NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

INCIDENTS

Amistad NRA

Rangers Rescue Airman Seriously Injured In Boating Mishap

On Sunday, September 6th, rangers heard a call for assistance on the marine band radio, reporting an injured man on the Devils River. A group of Air Force personnel from nearby Laughlin AFB were enjoying a day of boating and tubing on the river, using equipment they had rented from the Air Force marina. As they were doing so, an oversized tube toy that was in the back of a boat caught the wind and flew out. Its tow line wrapped around the ankle of a 23-year-old man and yanked him out of the boat, seriously injuring him. Supervisory ranger Steve Krisko headed the rescue operation and was joined by ranger Andrew Sanford and a Texas game warden. They found the man on the boat's swim deck, suffering from a full circumference laceration and near degloving of his ankle (an avulsion in which an extensive amount of skin is pulled off), a dislocated hip, and a broken pelvis. They prepared him for transport, took him by boat to the Rough Canyon boat ramp, and transferred him to an ambulance that took him to the Val Verde Regional Medical Center. He was then flown to the Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio for advanced treatment. [Regina Klein Dissler, Chief Ranger]

Rocky Mountain NP

Hiker Dies In Fall From Longs Peak

On the night of Thursday, September 10th, the park was notified that J.B., 55, of Littleton, Colorado, had failed to return from a hike to Longs Peak that day. A search was begun the following morning. At the same time, an off-duty park employee found the body of an unidentified man below the False Keyhole on Longs Peak. It appears that the man died from injuries incurred in a significant fall from the north side of the peak. It's not yet known if he's the missing man. The Boulder County Coroner's Office is working to identify the man and determine the cause of death. [Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]

Denali NP&P

Hunter Rescued After Being Injured In ATV Accident

Park staff evacuated an injured hunter - V.C., 48, of Fairbanks - from Seven Mile Lake near the Rex Trail on Friday, September 11th. V.C. had sustained chest injuries when his ATV overturned while he was traveling south of the lake the previous evening. Despite his injuries, he was able to walk back to Seven Mile Lake and summon assistance from his companion at a nearby cabin. On Friday morning, his companion contacted authorities, requesting medical assistance. A ranger-medic and pilot responded in the park's contract helicopter and met V.C. and his companion at a small airstrip adjacent to the lake. He was stabilized and flown to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for treatment. Seven Mile Lake is located approximately seven miles east of the Parks Highway at Mile 280. [Kris Fister, Public Affairs Officer]

OTHER NEWS

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

National Parks of New York Harbor - On September 14th, the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the onset of last year's major financial crisis, President Obama spoke at Federal Hall National Memorial about his plan to reform financial oversight so that the economic meltdown of 2008 cannot be repeated.

Office of the Chief Information Officer - InsideNPS and various other NPS information systems are being moved to a new server in Denver in order to prevent further damage from intermittent power outages that have occurred in Washington. Access to systems is therefore limited at present, but full service should resume next week.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs - A potluck dinner has been scheduled for October 3rd for departing superintendent Craig Axtell.

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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