NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, January 14, 1999

INCIDENTS

98-225 - Walnut Canyon NM (AZ) - Follow-up: Sexual Assault, Homicide

On the morning of May 23, 1998, ranger Mary Blasing found the partially-
clothed body of V.S., 23, with a gunshot wound in her head at one
of the picnic areas along the park's entrance road.  V.S. was still alive
but died two days later.  A joint investigation with the county sheriff's
department was begun.  On January 11th, J.S., 45, a security guard
from Flagstaff, was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping.  J.S.
is currently in prison and awaiting trial on separate charges of kidnapping
and raping a 15-year-old girl last October.  J.S. was on duty on the night
when V.S. was kidnapped and assaulted.  A bullet found at the scene next to
V.S. matched J.S.'s issued .357 handgun; a DNA blood sample test of a
blood stain on J.S.'s holster matched V.S.'s DNA.  J.S.'s bail has been
set at $1 million.  He will stand trial next month for the October incident,
and has admitted to that rape.  If convicted, this would give J.S. the prior
conviction needed under Arizona law for a death penalty sentence if convicted
in the V.S. case.  The eight-month-long investigation was led by the
Coconino County Sheriff's Department.  Park staff are currently providing
assistance in preparing for the trial.  Blasing will testify on behalf of the
state.  J.S. had passed a criminal background check for the security
position he held in Flagstaff, and had worked for the company for two years. 
[Tom Ferrell, DR, WACA, 1/12]

98-784 - Grand Teton NP (WY) - Suicide

On the afternoon of December 10th, D.B. of Darby, Montana,
reportedly attempted to sell untagged wildlife parts to a store owner in
Jackson, Wyoming.  D.B. subsequently appeared at the state game and
fish office in Jackson to inquire about possessing and selling wildlife
parts; before the legality of those parts could be determined or properly
tagged, D.B. fled.  Game wardens transmitted a notice to be on the
lookout for his truck to area enforcement agencies.  A Grand Teton ranger
patrolling Highway 89 spotted the vehicle near the junction with the airport
highway shortly thereafter.  Upon seeing the ranger and evidently suspecting
that he was going to be stopped, D.B. pulled over immediately, stepped
from his truck, and shot himself with a .270 caliber hunting rifle.  The
ranger, who was some 200 feet behind D.B., heard only the rifle shot. 
He waited for backup, secured the area, and approached with necessary and
sufficient caution.  D.B. was found dead on the roadway.  D.B.
was a convicted felon who was on probation for felony criminal mischief for
shooting up a taxidermy shop in Montana.  Illegally possessed wildlife parts
and marijuana were found in his truck.  [Colin Campbell, CR, GRTE, 1/4]

98-785 - Redwood N&SP (CA) - Search and Rescue

D.B., 42, went looking for chantrelle mushrooms with her dog in the
Lost Man Creek area of the park on the morning of December 28th.  She quickly
became lost and was unable to find her way to back to the highway by
nightfall.  Her fiancee called the county sheriff's office at 8:30 p.m. that
evening to report her missing.  Rangers and other NPS employees joined in an
all-night search for D.B..  Ranger David Bauer found her and her dog near
Lost Man Creek at 9 a.m. the next morning.  He treated D.B. for mild
hypothermia and transported her and her dog to the incident command center. 
D.B. warmed up quickly during debriefing and was taken to her motorhome
later that morning.  She was warned about park prohibitions on picking
mushrooms (she never found any) and having a dog in the backcountry.  [David
Barland-Liles, Area Ranger, Bald Hills, REDW, 1/12]

99-8 - Petersburg NB (VA) - Apparent Suicide

Park maintenance employees and Hopewell police detectives discovered the body
of P.S., 33, in the park's City Point Unit on the afternoon of January
11th.  P.S.'s vehicle had been found in the unit's parking area shortly
after his wife reported him as missing.  Two letters were found in the
vehicle.  P.S. was reportedly depressed and despondent over family
problems.  He evidently died some time during the night; the cause of death
is thought to have been a combination of alcohol and drugs.  Rangers and city
police are continuing the investigation.  [Ike Kelley, CR, PETE, 1/12]

                       [Additional reports pending...]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

No entries.

PARK DISPATCHES

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

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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