NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
INCIDENTS
Grand Canyon NP
Search For Two Missing Men Scaled Back
Last Thursday, rangers began a search for three young men who disappeared while attempting to swim across the Colorado River near Boat Beach. As was noted in yesterday's edition, the body of 16-year-old M.M. was recovered from the Colorado River on Friday, May 1st, but the bodies of 22-year-old J.M. and 16-year-old S.S. had not yet been located. Despite an intensive two-day search by helicopter, boat and foot, with the added assistance of a search dog team, rangers have found no signs of them. They accordingly began scaling back the search on Saturday. That decision was based on the totality of all circumstances, including water temperature, the swift current, the fact that neither was wearing a life jacket, and the fact that all three were likely fatigued from their long hike to the river. Rangers will carry on with limited continuous efforts until the young men have been located and recovered. Those efforts include ranger patrols on the river and on nearby trails, conducted with the assistance of the many commercial and private boaters currently on the river, and continued distribution of a missing person's flyer to boaters and hikers along the river. [Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Officer]
White House
Park Police Make Numerous Arrests At Three Demonstrations
Park Police officers made 172 arrests during a series of demonstrations at the White House in the last week of April. These large demonstrations involved non-violent civil disobedience and required a significant personnel commitment from USPP units, including the patrol unit, the SWAT team, the motorcycle and horse mounted units, and criminal investigations. On April 27th, officers arrested 91 people; on April 29th, another 20; and on April 30th, 61 more. The April 27th arrest situation was unusual in that almost all of those arrested were disabled people in wheelchairs. Because of the unseasonably hot weather, the District of Columbia fire department assisted in the processing by providing continuous monitoring of the arrestees to assure that no one, including officers, suffered from any heat-related illnesses. [Sergeant David Schlosser, Public Information Officer]
Glacier NP
Historic Many Glacier Chalet Cabin Damaged In Fire
Rangers responded to a report of smoke issuing from the historic Many Glacier Chalet, also known as the winter caretaker's residence, on the afternoon of Sunday, May 3rd. The fire was reported by a concession employee who is currently residing at the chalet. Upon arrival, rangers saw smoke coming out of the back door. They interviewed the resident and determined that there were no injuries and that no one was left inside. The Babb Volunteer Fire Department arrived and firefighters entered the structure wearing self contained breathing apparatus with a charged line. They quickly contained the fire to one room and extinguished the blaze. One room in the chalet was damaged by flames; a damage estimate is pending. An FBI fire investigator has been contacted and will investigate the fire's origin. Without the assistance of the Babb VFD, the chalet would most likely have been destroyed. Chief Mountain District ranger John Piastuck served as the park incident commander and is coordinating the investigation and follow-up. The caretaker cabin is one of two remaining buildings left from the Many Glacier Chalets that were built by the Great Northern Railway in 1913, prior to construction of the Many Glacier Hotel. The Many Glacier Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. [Mark Foust, Chief Ranger; Amy Vanderbilt, Public Affairs Officer]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
Curecanti NRA - The Colorado Division of Wildlife has declared Blue Mesa Reservoir a “suspect location” for infestation of invasive quagga mussels as the result of analyses received by the NPS. This is the first water body in Colorado considered suspect but not contaminated under the new aquatic nuisance species regulations.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7628" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7628
Wilderness Stewardship and Recreation - National Park Service staff participated in a two-day meeting in mid-April at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in which representatives from federal and state agencies, conservation groups and academic institutions worked to develop a national landscape conservation strategy.
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7617" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7617
US Park Police - On May 1st, five officers and one sergeant graduated from the United States Park Police basic horse mounted patrol program and are poised to assist the Department in providing this unique form of police service.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2329" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2329
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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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