NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

INCIDENTS

Grand Canyon NP

Search For Missing Man Continues

The search continues for 43-year-old A.B. of Clayton, North Carolina, who was last seen on August 31st as he entered Grand Canyon National Park. The search for A.B. began on September 4th when the Coconino County Sherriff's Office received a report that he had not checked out of his hotel in Valle, Arizona, and that his things were still in the room. On September 5th, the sheriff's office informed the National Park Service that their investigations indicated that A.B. planned to hike in the Grand Canyon while he was in the area. A short time later, a blue Hyundai Accent rented in his name was found in the Grandview Point parking area on the South Rim of the park. Aerial and ground search efforts began in the Grandview-Hance area shortly thereafter. Monday's search operations included aerial search operations and ground teams searching trails, routes and drainages that can be reached from the Grandview and other connecting trails. In addition, two dog teams searched rim areas near the trailhead where vegetation and steep terrain inhibit human searchers, and technical rope/canyoneering teams began searching steep narrow drainages where a hiker could have become cliffed out. Yesterday, aerial operations were scaled back as the aerial search zone has now been thoroughly covered. Ground teams continued to search drainages and areas with dense vegetation. Two dog teams were inserted into the Horseshoe Mesa area, a popular day hike destination, and the technical rope crews continued to search steep drainages and cliff areas. In order to gain a better understanding of A.B.'s plans while he was in the park, investigators have been asking the public to call in if they have any information on his itinerary or if they think they have seen him within the last eight days. A.B. is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds, with short medium-brown hair and grey-blue eyes. He may or may not be unshaven at this time. Anyone who may have seen Andrew A.B. since August 31st is asked to contact the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center at 928-638-7805. The National Park Service is conducting an investigation into this incident and is working closely with the Coconino County Sherriff's Office on the investigation and on search and rescue efforts. [Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Officer]

Rocky Mountain NP

Hiker Dies In Fall From Fern Lake Trail

A 62-year-old woman from Boulder fell between 25 and 50 feet into a creek while hiking on the Fern Lake trail early on the afternoon of Friday, September 4th. Other hikers contacted park dispatch by cell phone and reported the incident shortly thereafter, but it was unclear from these calls just where the accident had occurred or the extent of the woman's injuries. Two rangers headed out from the Fern Lake trailhead around 1 p.m. and arrived at her location, which turned out to be about five-and-a-half miles up the trail, a little less than two hours later. Meanwhile, more calls were received, fixing the location of the accident, and other rangers headed in from the Bear Lake trailhead, about three-and-a-half miles away. The rangers found the woman hypothermic and with a lowered level of consciousness. CPR was begun and continued for over an hour. Cardiac medications and an AED were also employed, but unsuccessfully. The woman was pronounced dead at 6 p.m. The Larimer County Coroner's Office will determine cause of death. Twenty-two people were involved in the operation, including a team from Larimer County Search and Rescue. [Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]

Bighorn Canyon NRA

Boy In Intensive Care After Suffering Rattlesnake Bite

A five-year-old boy was bitten by a rattlesnake while playing in rocks along the shoreline in Devil Canyon late on the afternoon of September 5th. The boy's parents, who were on a pontoon boat, flagged down another visitor who had a faster ski boat and asked him to help them get the boy to Horseshoe Bend Marina. The operator, who was also a member of a local fire department, took the boy and his mother, an RN, on his boat and raced to the marina. His brother, who was on a PWC, went ahead of the boat to call 911. A ranger was dispatched to the marina. The boy was unconscious and suffering severe convulsions and facial paralysis by the time he got to the marina. The ranger and the boy's mother maintained his airway and provided rescue breathing and other emergency medical care until an ambulance arrived. The boy was given antivenin by the local hospital and flown to a hospital in Billings for further care. At the time of the report, he was stable but in intensive care. [Dale Kissner, South District Ranger]

Biscayne NP

Boater Killed By Lightning Strike

Lightning killed a boater last Saturday afternoon near Soldier Key in Biscayne National Park. The 37-year-old man was struck while standing up in a 14-foot boat with an aluminum hull. He was out in the park with two friends, who were in the water when the lightning strike occurred and were not harmed. A large complex of thunderstorms moved through Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties over the course of the day, accompanied by strong winds, hard rain, and a lot of lightning. [Mark Lewis, Superintendent]

Grand Teton NP

Rangers Rescue Stranded Boaters From Snake River

Rangers rescued two stranded boaters from the Bourbon Street Channel of the Snake River on the afternoon of September 4th. A boatman and his partner apparently flipped their dory (drift boat) while floating the side channel and were unable to right their craft. One man was stranded atop the boat, which was lodged against the root-ball of a half submerged snag in the channel; the other man was able to get to the riverbank. Neither of the two men was wearing a lifejacket at the time of the accident. Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received a cell phone call at 2 p.m. from a passing boater who reported seeing a man who was stranded in the river channel and clinging to the keel of his upturned boat. Rangers launched two rescue rafts from the Moose Landing, while additional park staff drove to a remote river access point and approached the location on foot. In addition, Teton County Search and Rescue personnel launched a motorboat from the Wilson Landing, located 12 miles downstream. The rangers on foot were not able to reach the stranded boater and instructed him to stay atop his dory until rescue boats could get to him by water. Rangers reached the stranded boatman, safely transferred him to the rescue raft and floated him to a downstream landing. His partner was also transported to safety. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]

OTHER NEWS

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

Wilderness Stewardship - On September 3rd, in celebration of the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Wilderness Act, President Barack Obama proclaimed this month as National Wilderness Month.

Pacific West Region - Frank Dean, a 33 year veteran of the National Park Service, has been appointed the deputy superintendent of Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Office of the Chief Information Officer - Diane Cooke, Privacy Act and FOIA officer for the NPS, is leaving after 28 years with the Service. She'll be taking a new FOIA position. Photo.

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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