NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, April 1, 1998

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

97-675 - Joshua Tree NP (CA) - Follow-up on Homicide

On October 25, 1997, rangers discovered the body of a woman buried in a golf
club case on a park road that is infrequently traveled.  Several months of
investigation ensued which have revealed what happened to her.  In early
1997, the victim, B.H., and her boyfriend, H.B.,
stole more than $1 million in Austria and fled to the United States.  They
arrived in the Palm Springs area in October and checked into a hotel.  The
pair then played several rounds of golf with a local pro.  H.B.
apparently strangled B.H. sometime thereafter and buried her in the
park around October 11th.  H.B. then checked into a new hotel in the
Palm Springs area and played several more rounds of golf with the pro,
telling him that B.H. had been hit by stray golf balls and didn't want
to play anymore.  In early December, H.B.'s body was found in an
overdue rental car near Mesa, Arizona.  He died of a self-inflicted gunshot
wound from a shotgun he'd purchased from a friend of the golf pro.  None of
the stolen money has yet been discovered.  [Todd Swain, JOTR, 3/30]

98-126 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/AL/TN) - MVA with Fatality

T.R., 38, of Fulton, Mississippi, died in an accident on the parkway
on March 27th.  T.R. was traveling east on an intersecting county road when
he crossed the parkway at a high rate of speed and struck a tree.  The cause
of death is still under investigation.  [J.D. Lee, Acting CR, NATR, 3/30]

                     [Additional reports pending...]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Sleeping Bear Dunes NL (MI) - Deer Control

Natural resource management rangers have been attempting to eliminate white-
tailed deer from the 5,000 acres of South Manitou Island.  Although not
present on the island during historic times, a few deer recently reached the
island, apparently crossing from North Manitou Island, which is three miles
away in Lake Michigan.  Efforts are being made to remove the deer before they
can increase in number and alter the area's natural vegetation.  White-tailed
deer from outside Michigan were artificially introduced to the then
privately-owned North Manitou Island in 1926 and have since drastically and
permanently altered the vegetation there.  Since purchasing the island in
1984, the park has worked with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources
to manage an intensive public hunting program to control the deer population
and allow the area to revegetate.  During previous winters, rangers on skis
unsuccessfully attempted to locate and destroy deer on South Manitou Island. 
A helicopter was employed this year, but no deer were spotted.  Efforts will
continue and will employ various methods to try to locate and eliminate the
deer.  [Max Holden, RM Ranger, SLBE, 3/24]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Morning Report Delays - As you have no doubt recently discovered, Morning
Reports transmitted between Thursday, March 26th, and Tuesday, March 31st,
were not disseminated Servicewide until yesterday.  The delay was caused by
an internal electronic addressing problem between the hub in Philadelphia and
the hub in Washington which led to a six-day backlog of most or all messages
between the two centers.  The problem was resolved yesterday, and normal
message flow has resumed.  [Editor]

Correction - Many readers in the Southwest have sent notes along regarding
last Thursday's notice to parks to lower flags to half staff in memory of
Congressman Steve Schiff.  That notice said that he was a congressman from
Utah, when in fact he was from New Mexico.  Although the formal notification
from the Department of Interior stated that Rep. Schiff was from Utah, we
nonetheless regret the error.  [Editor]

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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