NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Monday, July 14, 1997

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

95-395 - Hot Springs NP (Arkansas) - Follow-up on Homicide

On June 26, 1995, a visitor hiking just off a trail on Hot Springs Mountain
came upon the body of S.W., 82, of Hot Springs.  S.W., a
retired U.S. Farmers Home Administration employee, had apparently been killed
three to four days previously.  T.I. and J.P. were
subsequently arrested for the murder.  T.I. was found guilty of the murder
on June 3rd and sentenced on June 6th to life in prison without the
possibility of parole.  On June 23rd, a jury found J.P. guilty as well, and
sentenced him to death two days later.  The government had sought the death
penalty for both men.  [Rod Harris, CR, HOSP, 6/26]

97-284 - Zion NP (UT) - Follow-up on Serious Employee Injury

Maintenance employee D.O., seriously injured in a non-duty motorcycle
accident on June 22nd, is still recovering, but has been transferred to
another medical facility.  Friends may write him at the Veterans Hospital,
500 Foothill Boulevard, Salt Lake City, UT 84148, or call him at
1-800-613-4012, station 1630.  [Steve Holder, CR, ZION, 7/8]

97-308 - Glacier NP (MT) - Follow-up on Search for Concession Employee

Search efforts for missing concession employee M.T were
further expanded on July 9th.  M.T. has been missing July 5th, when he
reportedly headed out for a solo day climb of 8,712-foot Sinopah Mountain. 
More recent field reports indicate that he could have adjusted his plans
after assessing the difficulty of the climb.  Over 50 park and concession
employees are participating in the search.  Dog teams and helicopters are
also being employed.  [CR, GLAC, 7/9]

97-309 - Denali NP (AK) - Follow-up on Search for Missing Plane

The search for the missing Cessna 182 piloted by M.P. has been
called off.  The Rescue Coordination Center at Elmendorf Air Force Base in
Anchorage met with family members on July 8th to brief them on the decision. 
Despite an intensive eight-day air search, no sign has been found of the
white and gold aircraft, believed to have crashed somewhere in the vicinity
of the Kahiltna Peaks.  Family members have thanked searchers for their
exhaustive effort.  [Ken Kehrer, CR, DENA, 7/8]

97-311 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Attempted Kidnapping

On the afternoon of July 9th, a female cyclist told ranger John Waterman that
she had been assaulted minutes earlier by a man in a pickup truck who had
forced her off the road, then attempted to pull her into his truck.  She
successfully fought him off, and he fled the area.  Ranger Steve Barto
intercepted a vehicle matching the description the woman provided and
detained D.R., 29, of Columbia, Maryland, until she could identify
him as her assailant.  D.R. apparently stalked her for a couple of miles as
she rode along the Skyline Drive.  He removed the license tags from his
vehicle, then accosted her when she became separated from her riding partner
on the Lewis Mountain access road.  After fleeing from the scene, D.R.
stopped, put the tags back on his vehicle, and changed clothes in attempt to
elude detection.  D.R. was arraigned on July 10th and is being held without
bond.  He has been charged with attempted abduction and several lesser
charges.  Ken Johnson is the lead criminal investigator.  [Clay Jordan, SPR,
SHEN, 7/10]

97-312 - Blue Ridge Parkway (VA/NC) - Double Homicide
     
Early on July 10th, Asheville police advised rangers that a homicide had
taken place and that the victims' bodies were on park land in the Asheville
area.  Rangers Martin Golden and Don Coleman met Asheville police in the park
and found the bodies of V.R., 24, and her son, Kelly Baird, both of
Asheville, approximately 20 yards off the parkway in a wooded area near the
I-26 bridge.  The two were apparently murdered in a residence south of the
park, after which their bodies were dumped on park land.  Asheville officers
and K-9 teams located a bowie knife and a Swiss Army knife, both thought to
be murder weapons.  Shortly after the bodies were discovered, L.M., 19,
of Asheville, was taken into custody and charged with two counts of first
degree murder.  Also taken into custody and charged as an accessory was
D.G., 23, of Asheville.  V.R. apparently knew both men.  [CRO,
BLRI, 7/11]

97-313 - Grand Teton NP (WY) - Climbing Fatality
     
Mountain guide A.B., 44, was killed on July 5th while attempting an
ascent of the Grand Teton.  A.B., who was leading a client up the
Owen-Spalding route at the 13,300-foot level, fell approximately 130 to 140
feet.  Two rangers who were on climbing patrol on the southwest side of the
mountain responded to the scene; other rangers were flown to the Lower Saddle
in the park contract helicopter and climbed to the accident site from that
location.  A complex, technical recovery of the body ensued, with removal
from the mountain via a helicopter sling the following day.  The cause of
death was hemorrhagic shock, which resulted from an open femur fracture with
a severed femoral artery.  A.B., a well-known climber and mountain guide from
Bishop, California, had been employed with Jackson Hole Mountain Guides for
several years.  Icy conditions may have contributed to the accident.  [Colin
Campbell, CR, GRTE, 7/8]

97-314 - Canyonlands NP (UT) - ARPA Conviction

During March, Needles ranger Jim Huebner noted that one of the Peek-A-Boo
petroglyph panels had been vandalized through the etching of two names across
the panel.  A backcountry permit that had been issued for that area led to
the identification of two suspects.  Criminal investigator Erny Kuncl
interviewed the two men - A.F. and R.M. - in Colorado. 
Kuncl then testified before a grand jury, which issued felony ARPA
indictments being returned against the two men.  A.F.'s vehicle was seized
and forfeiture proceedings were initiated.  Southeast Utah Group archeologist
Nancy Coulam, assisted by a BLM archeologist, completed a damage assessment
of the panel.  It was determined that the "archeological value" of the panel
was $2,500 and that the "cost of restoration and repair" would come to
$8,216.  On June 23rd, A.F. pled guilty to misdemeanor ARPA charges.  He paid
$6,126 for partial cost of the restoration and repair and $1,000 to regain
his forfeited Jeep Cherokee, and will serve six months' probation and 100
hours of community service removing graffiti from Denver structures. 
R.M. is accepting a similar resolution.  [CRO, CANY, 7/8]

97-315 - Mesa Verde NP (CO) - Wildlife Incident 
     
On the afternoon of July 9th, ten park visitors broke into the Park Point
fire lookout and called the park to report that they were trapped on the
point by a mountain lion.  Rangers responded, frightened away a mountain lion
that was hiding along the lookout trail, then escorted the visitors back to
their cars.  Loud noises and harassment were used to condition the animal to
avoid humans in the future.  It appears that the lion was recently pushed
from its mother's den and was trying to establish itself.  The animal was not
aggressive and seemed to want to hide more than flee.  Park staff are
monitoring the area and continuing to employee aversion techniques.   The
area has been closed to the public until lion activity decreases.  This was
the second lion/human contact in the area that week.  [Charlie Peterson, CR,
MEVE, 7/10]

97-316 - Rocky Mountain NP (CO) - Rescue

A 35-year-old Malaysian student was swimming in the North Inlet on the
afternoon of July 1st when he fell 100 feet down the 200-foot Cascade Falls. 
Despite his injuries, he was able to climb onto a rock and await help. 
Bystanders alerted park dispatch; 29 rescuers, including local SAR team
members, responded and set up a Tyrolean traverse.  By this time, the man had
been stranded for over four hours.  Rescuers got him into a harness and
pulled him ashore.  He was taken by ambulance to a local clinic, where he was
treated and released.  [Sharon Brubaker, ROMO, 7/1]

97-317 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (PA/NJ) - Rescue
     
On the afternoon of Sunday, July 27th, R.W., Jr., 38, attempted to
swim across Hidden Lake and back, a distance of about 300 yards.  R.W.,
who was wearing jeans, began struggling on the return trip about 60 feet from
shore and went under the water surface.  A visitor, G.A., swam out
to the spot where he went under, found R.W. on the bottom of the lake, and
pulled him to shore.  R.W. was pulseless and was not breathing.  G.A.
and another visitor began CPR while a third visitor ran to a nearby ranger
resident to report the incident.  L.M., a nurse who also
happened to be on site, assisted with the resuscitation effort, which soon
resulted in the return of Winter's heartbeat.  Rangers Dan Kirschner and
Chuck Kanopsic arrived on scene within four minutes of the call and provided
oxygen, an oral airway, and suction.  R.W. began to breathe on his own,
but his initial efforts were weak.  He was transported to a local hospital,
where he was kept on a respirator until he began to breathe on his own. 
R.W. has since regained consciousness and is able to answer questions, but
has no memory of the incident nor of being at Hidden Lake on that day.  [Dan
Kirschner, Zone Supervisor, DEWA, 7/1]

97-318 - Chiricahua NM (AZ) - Poaching Warrants Executed

On the evening of July 1st, special agents from the Southern Arizona Group
and Southwest Support Office assisted Arizona Fame and Fish officers in the
execution of search warrants in the Phoenix area.  The action culminated an
undercover investigation into the illegal reptile trade in which reptiles
were taken from Chiricahua NM and possibly other park areas in Arizona.  The
warrants were executed at the residences of D.M. of Scottsdale and
R.W. of Chandler.  SA Dan Wirth will be coordinating the NPS
investigation.  Media attention was high, with reporters from the Phoenix
media present.  [Phil Young, SA, SWSO, 7/2]

97-319 - Everglades NP - Commercial Fishing Conviction 

On December 31, 1996, rangers Gene Wesloh and Craig Thatcher came upon an
unoccupied commercial fishing boat in a hidden cove in the Ten Thousand
Islands area of the park.  Thatcher boarded the vessel and waited for the
owners to return while Wesloh positioned the park vessel out of sight. 
Commercial fisherman M.B. soon returned to the vessel and dropped off
boat operator C.D. Jr.  Both men were stopped and charged with
possession of illegal commercial fishing gear, a 600-yard-long gill net. 
M.B., who has a history of 13 previous resource violations in Everglades and
Big Cypress, was found guilty of commercial fishing in the park on June 25th. 
M.B. was sentenced to one month in jail, a one year ban from the park, a
$5,000 fine, forfeiture of his commercial net, and a year of supervised
probation.  Thatcher and Wesloh worked closely with the environmental crimes
section of the U.S. attorney's office for six months in preparation for the
court appearance.  [Reed Detring, CR, EVER, 7/11]

97-320 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Car Clout Arrests
     
On the evening of June 27th, a park volunteer exiting the backcountry at a
trailhead parking area observed an unknown man standing at the open door of a
co-worker's vehicle.  As the volunteer approached, the man and a female
companion left the scene quickly in a car.  The volunteer radioed ahead to
rangers, who stopped the vehicle about 30 minutes later.  The two individuals
were identified as D.W., 39, and R.D., 34, of Billings,
Montana.  They were subsequently arrested for theft of property (a case of
compact discs) from the parked vehicle.  Upon interrogation, D.W.
confessed to stealing the CDs.  A search warrant obtained for the impounded
vehicle led to the recovery of the case of compact discs, as well as numerous
payroll checks, personal checkbooks, and other property belonging to
individuals in Billings, paraphernalia for manufacturing false
identification, two false identifications, and stolen electronic equipment. 
D.W. is a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history in Montana
for robbery, burglary, and forgery; he was wanted on a bench warrant in
Wyoming for failure to appear on a DUI charge.  R.D. is on parole in Montana
for check forgery.  Park investigators are working with the U.S. attorney's
office and authorities from Montana and Wyoming, on possible charges.  [Mike
Murray, ACR, YELL, 7/1]

97-321 - Arches NP (UT) - EMS Rescue

On June 26th, G.R., 49, was hiking the Delicate Arch trail when he
experienced chest pains.  Two friends went for help.  Ranger Karyl Yeston
responded along with a county ambulance crew and other rescue personnel. 
They found G.R. in full arrest and immediately began CPR and advanced life
support efforts.  These were continued during an air ambulance flight to a
regional medical center.  At the time of the report, G.R. was conscious,
stable and able to eat whole food.  [Jim Webster, CR, ARCH, 7/2]

97-322 - Fort Vancouver NHS (OR) - Special Event

On June 20th, the park co-hosted the 60th anniversary rededication of the
Chkalov monument, which commemorates the world's first non-stop, trans-polar
flight.  The pilot of the plane that made the flight, which took place in
1937, was Valeri Chkalov, a Soviet citizen, and he landed at Pearson Field,
part of which is in the park, while making the trip.  The event was attended
by about 180 Russian civilian and military dignitaries, including the deputy
prime minister and the deputy commander of the Russian air force.  U.S.
military and diplomatic personnel also attended.  On the following day, the
Jack Murdock Aviation Center, which is on park land and operates through a
cooperative agreement between the city of Vancouver and the National Park
Service, held its grand opening, which was attended by approximately 1,000
state and local dignitaries and the general public.  A special events team
was brought in for the event; the time was headed by Cheto Olais of Organ
Pipe Cactus and assisted by USPP captain Dan Walters from CCSO.  [CR, FOVA,
6/27]

97-323 - Harry S Truman NHS (MO) - Special Event
     
On June 24th, Mrs. Lyndon "Lady Bird" Johnson visited the Truman home with
her daughter and granddaughter, Linda and Jennifer Robb. They were given a
tour of the home by park superintendent Ken Apschnikat, chief ranger Karen
Tinnin, and museum curator Carol Dage.  Also accompanying Mrs. Johnson were
two members of the Secret Service.  [Keith Drews, PR, HSTR, 6/30]

97-324 - George Washington Memorial Parkway (VA) - Diving Fatality

D.E., 26, was fatally injured in an apparent diving accident in the
Potomac River near Mount Vernon during the early morning hours of July 1st. 
Witnesses told USPP investigators that D.E. had been drinking with friends
on the bank of the river when they bet him that he wouldn't dive into the
water.  D.E. then ran to the shoreline and dove into the shallow water,
striking his head on the rocky bottom.  When he failed to surface, his
friends summoned police.  USPP officer Chester Perlinski and a citizen
located D.E. and pulled him to shore.  He was flown to a local hospital by
a USPP helicopter, where he subsequently died.  [Bill Lynch, RLES, NCRO, 7/1]

97-325 - San Juan NHS (PR) - Probable Drowning
     
On the afternoon of June 30th, visitors found a body on the shore at the foot
of Fort San Cristobal.  Rangers Freddie Aledo and Kim Coast responded with
local officers and located the body of the 30- to 40-year-old man.  The
rangers walked the shoreline and found a cooler full of alcoholic beverages
and a partially consumed bottle of rum lying next to the cooler.  The area
where the cooler was located is closed to the public due to hazardous
conditions.  It's suspected that the man was intoxicated, and, because of the
rocky terrain, slipped and fell into the water.  The incident is being
investigated by police.  The individual's identity is still unknown.  [Kim
Coast, ACR, SAJU, 7/1]

97-326 - Blue Ridge Parkway (VA/NC) - MVA with Two Fatalities

During the early morning hours of July 2nd, Roanoke police officers stopped a
pickup truck with three occupants in a city park.  The officer recognized the
driver, C.D., 25, who had warrants out against him, and asked
him to step from the vehicle.  C.D. instead sped away down an access road
to the parkway.  City officers pursued the truck for a half mile down the
parkway, at which point C.D. lost control of the truck in a series of
curves.  The truck went over an embankment, struck a large tree, and caught
fire.  C.D. was thrown from the vehicle and received minor injuries, but
the two passengers - S.V., 19, of Virginia Beach, and E.B.,
19, of Palatka, Florida - were trapped inside the vehicle.  Police
officers on the scene were unable to save them.  The accident is being
investigated jointly with the Roanoke city police department.  Charges are
pending.  [CRO, BLRI, 7/2]

                   [Additional reports pending...]

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.

Tuesday, July 15

House Committee on Resources: Oversight hearing on the administration's
American heritage rivers initiative.  Rescheduled from June 26th.

Thursday, July 17

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Confirmation hearing for
Robert Stanton to serve as director of the National Park Service.

Senate Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation, and Recreation:
Hearing on S. 391, naming visitor center and wilderness at Everglades NP, and
S, 871, Oklahoma City National Memorial Act.

Friday, July 18

Senate Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations: Markup of FY 1998 Interior
appropriations bill (tentative).

Tuesday, July 22

Senate Committee on Appropriations: Markup of FY 1998 Interior appropriations
bill.

Thursday, July 24

Senate Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation, and Recreation:
Oversight hearing on criteria for additions to the national park system.

Wednesday, July 30

Senate Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation, and Recreation:
Oversight hearing on concessions management and operations in the NPS.

                                *  *  *  *  *

The Morning Report will be posted intermittently through late July.  Today's
edition is the fourth since Thursday, June 26th (the other issuances were on
July 1st, 7th and 8th).  It is being sent courtesy of Hal Grovert (assistant
superintendent, Yosemite), who has provided a temporary editorial office in
his residence in Yosemite Valley. 

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.

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