NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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INCIDENTS
National Mall and Memorial Parks
Car Clouting Arrest Leads To Discovery Of Numerous Stolen Items
Park Police officer Tim Wallace was dispatched to Hains Point Bay 13 around 6 p.m. on September 10th to investigate a report of a car clout in progress. Wallace met with a man who'd seen another man - later identified as B.G. - break a window of his vehicle and take a GPS electronic device from the car. He yelled out to B.G., who appeared to throw the device back into the vehicle, then attempted to flee toward another vehicle. Before he could make good on his effort to escape, though, the victim and other witnesses ran towards him, causing B.G. to jump out and flee on foot. An updated lookout was broadcast, and officers Jonothan Alto and Michael Alto stopped B.G.. He had fresh cuts on his elbow which appeared consistent with those that would be incurred in breaking glass. The victim positively identified him and B.G. was arrested. During the on-scene investigation, officers found that the vehicle B.G. attempted to flee in had been reported stolen. At the same time, officer Donald Houghton reported that a GPS device had been stolen earlier in the day from a car in the Tidal Basin parking lot. The owner of that vehicle said that her home address was locked into the device. Officers found a GPS device inside the stolen vehicle. It was turned on and it had the given address on it. B.G. was charged on multiple counts, including unauthorized use of a vehicle, theft from an auto, and destruction of private property. On September 12th, members of the Criminal Investigation Branch's major crimes and narcotics and vice units from District One and officers from the Special Forces Branch served a warrant on B.G.'s residence. During the search, they found a large amount of stolen property, including new vehicle registration tags, clothing, electronic devices, jewelry, and loaded pistol magazines. They were seized. B.G. was at the residence and was arrested. Additional charges were added for theft, receiving stolen property, and unregistered ammunition. Detectives contacted the local police department to investigate whether B.G. is a suspect in any of their cases. [Sergeant Robert Lachance, US Park Police]
Glen Canyon NRA
College Student Dies In Boating Accident
On the afternoon of Saturday, September 20th, dispatch received a report that a person on a boat near Face Canyon hit his head, fell overboard, and failed to resurface. Rangers Grant Stolhand and Eric Herndon responded along with a Utah State Park ranger. The rangers found that L.R., 19, of Seattle, Washington, had been standing on the bow seat of a rental runabout boat, holding onto the bow line for balance, while the boat was on plane. When the boat operator slowed down, L.R. was ejected. The operator and a passenger onboard heard a thud and stopped the boat. They couldn't find L.R., and, after circling the area for about five minutes, called for assistance on marine band radio. L.R. was visiting the lake with college friends from California. The park and Utah Highway Patrol dive team are conducting dive operations in an effort to find and recover the body. [Lindy Mihata, Law Enforcement Specialist]
Cape Hatteras NS
Several Portable Toilets And Restroom Destroyed In Arson Fires
Between the late morning and early afternoon hours of Sunday, September 21st, seven portable toilets and one permanent public restroom were purposely set on fire in the Buxton area. No injuries resulted, but property damage consisted of partial to totally melted portable toilets and badly burned wooden fencing and boardwalk areas around them. The initial estimate is that it will cost about $12,300 to repair and replace the facilities. Sunday was the first day of the Eastern Surfing Association's (ESA) national surfing competition, which is held annually at Buxton Beach. Tension exists between locals and surfers and the ESA and leads are being investigated by rangers, assisted by the Dare County Fire Marshall's Office. [John McCutcheon, Hatteras District Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
Among the stories in today's edition are the following:
Olympic NP - US Forest Service officer Kristine Fairbanks was shot and killed last Saturday afternoon while on duty in the Olympic National Forest south of Sequim, Washington. Fairbanks was a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Forest Service; prior to that, she was a seasonal ranger at Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier National Park and at Big Thicket National Preserve.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6904" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6904
Washington Office - All National Park Service sites will offer free visitor admission this weekend. There will be no entrance fees on September 27th to celebrate National Public Lands Day and on September 28th to honor the country's newest citizens.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PressReleases&id=819" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PressReleases&id=819
Historic Preservation Training Center - The results of Clemson University's evaluation of the preservation and skills training program (PAST) have been posted on the Historic Preservation Training Center website.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6901" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6901
US Park Police - Major Bruce D. Cunningham will retire from the United States Park Police on September 27th after nearly 33 years of distinguished service.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2072" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2072
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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).
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