NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

INCIDENTS

Yosemite NP

Major Marijuana Garden Eradicated

Rangers and NPS special agents, with assistance from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, eradicated 4,735 marijuana plants valued at nearly $19 million from within the park last week. Items removed from the area included nearly 400 pounds of fertilizer, 3,000 feet of irrigation hose, and 200 pounds of human trash. Two suspects were observed in the area but fled. No arrests were made in the operation. [Kari Cobb, Public Affairs Officer]

Colorado NM

Bicyclist Dies Of Traumatic Injuries Suffered In Accident

On the afternoon of Saturday, August 22nd, S.D., 65, of Madison, Wisconsin, lost control of his bike while riding down the east hill of Rim Rock Drive approximately a mile from the east entrance station. Two cyclists riding up the hill saw S.D. traveling downhill at about 25 mph before he lost control and hit the pavement. The cyclists called 911 and a Grand Junction Fire Department ambulance and a National Park Service ranger immediately responded. S.D. was transported to St. Mary's Medical Center in Grand Junction. On Sunday afternoon, he passed away. This marks the first time a serious cycling accident has resulted in a cyclist fatality in the history of the monument. [Joan Anzelmo, Superintendent]

New River Gorge NR

Suicide Victim Found In New River

A Fayette County deputy came upon an abandoned vehicle on the New River Gorge Bridge just before midnight on Wednesday, August 19th. The area was searched, but neither the driver nor anyone else associated with the vehicle could be found. A registration check showed that it was registered to a 28-year-old Ohio resident. The area below the bridge was searched by ground crews with no success. The vehicle was towed and the investigation was turned over to NPS rangers for follow-up. On Thursday, rangers conducting the follow-up investigation worked with NPS staff from Cuyahoga Valley NP to locate the current address and family of the vehicle's owner in Ohio. Rangers were able to locate the man's mother and inform her of the abandoned vehicle. The mother told the rangers that her son was mentally unstable and had been in trouble, then went to her son's apartment, where she found a suicide note. The note was faxed to the rangers. Another search of the area around the bridge was conducted with no success, possibly because he'd landed in the New River. Whitewater river outfitters were notified of the missing person and river patrols were conducted. On the evening of August 21st, rangers conducting an evening kayak patrol of the New River found his body approximately a quarter mile downstream from the bridge. It was recovered and turned over to the West Virginia State Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy. The assistance from Cuyahoga NP staff with the investigation greatly added to the efficiency of the search and recovery. District ranger Frank Sellers served as IC for the incident and park ranger Stan Wilson lead the investigation. [Gary Hartley, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

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

Whiskeytown NRA - A celebration of the completion of five miles of new trail through the heart of the park was held on the morning of Saturday, August 15th. A bronze spike was placed in a granite boulder symbolizing the connection of the park's eastern trail system with its distant western trails.

Blue Ridge Parkway - Blue Ridge Parkway maintenance worker Gregory Lee Goehring, 45, of Rocky Mount, Virginia, suffered a heart attack while on duty and passed away Thursday, August 20th.

To see these and other stories posted on InsideNPS (or NPS Digest, its public version), click on one or the other of the following links (please note that not all stories in the former appear in the latter): NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index ; non-NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

* * * * *

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).

--- ### ---