NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Friday, September 4, 2009
INCIDENTS
Rocky Mountain NP
Injured Climber Medevaced From Longs Peak
On the afternoon of September 1st, a 53-year-old man from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, took a 25-foot tumbling fall in the “Trough” area of Longs Peak. The “Trough” is a long, steep gully with loose rocks. The man and his son, who is in his mid 20s, had climbed to the summit of Longs Peak and were descending when the incident occurred. The man suffered numerous injuries, including a leg injury and numerous bruises and abrasions. A few bystanders tried calling for assistance around 5:30 p.m. on their cell phones, but the calls were dropped after limited information was given to park dispatch. The dispatcher was only able to hear that a hiker was in distress near the “Trough.” The two men had camped on Monday night and were planning to camp again on Tuesday night at a backcountry campsite at the Boulderfield. Not knowing whether rangers had been contacted, the son hiked down to their camping gear and hiked back up, bringing a sleeping bag, first aid kit, food and water to his father. He then proceeded to hike down to the Longs Peak trailhead. Two rangers, responding to the earlier calls, met the son on the trail at 8:30 p.m. roughly two miles from the trailhead. The two rangers proceeded to the Boulderfield and spent the night there. At first light Wednesday morning, they hiked through the “Ledges” to the injured man, reaching him at 6:00 a.m. Two teams of rangers and a paramedic from the Estes Park Medical Center left the Longs Peak trailhead at 3:00 a.m. and at 5:00 a.m. to support the two rangers on scene. With assistance from the initial two rangers, the man was able to move slowly to the Keyhole area. He was flown from the Boulderfield (elevation around 12,760 feet) at 10:30 a.m. by St. Anthony's Lifeguard One to Medical Center of the Rockies. Eighteen park staff were involved in this incident. [Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]
Lake Meredith NRA
Man Assaulted And Robbed At Park Marina
A man was assaulted in the parking lot of the Sanford-Yake Marina at Lake Meredith on the morning of Saturday, August 29th. He was beaten and robbed of both his wallet and his vehicle. The man was airlifted from the park and flown to an Amarillo hospital for treatment. His four assailants have been identified, and it's believed that the victim knew three of them. Although the primary motive for the attack was robbery, other motives are being investigated.
At present, two of the four are being held in the Potter County Detention Center, the third is out on bail, and the fourth is not yet in custody. The National Park Service, the Hutchinson County Sheriff's Office, the Borger Police Department, the Amarillo Police Department, and the Potter County Sheriff's Office are cooperating in this investigation. The Hutchinson County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case before presenting it to a grand jury. [Rozanna Pfeiffer, Public Affairs Officer]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
Great Smoky Mountains NP - More than 2,000 people - including a number of distinguished guests and singer Dolly Parton, the park's anniversary ambassador - gathered to celebrate the park's 75th anniversary with a rededication ceremony at Newfound Gap on Wednesday.
Fire and Aviation Management - A memo has been issued by the Service's fire director regarding the 2009 wildland fire season and perceptions and understandings of the implementation of Federal Wildland Fire Policy in respect to the 2009 guidance. The full text is included.
Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by the NPS and its partners across the nation. Added to this week's listing are a NAGPRA training session at Everglades and three new NPS Fundamentals II offerings at Albright.
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/
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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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