NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, March 25, 2010

INCIDENTS

Yosemite NP

Injured Teenage Hiker Rescued From Park Trail

On the afternoon of March 22nd, the Yosemite Emergency Dispatch Center received a call regarding a collapsed hiker on the Upper Yosemite Fall Trail. The hiker, a 17-year-old student from Upland, California, was on a hiking trip with the Yosemite Institute and was with a group of approximately eight students, with several adult chaperones and instructors. This hike is a regular part of the curriculum experienced by the students at the Yosemite Institute, a week-long residential environmental education program. The hiker collapsed near the summit of the trail, a strenuous three-and-a-half mile hike that begins in Yosemite Valley. Two rangers were dispatched to the scene to assist the hiker. A California Highway Patrol helicopter then assisted in extricating the injured teenager. He was then airlifted to the Children's Hospital in Madera, California. The cause of the hiker's collapse is unknown. [Kari Cobb, Public Affairs Officer]

Denali NP&P

Commercial Guide Convicted Of Illegal Hunting

During hunting season in the fall of 2007, Denali rangers began using helicopters more frequently in conjunction with airplanes to detect illegal hunting activities. In many areas along the park's vast boundary, airplanes can't land to investigate suspicious activity. On September 20th, ranger John Leonard was on a joint patrol with an Alaska State Wildlife trooper in the northeast corner of the park. From their helicopter, Leonard spotted two all-terrain vehicles and three individuals with rifles more than two miles inside the park boundary. The three had illegally driven their ATV's to within a quarter mile of an unusual congregation of 26 moose that were visible to them on the ground. After landing nearby, Leonard contacted A.M.K., 41, and her 37-year-old brother-in-law, W.J.K., both from the local community of Healy. A.K. was the co-owner of Healy-based C.R.O. and a state licensed assistant hunting guide. They admitted their intent to target a specific 60-inch bull for their male client from Florida, who had paid $9,000 for the guided moose hunt. During the ensuing investigation, rangers executed a search warrant and recovered additional evidence at the office/residence of the guide service. The US Attorney's Office in Fairbanks subsequently charged A.K. with five violations of federal law. Pursuant to a plea agreement, she pled guilty on March 18th to three charges and was fined $7,000 - $2,000 for illegal hunting in the park, $2,000 for off-road vehicle travel, and $3,000 for operating a business within the park without a permit. She was placed on three years' probation, lost her guiding privileges for three years, and lost her hunting privileges for two years. The client, who was unaware of the illegal nature of the hunt, cooperated fully with the investigation and was not charged; charges are still pending against BJ Keith. [Pete Armington, Chief Ranger]

Mammoth Cave NP

Two Arrested With Meth Lab In Concession Hotel Room

Acting upon information from Mammoth Cave Hotel employees regarding suspicious activity in one of their hotel rooms, supervisory park ranger Brad McDougal and ranger David Alexander went to the aforementioned room on March 19th tocontact its occupants. The rangers knocked on the door and it was opened by a woman subsequently identified at C.B. of Horse Cave, Kentucky. The rangers identified themselves as law enforcement officers and asked C.B. if they could speak with her inside the hotel room. She agreed and stepped back to let rangers enter the room. The rangers saw G.T. of Munfordville, Kentucky, sitting at a table with equipment and materials that are used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, and instantly recognized these items and the potential hazards they posed. C.B. and G.T. were arrested. Officers from the Barren-Edmonson County drug task force were called in to assist in processing the scene. C.B. and G.T. were lodged in the Warren County regional jail and appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge the next day, where both were ordered to be remanded for the time being. The U. S. Attorney's Office in Louisville is in charge of the prosecution. Ranger David Alexander is the case agent. [Brad McDougal, Supervisory Park Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

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

Sitka NHP - The National Park Service and the Sitka Cultural Center kicked off the centennial celebration of the establishment of Sitka National Historical Park with a series of public events this week.

Great Sand Dunes NP&P - The park recently completed the first NPS vegetation mapping project to extend outside park boundaries, including public and private land owners as partners. Photo.

US Park Police - Recognizing the benefits that an Explorer post would provide to both the United States Park Police and the community, the Park Police have reestablished Post 1791, honoring the year that the United States Park Police began. Photo.

Fire and Aviation Management - Mark Gorman has been selected as the new structural fire operations officer for the National Park Service. 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/

NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/notify" http://inside.nps.gov/notify

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Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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