NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Thursday, March 26, 1998

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

                            *** NOTICE ***

All flags are to lowered to half staff immediately today, Thursday, March
26th, in tribute to the late Rep. Steven Schiff of Utah.  Flags will return
to full staff on the morning of Saturday, March 28th.

INCIDENTS

98-06 - Big Bend NP (TX) - Follow-up on Fatality

On January 1st, hikers found the body of H.W. in a remote section of
the backcountry near the Smoky Creek drainage.  H.W. had been backpacking
and camping in the area and had a permit from the park.  An investigation
into the cause and circumstances of his death ensued.  No food of any kind or
sign of food was found in H.W.'s camp, but some native vegetation was found
hidden under rocks in plastic bags near the campsite.  Among the plants was
Mexican buckeye, which is poisonous.  Autopsy results were inconclusive. 
H.W. was an untreated diabetic, and he apparently died of complications
brought on by diabetes mellitus.  He was also found to be in advanced stages
of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic pulmonary obstructive
disease.  It's not known why he was on an extended trip without any food. 
[Bill Wright, CR, BIBE/RIGR, 3/25]

98-117 - Vicksburg NMP (MS) - Significant Vandalism

On Friday, March 20th, 35 of the park's historic monuments were vandalized
between the hours of 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.  The monuments were sprayed with a
liquid vegetable oil which deeply penetrated the porous granite surfaces of
the stonework.  The damage has resulted in dark stains which cannot be
removed using conventional cleaning methods.  The incident was first reported
on Sunday morning, when two out-of-state visitors saw the vandalism and
immediately remembered talking with two suspicious individuals at the Alabama
Monument during a previous visit to the park around 3 p.m. on Friday
afternoon.  Ranger Phil Swartz gathered details during an interview with 
the pair.  The two visitors reported that, during their conversation, the
subjects freely talked about being "on a mission from God", that they
recently had begun a 40-day fast in Dallas, and that their mission is to
reunite the North and South to prevent an end to the world in 1998.  The pair
also had plans to go to all Civil War sites in the south before eventually
heading to Gettysburg.  Each of the two men was carrying a three-foot-long
ram's horn known as a "Shofar" and a clear plastic bottle containing an
amber-colored liquid (the two witnesses believed that the liquid was a drink
until they observed the widespread vandalism Sunday morning).  The men would
sound their horns seven times at each monument, then presumably squirted the
liquid onto the monuments.  The descriptions of the men and their vehicle are
as follows:

White male, 30s, mustache, 5'10", slender, light reddish brown hair,
wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, no cap, purportedly from Indiana.

White male, 30s, no facial hair, 5'10", heavy-set, black slicked-back
hair, wearing a tan windbreaker and jeans, no cap, purportedly from
Indiana.

1979-81 Dodge full-size pickup, maroon color, very clean for its age,
chrome front bumper, no bed cover, no remarkable features, no front
license plate, tag unknown, but possibly from Indiana.

All NPS Civil War parks were notified of the incident on Sunday afternoon. 
Samples of the oil which had pooled on the bronze work of several monuments
was collected for evidence.  Swartz took them to a Corps of Engineers
experiment station for analysis.  Tests indicate that the substance is
organic and is probably either citronellol (rose oil) or citral (oil of lemon
grass), although it could contain a mixture of one or more liquids.  The
yellow color indicates that it is high in carotene.  A spectral analysis of
the sample was conducted and compared to corn oil.  The substances were found
to have nearly identical chemical characteristics.  The chemist has provided
the park with a small sample of a chemical which can be used to remove the
stains.  It will be tested over the next few days as a possible treatment. 
The investigation continues.  This is the second incident of this kind at
Vicksburg this year.  On January 18th, 56 monuments were vandalized by paint
balls shot from a paint ball gun (98-30).  That incident is still under
investigation.  [Greg Zeman, Chief of Operations, VICK, 3/25]

98-118 - Rio Grande W&SR (TX) - Drowning

On March 22nd, a 22-year-old Mexican male reportedly dove into the river and
disappeared near the mining town of La Linda in Coahuila, Mexico, on a
section of the river just downstream from the put-in for Lower Canyons.  A
search was initiated in Mexico and his body was recovered the next day two 
miles downstream from the scene of the incident.  [Bill Wright, CR,
BIBE/RIGR, 3/25]

98-119 - Glen Canyon NRA (UT/AZ) - Possible Suicide

The body of 18-year-old C.B. of Page, Arizona, was found at the
dam overlook by two park visitors around 9 a.m. on Monday, March 23rd.  The
apparent cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head.  A handgun
was found nearby.  C.B.'s death is probably a suicide, but other leads are
being pursued, since C.B. told several friends that he wanted to get even
with an individual who had reported him for narcotics use.  C.B. was to be
sentenced to three years' probation for a recent burglary conviction later in
the day on Monday.  C.B. had stolen the handgun used in his death from a
local police officer's home an hour before he was found dead.  Park criminal
investigators and county officers are continuing the investigation.  [Dave
Sandbakken, LES, GLCA, 3/25]

                        [Additional reports pending...]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

EXCHANGE

No entries.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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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