NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

NOTICE

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Woman Sought After Jumping Into Little River Reappears

A ranger patrolling Little River Road on Friday, July 31st, saw a woman in her 30s sitting on a rock at the edge of the river and was sufficiently concerned about her intentions to stop and check on her. He spoke to her repeatedly, but she didn't acknowledge him. She then suddenly stood up and jumped into the swift-flowing water. The ranger ran down the river approximately 150 yards until he reached a place where he could get to the river safely and twice threw a float bag to her as she floated past. On once occasion, she picked it up and tossed it aside. Other rangers quickly gathered at the scene and searched the river bank intensively from 4:00 p.m. until it was too dark to see anything. Other rangers set up a stationary vantage point just above The Sinks, where they hoped to intercept her as she was swept past. Gatlinburg's Rescue Squad and Rural Metro Ambulance also responded. They were not successful, and suspended the search until the next morning. They were still looking for her on Saturday when she reappeared at the Townsend Wye, about seven miles downstream from the point where she was last seen. She was in good condition. Rangers say that C.S.M., 45, of Knoxville evidently got out of the river on the opposite side from Little River Road and walked up through the woods until she reached Round Top Trail, which leads to the Townsend Wye. She then crossed the river and walked into the parking area. Park volunteers who were directing traffic at the closed gate to Little River Road noticed her and notified rangers that she might be the individual they were looking for. C.S.M.'s vehicle had been found Friday night at the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area, so rangers suspected that she was the subject of the search. She was transported to Blount Memorial Hospital for evaluation. [Bob Miller, Public Affairs Officer]

Glen Canyon NRA

Four-Year-Old Drowns In Lake Powell

A four-year-old boy has lost his life in a drowning incident on Lake Powell. On the evening of Monday, August 3rd, park dispatch received a 911 call from a houseboat in Warm Creek Bay on Lake Powell. The caller said that a four-year-old boy with the group had just been retrieved from shallow water and was unresponsive. A nurse on the houseboat immediately started CPR. Park rangers and a helicopter from Classic Lifeguard were on scene within 18 minutes of the 911 call and continued lifesaving efforts. The child was transported by helicopter to Page Hospital, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. The child had been playing on the beach with other children from the houseboat. He was not wearing a life jacket, and had been left unattended for only a few minutes. It is unclear how he ended up in the water. [Brian Sweatland, Public Affairs Officer]

Big Thicket NP

Visitor Drowns In Village Creek

C.T., 52, and her young grandsons, ages nine and eight, were swimming from a sandbar on Village Creek when the two boys ventured too far from the sandbar. C.T. became concerned and went out to urge them to come closer to the sandbar. When she got into deeper water, she yelled that she had a cramp and went underwater. It is unknown how long C.T. was underwater, but the older of the two boys was able to pull her partially out of the water. The other ran to the parking area for help, and several people who were in the area responded. The Hardin County Sheriff's Department is investigating the case. An autopsy was ordered since several different types of pills were found inside a prescription bottle recovered from C.T.'s vehicle. On July 29th, the Jefferson County Coroner's Office ruled death by drowning. [Mark Peapenburg, Chief Ranger]

Denali NP&P

Successful Intervention In Attempted Suicide

On July 26th, the park received a 911 call reporting an attempted suicide in the Doyon-Aramark Joint Venture employee housing area. Ranger Michael O'Connor arrived on scene within five minutes and found a 34-year-old man from Glenwood City, Wisconsin, semi- conscious on the floor of his room. O'Connor was able to determine from what the man told him that he'd consumed 70 to 75 pills of Alprazolam (generic Valium) in an attempt to commit suicide and "go to sleep and not wake up." Ranger Scott Pariseau arrived with the park ambulance and the man was transported to the Canyon Clinic. En route, his condition continued to deteriorate, but he was stabilized at the clinic before being flown to a hospital in Fairbanks for definitive care. The attending physician's assistant at the clinic said that, without intervention, the man would have died within an hour. The 911 call came from two Joint Venture employees in an adjacent room, MJ Horwedel and Matt Payne. They heard odd noises from the man's room and went to investigate, subsequently calling 911 when they found him down. Had they not been in their room or willing to check on their neighbor, the outcome would have been much different. Their actions saved his life. [Pete Armington, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. The first story on the list is the lead story.

Servicewide - Visitors to AirVenture 2009, this year's big annual gathering of the Experimental Aircraft Association, were often surprised to see flat-brimmed ranger Stetsons and the gray-and-green uniforms of the National Park Service on display alongside jets, helicopters, and corporate aircraft. But to tell America's story about flight one starts at either Kitty Hawk or the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop in Dayton, both NPS areas. Photo. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=8007" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=8007

Northeast Region - Tammy Duchesne has been selected as the management assistant in the regional director's office in Northeast Region. She is currently the chief of cultural resources for War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam and American Memorial Park in Saipan. Photo.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2430" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2430

Carlsbad Caverns NP - Monday, August 3rd, was Tom “Boomer” Bemis' last day working for the NPS at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Photo.

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=2428" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewcommunityarticle&type=PeopleNews&id=2428

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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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