NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, April 30, 2009
INCIDENTS
Grand Canyon NP
Man Rescued After 60-Foot Fall Into Canyon
A 47-year-old Ohio man was rescued after falling 60 feet while hiking in the Grand Canyon on Tuesday. The man fell shortly after starting a multi-day hike that would have taken him to Cottonwood Creek, a backcountry camping area below the South Rim. The accident occurred on the Grandview Trail just east of South Rim Village. The man and his hiking companions were several hundred feet down the trail when he stopped to peer over the edge and lost his balance. A visitor at the Grandview trailhead heard calls for help and called park dispatch. Rangers responded and found the man lying injured on the trail. Because of the steep terrain and difficult switchbacks - and for the safety of the patient - rangers called for the park helicopter and extricated the man using a short-haul operation. Once at the parking lot the man was stabilized and transported by ambulance to the South Rim helibase. From there he was flown by Classic Life Guard to the Flagstaff Medical Center to be treated for life-threatening injuries. Approximately 20 people from the National Park Service were involved in the rescue. Personnel from the park's emergency services, interpretation, wildland fire and aviation and law enforcement divisions responded along with park volunteers. [Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Officer]
Dinosaur NM
Snowbound Couple Rescued From Fire Tower
S.S., 26, and A.W., 28, were reported missing on the evening of Saturday, April 25th, when they failed to return home after an outing to Brown's Park National Wildlife Refuge, which adjoins the park on the north. The call came in to Moffat County, which began an active search on Sunday morning. Dave McGhee, the ranger at Lodore, was contacted around 7:30 a.m. and asked to help with the search. McGhee realized that he'd spoken to the couple at Lodore on Saturday at about 1:30 p.m., when they'd asked him about fishing opportunities. This information led searchers to concentrate on river access points. The weather was cold and windy, with wet, heavy snow making road access very difficult. At about 11 a.m., a dispatcher in Craig received a partial cell phone call and was able to narrow the search to an area on the shoulder of Zenobia Peak, the highest point in the park. A later 911 call from the couple confirmed that they had gotten their truck stuck in deep snow on Zenobia, and that they'd then abandoned the truck and were en route cross-country with their two dogs towards a visible cabin (Zenobia fire tower) some distance above them atop the peak. The dispatcher advised them to return to their vehicle and not climb further up the mountain, but S.S. and A.W. elected to continue traveling cross-country towards the unoccupied fire tower. Their vehicle was located at about 3 p.m., and searchers began tracking the couple through snow up to waist deep in near white-out conditions. Meanwhile, the couple reached the fire tower, broke in, started the propane, cooked dinner, and took a nap. A full-sized four-wheel-drive NPS truck was unable to access the tower due to snow, but Moffat County searchers eventually reached it at about 5 p.m. on ATVs and evacuated the couple and their dogs. They were transferred to the NPS vehicle, transported down the mountain, and treated for mild hypothermia by Maybell Ambulance. [Kathy Krisko, Assistant Chief Ranger]
Point Reyes NS
Confrontation With Suicidal Man Resolved With Taser
Ranger Bruce Dombrowski found a vehicle stuck in a fence line along the Pierce Point Road on the morning of April 13th. When he checked the plate, dispatch informed him that the vehicle was associated with a missing person who was known to be suicidal and had a history of violent encounters with law enforcement officers. Dombrowski backed off and waited for other rangers and a Marin County Sheriff's deputy to arrive. While the rangers were responding, dispatch informed them that the man's roommate had received a phone message from him in which he said that he'd cut himself and was bleeding. After all units were on scene, rangers and officers approached the vehicle and found the 45-year-old Novato man lying in the reclined driver's seat. Blood was visible on his wrists. Rangers commanded him to come out of the vehicle and were met with expletives and comments such as “go ahead and shoot me.” Dombrowski finally broke the passenger window and unlocked the truck. Ranger Rene Buehl then used a taser on the man when he continued to defy commands and act aggressively. After the taser use, he stopped resisting and was handcuffed and taken into custody. If a taser had not been available, it is likely that both the officers and the suspect would have been injured in a physical confrontation. [Colin Smith, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. The links are internal only, as the public version, NPS Digest, is not functioning this morning….
Fort McHenry NM&HS - The Star-Spangled Banner flag floated overhead on April 27th as elected officials, NPS leaders, architects and construction contractors broke ground for a new visitor center at Fort McHenry.
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7615" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7615
Timpanagos Cave NM - Maintenance worker Don (Dino) Robinson suffered a fatal heart attack at home on the morning of Monday, April 27th. Services will be held on Friday.
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=2323" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=2323
* * * * *
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).
--- ### ---