NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, April 27, 2009

INCIDENTS

Glen Canyon NRA

Two Rescued, Two Drown And Two Missing In Boating Accident

Park dispatch was notified of an overdue six-person boating party on Lake Powell late last Saturday afternoon. A ranger soon found and rescued two people - J.B. and H.B. of St. Pete Beach, Florida - from the shore at Padre Butte. The B.s reported that their boat sank after taking on water during a wind storm. They were treated for hypothermia. An intensive search by boat and air was begun for the other four members of the group. The bodies of two of them - K.P. of St. Petersburg, Florida, and M.A.T. of Prescott Valley, Arizona - have been found; the other two - T.T. of Prescott Valley and R.P. of St. Petersburg - are still missing. The search is being conducted with the assistance of Utah State Parks and the Kane County and San Juan County sheriff's departments. Investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing. Weather is believed to have been a contributing factor. [Brian Sweatland]

Point Reyes NS

Car Burglary Suspect Arrested

Several vehicle break-ins/thefts were reported to the park during the week of March 16th. A credit card stolen from one of the victims was used at several locations in Petaluma soon after the theft. Investigating ranger Glenn Yanagi was able to obtain surveillance video from two of the stores, which provided a good description of the thief and his vehicle. On April 11th, ranger Bruce Dombrowski spotted the suspect vehicle at the same parking lot where the previous thefts occurred. Ranger Nate Riegelmayer took up a surveillance location and a bait car was parked next to the vehicle. The suspect, a 43-year-old Petaluma man, broke the window of the bait car and stole a computer and wallet as Riegelmayer watched, He was arrested by other rangers as he left the area. In his wallet, he had a stolen credit card from one of the earlier victims. Later that same day, rangers served a search warrant on the man's residence and found stolen property from three earlier incidents, including personal identification, credit cards, and electronic gear. The man was charged with six felony violations and is awaiting trial. One of the charges was for possessing a homemade cannon, which he had in the bed of his pickup. It was loaded when found and designed to be fired using a model rocket igniter. The cannon has sparked some local media interest. The man has been positively tied to four vehicle break-ins in the park, and is a suspect in many others. [Colin Smith, Chief Ranger]

Biscayne NP

Illegal Migrants Taken Into Custody

Everglades dispatch contacted Biscayne rangers around midmorning on April 19th and advised them that illegal migrants had landed in the park earlier that morning and that the Coast Guard was en route. The 73 migrants on scene - 56 men and 17 women, all from Haiti - were taken to a Coast Guard cutter. They told investigators that they'd left Port-de-Paix 22 days before in a 35-foot wooden sailboat, following the lights of Cuba as their guide. The boat was still aground in the park at the time of the report. Park employees were working with the Coast Guard to get it removed. [Didier Carod, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:

Office of Public Health - The NPS Office of Public Health has joined other Public Health Service offices and the Centers for Disease Control in closely monitoring the recent outbreak of swine influenza in Mexico and the United States.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7605" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7605

Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7604" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7604

Timucuan E&HP - Hundreds of people descended on American Beach on the Saturday before last for the unveiling of a new historical marker commemorating a beach that was opened to African Americans in 1935 when most other Florida beaches were open to whites only.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7603" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7603

Northeast Region - Carla Whitfield has been selected as the superintendent of Booker T. Washington National Monument. She will assume her new position in June. Whitfield succeeds Rebecca Harriet, who became superintendent at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2318" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2318

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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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