NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
INCIDENTS
Buffalo NR
Family Held Hostage By Man With Gun
On the evening of July 31st, a dozen rangers and deputies responded to a report of a man holding his family hostage with a gun at South Maumee Campground.
One of the family members was able to slip away unnoticed and place a cell phone distress call reporting that his father was holding a gun on his family, refusing to let them leave, and threatening to shoot them.
Ranger Ben Henthorne and the first four local officers soon arrived on scene and apprehended the man as he was attempting to leave the campground. Rangers Jason Flood and Dale Johannsen, armed with rifles, approached the campground from the other side of the Buffalo River at the same time, crossing the waist-deep river on foot in the process.
A quick search of the man and his vehicle failed to reveal a firearm, so officers proceeded to the campsite to search for it there. Initially, family members attempted to protect the man, denying the presence of a firearm, but officers ultimately located a .22 caliber pistol in the nearby woods. A vehicle search also revealed controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.
The man was placed under arrest and transported to Searcy County Jail. Searcy County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation, and charges for terroristic threatening and DUI (drugs) are pending.
[Karen Bradford, Chief Ranger]
Rocky Mountain NP
Injured Climber Rescued From Longs Peak
As recovery operations were beginning on the morning of August 16th for a man who died in a falling accident on Longs Peak the previous day ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewincidentsarticle&type=Incidents&id=6741" click here for that report), rangers learned that a climber on the east face of the same mountain had suffered numerous injuries in a roped fall of about 50 feet.
Personnel gathered for the recovery effort instead focused on assisting the injured 34-year-old climber. A ranger/park medic ascended via the North Chimney and reached the man at 11:30 a.m.; two other rangers rappelled from Chasm View to the man. He was lowered 500 feet down the North Chimney, carried out via litter, and medevaced to a local hospital.
Rangers were assisted by Rocky Mountain Rescue and Larimer County Search and Rescue.
The body recovery operation resumed and was completed on August 18th.
[Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]
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/):
Fire and Aviation Management - Today marks the 25th anniversary of Black Saturday, the most significant single day of fire growth to occur during the 1988 Yellowstone fires. Those fires were also the most significant fires to ever occur in a national park, and an event that would in many ways transform fire management throughout the country.
Olympic NP - Rialto Beach, a popular coastal destination in Olympic National Park that receives about 100,000 visitors annually, has received an accessibility upgrade for the 2013 summer season.
Gettysburg NMP - In early August, more than a dozen park staff took the ICS-300 training course to help prepare for additional major events during the 150th anniversary year of the battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address.
Homestead NMA - On August 10th, the park, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency and Gage County Emergency Management Agency hosted the third annual Nebraska Community Emergency Response Team Conference.
Office of International Affairs - Two researchers who work in population biology at the University of Oxford in England volunteered for the park's wolf project last year and have reported on the results of their participation.
Northeast Region - Cherie Butler, a 21-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been selected as superintendent of Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument.
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The Morning Report is 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@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).
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