NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
INCIDENTS
Rocky Mountain NP
Search For Missing Texas Man Scaled Back
The search for T.G., 39, of San Antonio, which has been underway since last Friday, has been scaled back. On Sunday, the backcountry surrounding the Bear Lake area where T.G. was last seen was again heavily used by park visitors who were snowshoeing and skiing. The saturation of this area by searchers, dog teams, a helicopter, and large numbers of recreational users provided a great deal of coverage but again resulted in no clues. Search teams on Sunday encountered deep snow and areas where avalanche conditions prevailed. The depth of snow since Thursday has hampered search operations. Aerial searching detected several large slab avalanches on the northeast aspects of peaks along the Continental Divide, but with no evidence that they were human triggered. Yesterday, search managers scaled back efforts due to concerns about safety of search and rescue personnel and lack of clues and new information. The incident management team is evaluating new search tactics at this time. In coming days, a small team of rangers will focus their search on pockets of challenging terrain in the Bear Lake and lower Tyndall Gorge areas. Visitors who were in the Bear Lake areas on Thursday or Friday are asked to call the park at 970-586-1204. [Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]
Fort Bowie NHS
Body Of Missing Person Found In Park
Rangers and local county deputies investigated a death in the park on January 31st. Rangers ran the license plate of a vehicle found in the parking lot at the trailhead for the park's main trail and found that the owner had been entered into NCIC as a missing person only a few hours previously. They notified the Cochise County Sheriff's Office and a search was begun. A Border Patrol helicopter soon found the body off trail, Investigation revealed that the death was a probable suicide. [Matt Stoffolano, Chief Ranger, Southeast Arizona Group]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):
Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - For the National Park Service, the 112th Congress, which was in session over 2011 and 2012, was notable more for what was not accomplished than what was. Although no new areas or even area studies were authorized, Congressional interest in the work of the NPS nonetheless remained as strong and active as ever. The article provides a summary of the last Congress' actions related to the NPS.
Office of Partnerships and Philanthropic Stewardship - The Director's Partnership Award has been launched to annually recognize the Service's partners and their outstanding and varied accomplishments. Nominations are due by the end of February.
Hawaii Volcanoes NP - Ranger Joni Mae Makuakane-Jarrell has been named the new chief of interpretation at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. She is the first native Hawaiian to serve in the position.
Fire And Aviation Management - Joe Mazzeo, Northeast Region's structural fire program manager, was recently presented with the 2012 Prevention 52 Award, recognizing his dedication to fire prevention through education.
Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - An announcement has been issued for the position of superintendent at FLETC.
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The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).
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