and Marten Schmitz
and chief ranger Pat Quinn joined in the search.  J.V. was apprehended within
the hour.  Along with several state charges, he was cited by the park for
damaging plants, driving off the established roadway, draining refuse from a
vehicle (oil), and failure to pay an entrance fee.  [Greg Caffey, ACR, PEFO]

96-79 - Petrified Forest (Arizona) - Assist; Structural Fire

The park received a call from the local sheriff's office requesting assistance
on a structural fire at a gift shop two miles outside the park's south entrance
at 5 a.m. on February 15th.  The engine company from the Rainbow Forest area
responded and arrived at 5:17 a.m. The gift shop, constructed from a modular
building and a converted mobile home, was collapsing on itself when the engine
arrived.  A second park engine arrived shortly thereafter, followed by a third
from Holbrook.  The crews extinguished the fire and protected the adjacent
buildings.  All units cleared by 8 a.m.  The shop was in a "no man's land" as
far as fire coverage was concerned, since no departments had official
responsibility for the area.  The park was able to respond because of the
official request from the sheriff's office.  The cause of the fire is under
investigation.  Participating park firefighters were Chuck Dorn, Greg Caffey,
Marcel Dorn, Peter Pappas, Debbie Krueger and Jonathan Schafler.  [Greg Caffey,
ACR, PEFO]

96-80 - Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii) - Forced Landing by Tour Helicopter

An A-Star 350 helicopter owned by Hawaii Helicopters made a forced emergency
landing on a pahoehoe lava field along Kilauea's east rift near Mauna Ulu at
7:40 a.m. on February 24th.  The helicopter's engine pressure warning light
came on, forcing the pilot to take the emergency measure.  The helicopter had
six passengers on board.  The pilot, D.R., and his passengers were
transferred to another aircraft and taken to Hilo airport.  D.R. initially
eluded investigating rangers and refused to cooperate with the investigation. 
He was eventually interviewed by a ranger from Kaloko-Honokohau, but said that
his boss had instructed him not to discuss the accident with anyone.  No
injuries were reported.  The FAA and NTSB have joined the investigation. 
[Scott Hinson, CI, HAVO]

96-81 - Glen Canyon (Arizona/Utah) - Resource Violation

Last week, park visitors told rangers that they'd seen a man, subsequently
identified as A.A., 41, of Flagstaff, Arizona, kill a fox on the shore
of the river between Lee's Ferry and Glen Canyon dam.  Subdistrict ranger Mike
McGinnis spotted A.A. operating a boat, then driving off in a vehicle, and
stopped him for questioning.  McGinnis found that A.A. was intoxicated, and
that he'd shot the fox in an area closed to hunting.  The animal's back had
been broken, but the shot had not killed it.  A.A. accordingly stomped it to
death.  He was charged with boating under the influence, driving under the
influence, hunting in a closed area, unauthorized taking of wildlife, and
possession of a controlled substance (marijuana).  [Tomie Lee, CR, GLCA]

96-82 - Whiskeytown (California) - Search and Rescue

During the early afternoon of February 25th, 19-year-old C.K. was
reported overdue from a hike that she'd taken near the park's boundary.  A
ground search was immediately begun and continued through the night.  Rangers
assisted county sheriff's office search teams the following day; at 3:30 p.m.,
ranger Bill Watkins found C.K., who was wet and cold but otherwise in good
condition.  C.K. had become separated from her companions the previous day. 
She became disoriented and ended up spending the night near Kanaka Peak, where
temperatures dipped to near 18 degrees.  [Larry Carr, CR, WHIS]

96-83 - Death Valley (California) - Human Remains Found; Possible Suicide

On February 15th, park visitors reported discovering what appeared to be human
remains east of Daylight Pass.  Rangers assisted county deputies with recovery
of the remains and a .22 caliber pistol.  A positive identification has not yet
been made, but it appears probably that the victim was a 53-year-old man last
seen by his family in Portland, Oregon, in 1989.  When the man left his family,
he told them that he would not be back.  No missing person report was ever
filed, and he hasn't been heard from since that time.  The man may have had a
terminal illness.  The Clark County crime lab in Las Vegas is handling the
remains. [Chris Ward, CR, DEVA]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No notes.

OBSERVATIONS

Today's observation, another in the on-going series of park-specific quotes,
comes from Dan Sealy at GWMP:

" Too often when visiting the countryside, and especially the national parks
and monuments, one expects and usually finds that the more spectacular and
publicized sights will indeed demand the visitor's attention and confound him
with beauty, size, or some other notable quality.  Subtlety, patience, and
quietude are therefore qualities not often exercised by most visitors.  In
Platt [now Chickasaw NRA], however, breathtaking vistas and dramatic phenomena
have in their stead quiet, pleasant vignettes of nature's ageless ways which
can only be appreciated through cultivation of these qualities of mind and
methods of observation." 

                                  Ballard Barker and William Jameson,
                                  "Platt National Park: Environment and
                                  Ecology," 1975

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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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