NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
INCIDENTS
Denali NP&P
Aerial Search For Missing Climber Suspended
The active search for solo climber Dr. G.M. was scaled back on Tuesday afternoon after search managers determined that further air operations were unlikely to locate him. There has been no sighting of the solo climber or his gear during six days of aerial and ground searching. Although no more flights are anticipated, ranger staff will continue to search through the thousands of high resolution images taken during the flights in search of clues to G.M.'s whereabouts. G.M. began his summit bid from the 14,200-foot camp the morning of Tuesday, May 19th. He was sighted at various elevations along the West Buttress route that day, the highest of which was somewhere between 18,000 and 19,000 feet. G.M. did not return to high camp on Tuesday night. An individual climber was observed on the summit ridge the afternoon of Wednesday, May 20th, although it cannot be confirmed that it was G.M. G.M. was seen to be carrying only a small daypack with minimal survival gear at the time of his disappearance. He did not take a stove for melting snow, and it's not known how much food he had in his pack. Throughout his climb, G.M. carried an FRS radio and a SPOT locator device; the last GPS location reported by the SPOT device was at the 17,200-foot camp on May 19th. Throughout his trip, G.M. had been making at least one position recording each day. In light of his limited supplies and the subzero temperatures, search managers consider that survival is outside the window of possibility. Observers have thoroughly searched the route and surrounding areas and it's believed that there's a high probability they would have found any climbers visible on the surface. [Maureen McLaughlin, Public Information Officer]
Zion NP
Canyoneers Rescued In Two Separate Incidents In Middle Echo Canyon
On May 19th and 23rd, rangers responded to nearly identical rescues in Middle Echo Canyon, a technical canyoneering route located within the park. Both parties had completed the technical portion of the route but were blocked from exiting the canyon by a 30-foot-high wall of ice and snow. Some members of one party were able to scramble out of the canyon near the snow wall, but the majority of the involved individuals were unable to make it out. Requests for assistance ensued and the SAR teams performed a series of 100-foot raises from the same spot in each incident. Nobody was injured, but some complained of minor hypothermia due to their lack of preparedness for the deep, cold-water wading required on this route. Members of one of the parties received citations for failure to obtain a permit and for creating a hazardous condition. The second rescue may not have been necessary if a required canyoneering permit had been obtained and current canyon conditions checked. Rescue in the canyons of Zion National Park is never guaranteed and always presents some degree of hazard to rescuers and victims. The second rescue team performed technical raises of victims after dark and with lightning in the area. The park has temporarily closed Middle Echo Canyon to recreational use due to visitor safety concerns stemming from these recent rescues and the similarity of the current conditions to those experienced in 2008. Rangers will periodically check canyon conditions and will reopen it to recreational use when the snow and ice obstacles have melted out to a degree which is passable by canyoneers of average ability with standard canyoneering equipment. Canyon District Ranger Kevin Killian was IC for both rescues. [Bonnie Schwartz, Chief Ranger]
National Capital Parks
Endangered Missing Teenage Girl Found, Companion Arrested
Park Police dispatch received a report of a missing teenage girl at Dupont Circle Park on the evening of May 22nd. The incident was deemed critical because the caller said that the girl was accompanied by a person who was wanted by the police on a child pornography charge. The caller had learned of the missing girl and her wanted companion from a story that appeared on a local news broadcast an hour earlier. Park Police officers located and arrested the man, who was wanted in Arlington County for child pornography violations. The girl was found shortly thereafter and taken to a Park Police facility to arrange for her return to Montgomery County. [Sergeant David Schlosser, Public Information Officer]
Delaware Water Gap NRA
Four Appalachian Trail Hikers Injured By Lightning Strike
Four members of a hiking group who were on the Appalachian Trail within the park were injured by a nearby lightning strike on the evening of Sunday, May 24th. The incident happened during a severe thunderstorm on a popular part of the trail about a mile south of Sunfish Pond. The lightning evidently hit the ground near the group, inflicting injuries on two men and two women. Rangers responded as part of an interagency rescue team based out of the park and evacuated all four - three of them with a Gator (an ATV with a utility bed), and the fourth, who suffered a head wound, on a Stokes litter. All four were taken to Pocono Medical Center in East Stroudsburg. [News reports]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
Glen Canyon NRA - Local students helped build a native plant trail at Wahweap last month as part of the “First Bloom” project, which works to connect kids to nature through hands-on planting and garden projects inside national parks.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7738" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7738
National Partnership Office - The National Park Foundation is awarding grants to superintendents to help them learn how to navigate change, manage fragile public lands, and lead their organizations and partners effectively in order to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7727" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7727
US Park Police - Major Jon Pierce retired on May 24th following a distinguished career with many notable accomplishments.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2359" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2359
Haleakala NP - Mike Ing, long-time law enforcement ranger at Haleakala National Park, will retire on June 30th following 33 years with the National Park Service.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2360" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2360
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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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