NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Tuesday, April 29, 1997

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

97-169 - Shenandoah NP (Virginia) - Threats to Employees
     
In 1995, ranger Clayton Jordan and criminal investigator Skip Wissinger began
a case against M.S., 41, of Shenandoah, Virginia, which resulted
in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms charging him with being a
convicted felon in possession of a firearm.  M.S. subsequently pled
guilty to the charge.  While speaking with a probation officer at a
pre-sentencing interview in Harrisonburg on April 25th, M.S. allegedly
made credible threats against Jordan and Wissinger.  Around-the-clock
protection was immediately provided to the employees and their families, and
an investigation was initiated.  Yesterday, rangers assisted U.S. Marshals in
executing an arrest warrant and M.S. was safely taken into custody.  He
is currently charged with violating the conditions of release; additional
charges are pending.  Protection operations are continuing while park
investigators and the Marshal's Service determine what risks may be posed by
M.S.'s known associates.  [Greg Stiles, Protection Services Leader,
SHEN, 4/28]

97-170 - Cape Hatteras NS (North Carolina) - Assist; Search for Felon

On the morning of April 25th, Hyde County deputies stopped J.J.,
27, and an 18-year-old female companion on North Carolina Highway 12 within
the park on Ocracoke Island.  During the stop, J.J. became combative, used
his vehicle to ram a deputy's vehicle twice, drove to the dune line, where
the car's catalytic converter started a grass fire, then fled on foot into a
densely vegetated marsh on the northwest side of the island.  His companion
was arrested at the scene.  Park rangers responded to the deputies' call for
assistance, set up roadblocks on NC 12, established an incident command
center, stopped the ferries to and from the island, and initiated a search
from the air using the park plane.  The Coast Guard and North Carolina
Highway Patrol provided helicopters with infrared capabilities for an
extensive low-level search.  J.J., however, had stolen a small boat and
motored north to a point near Frisco on Hatteras Island before the boat's
engine failed.  He was rescued by wind surfers in the area who brought him to
shore; he then made his way approximately 12 miles north to a house in Avon. 
Dare County deputies, using what little intelligence was available on J.J.,
deduced his location and arrested J.J. without further incident at the house
at about 9:30 p.m.  Nine rangers were involved in the incident.  Paul Stevens
was IC.  [Jeff Cobb, CR, CAHA, 4/28]

97-171 - Gulf Islands NS (Mississippi/Florida) - Ship Sinking; Groundings

A tugboat and two fuel barges went aground on Petit Bois Island in the park's
Mississippi District during a bad storm on the morning of Saturday, April
26th.  At approximately the same time, a 52-foot wooden shrimp boat sank at
East Ship Island, also in the Mississippi District.  The tugboat Jeanie G,
out of Pascagoula, Mississippi, was pushing two empty fuel barges from Mobile
to Pascagoula during an extremely strong frontal passage.  Winds were
estimated to have exceeded 60 mph during the worst of the storm, with six to
eight foot seas in the Mississippi Sound.  The crew had to be rescued from
the tug due to the danger of capsizing.  The tugboat and barges went aground
along the north shore of the island in the vicinity of some of the most
important seagrass beds along the Mississippi coast.  During the same storm,
the crew of the shrimp boat Rebel had to be airlifted off the sinking vessel
by the Coast Guard.  The Rebel sank at the west tip of East Ship Island while
trying to reach the lee of the island.  The boat, built of wood, began to
break up immediately in the heavy seas, and may be impossible to salvage. 
Approximately 500 gallons of diesel fuel were reported to be onboard. 
Mississippi resource management specialist Gary Hopkins and ranger Jill
Kinney represented the park in the incident command center and during the
investigation.  The park is working to determine environmental damage and
prosecute the cases as appropriate.  [CRO, GUIS, 4/28]

97-172 - Blue Ridge Parkway (North Carolina/Virginia) - MVA with Fatality

On the afternoon of Friday, April 25th, E.C., 69, of New Milford, New
Jersey, was traveling southbound on the parkway on his Yamaha FJ-1200
motorcycle when he rounded a curve at a high rate of speed, lost control of
the bike and slid into the path of an on-coming Buick Century operated by
Donald Green of Ballston Spa, New York.  The motorcycle virtually
disintegrated, and the Buick was totalled.  E.C. was taken to a local
hospital, but apparently died on impact from a broken neck.  Green's spouse,
Janice, 68, was hospitalized with a fractured hand, sprained ankle and
seatbelt injuries.  E.C. was traveling with eleven other motorcyclists. 
Other visitors had reported the group traveling at high speeds earlier in the
day.  Ranger Terry Morris is investigating the accident.  [CRO, BLRI, 4/28]

97-173 - Glen Canyon NRA (Utah/Arizona) - Drowning; Search for Victim

A search is underway for 23-year-old K.G., who fell off a boat
around 1 a.m. on April 26th and apparently drowned.  K.G. was attending a
party for an upcoming wedding and was riding on the bow of the boat when it
made a sharp turn in the Crosby Canyon area and he fell overboard.  He was
not wearing a life jacket.  The operator of the boat, Robert Bunch, 21, was
subsequently arrested by park criminal investigators for operating a vessel
while under the influence of alcohol; he was later released to the custody of
his father.  The park's dive team is attempting to locate the body and
completed more than 75 dives over the weekend.  The K. C. Johnson Foundation,
a non-profit organization dedicated to the recovery of drowning victims, is
sending eight search divers to participate in the incident.  Ranger Maya
Seraphin is the incident commander.  [David Sandbakken, LES, GLCA, 4/28]

97-174 - Virgin Islands NP (Virgin Islands) - Drowning

On the morning of April 19th, the park received a call of a possible heart
attack victim at Honeymoon Beach.  The responding ranger and Coast Guard
patrol personnel provided CPR, but were unable to revive the 57-year-old man,
who was pronounced dead at a local hospital.  Further investigation revealed
that he head been snorkeling with a group from a charter boat.  People on the
beach saw him floating in the area with other snorkelers; after a while,
several visitors felt that something was not right and decided to swim out
and check him.  They discovered that he did not have a pulse and pulled him
ashore and began CPR.  The victim's wife said that he had never had any heart
problems, that he was a veteran firefighter with 27 years' experience, and
that he was a strong and good swimmer.  He was a diabetic, however, and had
just recovered from the flu.  [Schuler Brown, CR, VIIS, 4/21]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No submissions.

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

EXCHANGE

No submissions.


UPCOMING IN CONGRESS

The following activities will be taking place in Congress during coming weeks
on matters pertaining to the National Park Service.  For inquiries regarding
legislation pertaining to the NPS, please visit the Office of Legislative and
Congressional Affairs Website at http://www.nps.gov/legal, or contact the
main office at 202-208-5883/5656 and ask to be forwarded to the appropriate
legislative specialist.

Thursday, May 1

Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee: Hearing on Department of
Interior FY 98 budget request.  Witness: Secretary Babbitt.

                                *  *  *  *  *

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
office and/or field area cc:Mail hub coordinators.  Please address requests
for the Morning Report to your servicing hub coordinator.

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

                                  --- ### ---