NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
INCIDENTS
Colorado NM
Three Visitors Die In Separate Incidents
Three visitor fatalities occurred in the park this month - the first on September 9th and the second and third during a 24-hour period over September 18th and 19th.
A 27-year-old man accidentally fell 400 feet from near Cold Shivers Point Overlook while visiting from Virginia last Wednesday. A day later, a 71-year-old man from Texas died at the scene of a single vehicle accident despite life-saving measures taken.
Earlier this month, on September 9th, there was also another fatality, a suicide.
The park has been working collaboratively with Mesa County Sheriff's Department, whose officers have been assisting with body recoveries and peer support.
[Lisa Eckert, Superintendent]
New River Gorge NR
Ranger Employs Taser On Belligerent Man
On the night of Friday, September 13th, a ranger patrolling the Thurmond area, where recent thefts and vandalism have occurred, came upon a man sitting by himself on a concrete wall near Thurmond Depot. Since there was no car around, the ranger contacted the man to find out what was going on; the man replied that he'd been in an argument with his girlfriend and said that he was cooling off.
A vehicle with three of the man's friends inside pulled up as he was talking with the ranger. When they saw the ranger, the driver and one of the passengers switched places. When the ranger began investigating to determine why they'd switched places, the first man became belligerent and began to interfere.
The ranger called for backup and three rangers responded from different areas of the park. The ranger on scene, now out with all four men, ordered the belligerent man to sit back down so he could continue his investigation. The man began to approach the ranger, so the ranger drew his taser and ordered him to sit down once again.
Although the man sat down, he told the ranger that he had his taser out to avoid “being whipped.” Shortly, thereafter, he stood up, raised his hands, and began approaching the ranger again. He told the ranger he would have to tase him. The ranger repeatedly ordered him to stop, but the man ignored him and was accordingly tased. He remained on the ground until backup arrived and was then taken into custody for interfering with agency functions and refusing to obey a lawful order.
None of the three men in the vehicle had a valid driver's license, so the vehicle was towed. The driver received a citation for driving without a license and all three were transported by rangers back to their residence. Alcohol use was documented. The first man was taken to a federal magistrate on Monday morning for his initial appearance.
[Jeff West, Chief Ranger]
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/):
Great Smoky Mountains NP - Great Smoky Mountains National Park last week signed an agreement establishing a sister park relationship with Khao Yai National Park in Thailand. It's the park's first such arrangement.
Northeast Region - A series of workshops entitled "Voices of Valley Forge" was held in July and August at Valley Forge National Historical Park to showcase the untold stories of African Americans in our nation's foundation and our contemporary communities.
Carl Sandburg Home NHS - Twenty-five North Carolina residents became new citizens during a ceremony at Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site on September 17th.
Colorado NM - Forty naturalization candidates from twenty countries became citizens of the United States of America at Colorado National Monument on September 17th.
Point Reyes NS - Twenty candidates from a dozen countries became new citizens during a ceremony at Point Reyes National Seashore on Friday, September 20th.
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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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