NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, November 20, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-126 - Hawaii Volcanoes NP (Hawaii) - Follow-up on Employee Fatality

On November 18th, T.T., 21, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and
five years of supervised release for the involuntary manslaughter of
interpretive ranger Russel Bickler in a motor vehicle accident which occurred
in the park on March 29th.  T.T. was also ordered to perform 300 hours of
community service and had his license suspended for a year.  T.T. pled
guilty to additional charges of causing substantial bodily injury to a
passenger in Bickler's vehicle, to possession with intent to distribute just
under 200 grams of cocaine and a half gram of "crack", operating a vehicle
without no-fault insurance, and excessive speed.  T.T. was speeding
through the park when he crossed the center line and collided with two
vehicles, one of which was being driven by Bickler.  The sentencing marks the
conclusion of a seven-and-a-half month investigation by numerous Hawaii
Volcanoes rangers.  [Gail Minami, Operations Supervisor, HAVO]

96-679 - Indiana Dunes NL (Indiana) - Employee Injury

Ranger Kevin Grossheim was injured in a patrol vehicle accident shortly after
midnight on November 16th.  Grossheim was responding to back up rangers
involved in a decoy operation when his 1992 Crown Victoria patrol vehicle
slid off the roadway and struck a power pole broadside on the car's passenger
side.  While the force of the accident was enough to snap the power pole, the
car's air bag did not deploy.  The vehicle's automatic breaking system may
have been a factor in the accident, but this has not yet been determined. 
Grossheim was admitted to a local hospital for observation and was released
later that day.  The accident is still under investigation.  The incident
Grossheim was responding to resulted in the apprehension of two suspects and
the filing of numerous CFR charges against one of them, including possession
of a controlled substance.  [Dick Littlefield, CR, INDU]

96-680 - New River Gorge NR (West Virginia) - Assist; Police Shooting

Ranger Charles Mitchem was en route from the state police office in Hinton to
his ranger station on November 17th when he received and responded to an
urgent call concerning police officers involved in a shooting incident with a
barricaded individual in Hinton.  Shortly after Mitchem arrived on the scene,
a city police officer, Robbie Maddy, was shot five times by the barricaded
assailant.  Maddy was able to crawl about 25 yards before Mitchem and a state
trooper pulled him to safety behind a house.  During the period while
officers were awaiting a state police tactical team, Mitchem was able to make
voice contact with the assailant and convince him to put down his weapon and
surrender.  Maddy was flown to an area hospital where he underwent four hours
of surgery for wounds to his chest and abdomen; he is currently in serious
condition.  The incident originated as a drunk and disorderly domestic
altercation.  Two city officers responding to the incident came under fire
from a 55-year-old male using a semi-automatic pistol.  Ranger Mitchem was
not involved in any of the shooting and did not discharge his weapon. 
[Duncan Hollar, DR, NERI]

96-681 - Whiskeytown NRA (California) - Search

On Sunday, November 17th, C.T. and his nine-year-old son went out
in the park for a planned hour-long trip in their four-wheel-drive vehicle. 
When they failed to return by evening, C.T.'s wife reported them as
overdue.  A search was begun immediately because of the relative inexperience
of the T.s, the inclement weather and the hour of the day.  Park
personnel searched for the pair until 1 a.m. but without success.  Severe
weather hampered search efforts.  The search resumed the next morning under a
joint NPS-Shasta County sheriff's office command.  Around 6 p.m., C.T. and
his son were picked up on a state highway by neighbors, having walked some 15
miles in a constant driving rain.  The father was taken to a local hospital,
treated for hypothermia, and released; the son was fine.  Investigation
revealed that C.T. and has son had traveled about 15 miles outside the
park in extremely steep and treacherous terrain until he wrecked his vehicle. 
[CRO, WHIS]

96-682 - Martin Luther King NHS (Georgia) - Assault; Theft

Park visitor Jacquelyn Kreisel was knocked to the ground and had her purse
stolen on October 26th.  Rangers and city police attempted to find her
assailants, but without luck.  On the following day, Atlanta police arrested
two young men who attempted to use Kreisel's credit cards, and have charged
the pair with possession and attempted use of a fraudulent instrument. 
Rangers and representatives from the U.S. attorney's office are working with
the victim to determine if federal charges of assault and theft are
appropriate.  [Johnny Sims, CR, MALU]

96-683 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM (Arizona) - Drug Seizure

During a drug interdiction operation with the National Guard on November
12th, rangers seized 234 pounds of marijuana from four backpackers just south
of park headquarters.  Surveillance teams saw the four, all dressed in black,
carrying large loads to points near a highway.  They fled after being
contacted; rangers pursued them, but without luck.  Due to the quantity of
tracks in the area left by hundreds of undocumented aliens and/or drug
smugglers, it proved difficult to track the individuals back to Mexico.  This
is the fourth major drug seizure made by Organ Pipe rangers this harvest
season.  So far, a dozen drug cases involving over $3 million in drugs have
been recorded in the park this season.  [Aniceto Olais, CR, ORPI]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Correction - The dates which appeared for National Park Week in the Monday
Morning Report were incorrect.  NPW will run from Monday, April 21st, to
Sunday, April 27th - not the 28th as previously reported.  [Sue Waldron,
WASO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

EXCHANGE

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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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