NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, December 14, 2009

INCIDENTS

Presidio of San Francisco

Manhunt Leads To Arrest Of Man For Felony Hit And Run

On Thanksgiving Day, a 60-year-old woman was hit by a vehicle while walking along Lincoln Boulevard in the Presidio, suffering serious injuries that included a broken jaw, collarbone and ribs and possible damage to her vertebrae. The vehicle that hit her left the scene, but witnesses were able to describe it as a dark-colored, American-made SUV with Colorado plates. USPP officer Raquel Lopez Milano responded and discovered the vehicle's right side mirror at the site of the incident. No other physical evidence was found. USPP ID technician Robert Whalen subsequently determined that the mirror came from a Ford Explorer, model year between 1991 and 1994. A flyer with photos of similar vehicles was created and disseminated throughout the area. USPP officers distributed them at the accident site, passing out more than 600 within three days. Public information officers at the Presidio and Golden Gate also helped with their distribution. On the night of Tuesday, December 1st, USPP officer James Guenette found an SUV that matched the description on Irving Street in San Francisco. Surveillance of the site was begun by plainclothes and uniformed officers. Meanwhile, detective Larry Morales was checking with Colorado DMV to track the vehicle's plates. He found that it was unregistered and that the license tags had been cancelled. Morales located the vehicle's former owner and obtained critical information on the current owner. Several items with personal identification information were also seen in the vehicle, confirming his identity. On Thursday, a federal search warrant was obtained and the vehicle was impounded and towed to the USPP property and evidence office for processing. An FBI evidence team went through it the next day. Based on what they found, a second flyer was distributed that identified two people of interest in the investigation, including some possible associated addresses. Officers conducted door-to-door interviews and distributed the flyers in the areas where the addresses were located and requested assistance from residents in locating the pair. Both were local to the area and checks of the local 7/11 store and a coffee house confirmed they had been seen in the area within the week. On Saturday, the primary suspect's brother contacted USPP dispatch and offered to assist in locating his brother. On Sunday, another of the man's relatives called USPP dispatch and reported that he was going to visit her that night and that she could bring him to the station on Monday morning. He showed up as promised and was interviewed. He at first denied any involvement, but soon admitted that he was the operator of the vehicle that hit the woman. He was arrested and appeared before a magistrate on December 8th. He's been charged with felony hit and run. [Lt. Constance Leonard, Commander, SFFO Operations]

OTHER NEWS

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

Ellis Island NM - In early December, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano presided over a naturalization ceremony in the Great Hall at Ellis Island in which more than 100 people from 49 countries became citizens of the United States.

Risk Management Division - Applications to participate in the joint NPS-SCA Public Risk Management Internship Program are now being accepted and are due by December 31st.

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

Colonial NHP - After more than 35 years with the National Park Service, Tom Nash, chief ranger at Colonial National Historical Park, has announced that he will retire on January 2nd.

Denver Service Center - After 31 years with the National Park Service, Jan Sikoryak will retire on December 31st. 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/

* * * * *

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).

--- ### ---