NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, October 23, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Redwood N&SP
Visitor Dies Of Injuries Sustained In 200-Foot Fall
On the afternoon of October 16th, 20-year old visitor B.H. sustained critical injuries from an approximately 200-foot fall at the Crescent Beach overlook. Moments before her fall, a member of B.H.'s party saw her exploring the area by scrambling on a particularly steep and dangerous scree slope that terminates in a vertical drop. A California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR) law enforcement ranger scrambled down the steep slope along an alternate route, located B.H. near the bottom of the slope, and began resuscitating the gravely injured woman. A National Park Service protection ranger and a member of the Del Norte County SAR team carried an EMS pack to their location and joined the CDPR ranger in providing medical care. A Coast Guard helicopter arrived within an hour and flew B.H. to Humboldt County's St Josephs Hospital, where she was pronounced dead within minutes of arrival in the emergency room. The competent professional response and care administered by rangers, the Del Norte County SAR team and the Coast Guard guaranteed that she had the best chance at a positive outcome, but her injuries proved to be too extensive. The incident is still under investigation. [Chief Ranger's Office]
Golden Gate NRA
Visitor Killed In 200-Foot Fall
Rangers were contacted by park dispatch around 11 p.m. on October 17th and advised that a man had fallen over a cliff edge near Point Bonita. Rangers and Presidio fire and EMS personnel responded from Marin Headlands and came upon a two men and woman along the cliff's edge. Rangers interviewed the three and determined that a friend who was with them had been walking along a social trail, stumbled, and fallen 200 feet to the bottom. Due to the extremely steep terrain and darkness, a Coast Guard helicopter and 47-foot motor lifeboat responded to the area. They found the man and a Coast Guard rescue swimmer determined that he'd died in the fall. Body recovery efforts took extra time because the vessel could not get close enough and the helicopter had to be refueled. The body was finally retrieved at 4:30 a.m. and transported to Fort Baker. The Marin County Coroner's Office and U.S. Park Police Criminal Investigations Branch are continuing the investigation. [Kim Coast, Operations Supervisor)
National Capital Parks East
Poachers Identified And Cited
Early on the afternoon of October 13th, Park Police officers Ryan McDermott and William Alton were dispatched to the area of Bald Eagle Hill to check on a suspicious vehicle occupied by two men with bows and arrows. When they arrived, they found that there was nobody in the vehicle. They remained in the area out of sight and eventually the two men emerged from the woods, wearing camouflage and possessing a crossbow. The officers confronted and disarmed them. The two men were informed that they were illegally hunting in a National Park Service area. Both subjects were issued citations for possessing prohibited weapons and released. [Sgt. Robert Lachance, US Park Police]
Kalaupapa NHP
Computer Contractor Sentenced Following Theft Conviction
On October 18th, computer contractor R.S. of Molokai was sentenced in federal court following his conviction for theft of government money (18 USC 641). R.S. was contracted to provide maintenance service to computers on the remote peninsula at Kalaupapa NHP. Although he received payments for services he claimed he was providing on computers and servers owned by the NPS, special agents with the NPS, FBI and DOI's Office of the Inspector General determined that he was not authorized to nor had access to the equipment or software he was invoicing the government for servicing. R.S. was sentenced to five years' probation and 150 hours of community service and ordered to pay $8,800 in restitution to the NPS. [Neil Akana, Special Agent]
OTHER NEWS
Among the stories in today's edition are the following:
Apostle Islands NL - Thousands of visitors to Bayfield's 47th annual Apple Festival in early October were introduced to the park through a booth at the festival and an entry in the Apple Fest parade.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7016" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7016
Washington Office - Peggy O'Dell has been selected as regional director for National Capital Region. She follows Joe Lawler, who recently retired.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PressReleases&id=824" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PressReleases&id=824
US Park Police - On October 20th, three United States Park Police officers were among those acknowledged for their outstanding contributions in the 2008 "Smooth Operator" aggressive driving campaign.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2103" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2103
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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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