NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, May 22, 2008
===============================================================================================================
INCIDENTS
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace NHS
NPS Investigation Leads To Recovery Of Stolen Historic Letters
The United States attorney for the Southern District of New York announced yesterday that E.J.R., Jr., the former head of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, a park partner, has pled guilty to the theft of three letters from the association that he later resold through a Manhattan gallery for $97,000. The letters, one written by Abraham Lincoln in 1840 and the other two written by George Washington in 1791 and 1778, were stored in a vault at Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, where E.J.R., a historian, had access. Because the birthplace is a unit of the National Park Service, the agency assumed jurisdiction for the investigation. “The National Park Service is in the business of preserving the natural and cultural resources of this nation, and that includes historic documents such as the ones that were sadly stolen by someone who placed personal profit over their commitment to protect priceless property that belongs to the American people,” said NPS supervisory special agent Jeffrey Pascale. He thanked the U.S. Attorney's Office for its swift prosecution of this case, the Theodore Roosevelt Association for its cooperation, and the Nassau County district attorney for its assistance. The Nassau County DA's office is also prosecuting E.J.R. for the theft of another historic letter. The discovery of that theft led the Theodore Roosevelt Association to check for items that might be missing from their collection, which ultimately led to the federal investigation into E.J.R.. The investigation into the missing association letters was conducted by special agents from the NPS Investigative Services Branch. The branch employs approximately 42 special agents at offices throughout the United States in various parks. Agents from California, with assistance from NPS protection rangers at Santa Monica Mountains NRA, recovered two of the historic letters in the Los Angeles area. The third letter was recovered in Connecticut. Additional historic letters and objects have also been recovered as a result of the investigation. For a copy of the Department of Justice press release, click on the link below. [Darren Boch, Public Affairs Officer]
HYPERLINK "http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/May08/renehanpleapr.pdf" http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/May08/renehanpleapr.pdf
Big Thicket NP
Rangers Rescue Three Canoeists
Village Creek was running at almost three times its normal flow for this time of year on Saturday, May 17th, when three canoeists capsized in the rushing creek. Rangers Johnny Stafford and Josh Clemons were checking the take-out point at the 96 bridge around 7 p.m. when a canoe livery advised them that one of their rental canoes with three persons on board was more than two hours overdue. Stafford and Clemons immediately launched their patrol boat and headed upstream in search of the missing paddlers. At about 7:30 p.m. and a mile-and-a-half upstream of the 96 bridge, the rangers observed a capsized canoe, paddles and an ice chest floating downstream. About 10 minutes later, the rangers found two men and a woman clinging to a large log in the middle of the fast-moving stream. One of the men and the woman were wearing their life jackets, but the second man had lost his and the three were awaiting rescue. The rangers maneuvered their patrol boat into place and plucked the three from the log. On the way back to the takeout point, the rangers retrieved the group's canoe and gear for them. Aside from being slightly hypothermic, the three were fine and did not require medical treatment. [Keith Flanery, District Ranger]
Canyonlands NP
Search Scaled Back For Probable Suicide Victim
On Tuesday, May 13th, the park was notified of the disappearance of a 65-year-old Minnesota man who'd left home with a detailed plan to take his life in the Salt Creek drainage in the Needles District. After verifying that he'd been dropped off on a backcountry road by a shuttle service, park staff began a search for him in hopes of averting the suicide attempt. Protection rangers from Canyonlands, Arches, Natural Bridges and Glen Canyon were involved in the operation, with assistance provided by the Mesa Verde helitack crew and by numerous SAR dog teams from Rocky Mountain Rescue Dogs. Following several days of fruitless searching, efforts were scaled back to a limited continuous mode on Saturday, May 17th. Indications are that the man followed through on his plans in a remote, isolated section of the park's backcountry. The rugged, varied geology of the area made the search extremely difficult. [Denny Ziemann, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS:
Director/Deputy Directors - All National Park Service sites are being asked to honor America's fallen heroes by participating in the National Moment of Remembrance on Memorial Day.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6529" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6529
Buffalo NR - On April 21st, 36 students and 14 instructors gathered in the park for the 13th session of the Eastern high angle rescue training course.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6534" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6534
NPS Law Enforcement Training Center - On April 23rd, the Supreme Court decided that an arrest based on probable cause but prohibited by state statute does not violate the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6533" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6533
Yosemite NP - Fourteen National Park Service rangers and staff members graduated from Yosemite's Mounted Patrol School on Friday, May 16th, after an intensive six-week long training course.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1930" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=1930
* * * * *
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).
--- ### ---