Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Wanted Felon Caught in Park
On the morning of Saturday, November 13th, rangers arrested J.E., 27, of Mount Vernon, Texas, on an outstanding federal warrant and state charges from the state of Texas.
J.E., wanted on a federal indictment for bank larceny and state charges of unlawful flight with children, was arrested around 7 a.m. in Trailer Village, a campground within the park.
Park dispatch had received a BOLO (be on the lookout message) shortly after midnight from DOI's Office of Law Enforcement and Security that indicated that J.E. could be visiting state and national parks. Rangers found J.E.'s motor home in Trailer Village around 1 a.m. and kept it under surveillance through the night. When J.E. stepped outside of the vehicle, he was arrested without incident. Custody of J.E. was transferred to the FBI, and he was taken to the Coconino County Jail in Flagstaff.
J.E. was traveling with his three young children — an 18-month-old daughter, a four-year-old son, and a seven-year-old daughter. All three were placed in protective custody and reunited with their mother later in the morning. She had not seen them since August 29th.
J.E. had been profiled on the America's Most Wanted website, and was
scheduled for a profile on the TV show in the future. Click on "More
Information" to see the related web page.
[Submitted by Maureen
Oltrogge, Public Affairs Officer] More Information...
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (DC)
Visitor's Life Saved with AED
On the morning of November 11th, an interpretive ranger came upon an unconscious 82-year-old woman in room four of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. She was receiving rescue breathing from first responders who were with her tour group.
The ranger determined that the woman had gone into cardiac arrest, contacted the Park Police, then retrieved the on-site AED (automated external defibrillator) with another ranger.
The woman was given a shock from the AED which restored her heartbeat. She soon regained consciousness and was able to communicate with those involved in the lifesaving effort.
City paramedics took her to George Washington University Hospital.
[Submitted by Lance Hatten, Deputy Chief of Visitor Services]
Gauley River National Recreation Area (WV)
Drowning at Confluence of Gauley and Meadow Rivers
On the afternoon of Sunday, November 7th, the park was notified of a four-wheel-drive vehicle stuck in the middle of the Meadow River near its confluence with the Gauley River with the driver's side door open and the driver missing.
Responders found the vehicle and determined that the missing operator was G.O., 58, of Mount Lookout, West Virginia. The Meadow River was running at about 1,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) at the time, and the nearby Gauley River at about 6,000 cfs (a flow of 2,000 to 2,400 cfs is normal for the Gauley during whitewater season).
A hasty search of the area was conducted by personnel from the Mount Lookout VFD, but without success. The search was suspended at nightfall. On Monday, a West Virginia State Police helicopter flew the area, but found no sign of Osborne.
Arrangements were then made with the US Army Corps of Engineers to begin incrementally reducing the discharge from the Summersville Dam, which is upstream from the search area. By Wednesday, the water flow on the Gauley River was reduced from 6,000 cfs to less than 600 cfs.
A concerted effort was made by several area volunteer fire departments, search and rescue groups and cooperating agencies to search the Meadow and Gauley Rivers during the low flow. At approximately 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, ground searchers working the shoreline observed what appeared to be a body face down against a rock in the Gauley River above Lost Paddle rapid.
River patrol ranger Bryan Hunter, with the assistance of park planner Cliff Bobinski (former whitewater guide), was able to position a raft above the rock and recover G.O.'s body. It was turned over to the county medical examiner.
District ranger Greg Malcom is working jointly with the West Virginia State Police on the follow-up investigation. [Submitted by Gary Hartley, Chief Ranger]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Midwest Region
Ron Switzer Named Superintendent at Buffalo NR
Ronald Switzer has been appointed the new superintendent at Buffalo National River in Arkansas. Currently the superintendent at Mammoth Cave National Park, he will begin the new assignment on January 9th. Switzer succeeds Ivan Miller, who retired from the NPS in July.
"Ron's management of a variety of parks during more than 37 years with the Serviceis a great asset," said Ernest Quintana, Midwest regional director. " His strong background in resource management, park operations, and tourism will be particularly applicable at Buffalo National River."
Switzer's love for the national parks developed during his first seasonal job as an archeological interpreter at Mesa Verde National Park while a student at the University of New Mexico. He received his first permanent assignment with the NPS in 1970 as a museum specialist at the Midwest Archeological Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. Quickly rising through the ranks, he became the center's chief in 1972.
At the age of 28, Switzer became the youngest superintendent in the NPS at the time when he returned to Mesa Verde later in 1972. At Mesa Verde, he also oversaw the operation of Hovenweep and Yucca House National Monuments in Colorado and Utah.
From 1979 to 1987, Switzer served at the Southwest Regional Office in Santa Fe, first as associate regional director for state and local affairs, then as executive assistant to the regional director. In 1987, he transferred to Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve as assistant superintendent. He then moved to Big Thicket National Preserve as superintendent. Switzer's most recent assignment as superintendent at Mammoth Cave began in 1995.
Switzer is the recipient of the Department of the Interior meritorious service and superior service awards for longstanding exceptional service to the NPS. He is also the recipient of the 1999 National Recreation Coalition "Legend Award" for outstanding contributions to outdoor recreation management and the William T. Hornaday Gold Medal for distinguished service in conservation.
Switzer was the founder of the Kentucky Federal Agency Tourism Council. He currently serves as a government affairs advisor to the Southeast Tourism Society, where he formerly served as Vice chair from Kentucky. Last Spring he was instrumental inestablishing the Southeast Tourism Policy Council encompassing representation from five Cabinets of the federal government, seven federal agencies, eleven state travel offices and numerous private sector tourism organizations. Switzer recently completed his term as Chair of the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition.
A Mason City, Iowa, native, Switzer was raised in the San Joaquin Valley in California and in Albuquerque. He earned a B.A. in anthropology and archeology in 1966 and an M.A. in cultural anthropology in 1968 from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Following college, he spent two years working as a curator and teaching fellow for the university.
Married for more than 40 years to his junior high school sweetheart and fellow UNM graduate, the former Deborah Dittberner of Albuquerque, the Switzers are the parents of two grown sons - Dr. Seth H. Switzer of Enid, Okla., and Justin V. Switzer , a corporate attorney in Houston, Texas. They are the proud grandparents of Amina (7) and Rhys (5) Switzer of Enid. Deborah Switzer is a retired grade school teacher and likes to volunteer at local schools when she is not occupied with gourmet cooking. Switzer's eclectic interests include writing and painting, flower gardening and furniture making. He is currently working on a children's poetry book, and a novel.
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.