NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, December 7, 2009

INCIDENTS

Buffalo NR

Two Men Indicted, Arrested In Campground Assault

Just before 3 a.m. on August 25th, two men visiting the park were assaulted during an attempted robbery at their campsite at Ozark Campground. Several leads were developed fairly quickly from evidence at the scene and the victims' statements. A search warrant was executed on August 27th at the residence of the prime suspect, where additional evidence was found and a second suspect was identified. On November 4th, the two assailants - M.L. and R.R. - were indicted for attempting by force and violence to take money from the victim and for conspiracy to commit the crime. On November 16th, rangers assigned to the park's warrant team arrested the two men. During their initial appearance, federal probation officers recommended no bond. A bond hearing was held on November 23rd and the two men were released on $50,000 bond each - with the additional provisions of electronic monitoring, a limitation on travel to Boone and Newton Counties, and active monitoring by probation officers. The trial is set for January 14th. [Jeff West, Law Enforcement Specialist]

Great Sand Dunes NP&P

Searchers Find Body Of Woman In Dunes

Search teams found the body of 27-year-old Kristen Weiss of Colorado Springs in the dry Medano Creek streambed about 150 yards downstream from the Dunes parking lot on the morning of December 3rd. The search was begun shortly before sunset the previous day when another visitor brought a purse and shoes she'd found on the dune mass to the park visitor center. Among the items inside the purse was a set of car keys that rangers soon matched to a Honda sedan parked in the Dunes parking lot. Hasty searches were conducted past nightfall but without success. An organized search was begun by park personnel the next morning, with assistance from the Alamosa County SAR team. Weiss' body was found within an hour. A joint investigation into the cause and circumstances of her death is being conducted by the NPS, the sheriff's office and the coroner. At this time, it appears that the death was accidental and caused by hypothermia. An autopsy is pending. Alcohol may have been a factor. Overnight temperatures were in the low single digits with double digit winds causing even lower wind chill temperatures. [Jim Bowman, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

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

Colorado NM - The park has established its first trail crew in decades with ARRA funding. With support from trail crews at Rocky Mountain NP and Grand Teton NP, the dozen crew members made significant progress on rehabilitation of several major park trails.

White House - President Obama has proclaimed December 7, 2009 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Flags are to be lowered to half staff today in honor of those who died at Pearl Harbor.

Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service.

Pacific West Region - Sheri Forbes, currently chief of interpretation and education at Glacier National Park, has accepted the position of Pacific West Region's chief of interpretation and education. Photo.

Timucuan E&HP - Richard Bryant will retire on December 31st after 31 years with the National Park Service.

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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