NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
INCIDENTS
Ozark NSR
Man Drowns During Attempted Rescue
On the evening of Saturday, April 3rd, park visitor J.B., Jr., 42, of Mountain View, Missouri, was wading along the Jacks Fork River near Blue Spring with his family on a path that was submerged by water due to recent flood conditions. While wading, one family member slipped off of an undercut bank into the current, and everyone else entered the river to attempt a rescue. Due to the rise in the river and swift current, J.B. was unable to make it back to the riverbank and was swept downstream. Park rangers and personnel from the Missouri State Water Patrol and other local agencies began a search for him. It was suspended late in the evening due to poor visibility and water conditions. On Sunday, the search resumed and J.B.'s body was recovered around 11 a.m. at a spot about 100 yards downstream from where he had originally entered the river. The water level at the time of the drowning was five feet, which is approximately 1.5 feet above flood stage. The Jacks Fork River was closed to non-motorized recreational use at the time of the incident. [Jodi Towery, Law Enforcement Specialist]
Mount Rainier NP
Suicide Victim Found In Vehicle Near Ranger Station
A suicide victim was found in a parked car near the Carbon River Ranger Station on the morning of Friday, April 2nd. A ranger found an unresponsive man inside the vehicle, with blood on his forehead and a gun inside the car. Park LEO Geoff Walker led the ensuing investigation, assisted by park LEO Dan van der Elst, Forest Service LEO Ian Canaan, and a deputy and medical examiner from Pierce County. Their investigation confirmed that the death was a suicide. The man's identity is being withheld pending positive identification and notification of next of kin. [Patti Wold, PIO]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP - A new exhibit at the Chancellorsville Visitor Center focuses not only on the tragedy of a lost life, but on the very real consequences of a family's loss of its breadwinner.
Big Thicket NP - The Land Resources Program Center recently completed a LWCF purchase with The Conservation Fund, acquiring approximately 3,600 acres along Big Sandy and Village Creeks for the park. Photo.
Lowell NHP - Long-time park ranger Rick Smith has moved on to retirement from the National Park Service after 22 years of 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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