NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, April 17, 2015

INCIDENTS

Everglades NP

Man Dies In Boating Mishap

On the evening of February 6th, R.R., 68, and F.T., 70, were in a 17-foot aluminum canoe powered by a small 4 horsepower outboard motor, en route to Jewell Key to camp for the night. This was to be the first night of a multi-day camping trip. 

The men had navigated Sandfly Pass and made a wrong turn to the southeast and were in the vicinity of Rabbit Key when they saw another vessel and asked for directions.  When they turned back to the northwest to head towards Jewell Key they began taking a forward quartering sea over their starboard bow. 

Due to the low freeboard of the canoe, they began taking on small amounts of overspray and had to bail water. They made it to Demijohn Key, where they bailed and rested but then decided to head the final mile to Jewell Key, which was across Chokoloskee Pass. Upon entering the pass, they hit deeper water and a falling tide. With the tide and the wind both going in the same direction, the larger waves caused them to take on too much water and the vessel quickly swamped. 

Both men had on lifejackets. R.R. was able to swim to Jewell Key, where he spent the night.  On February 8th around noon he was able to wave down a passing boater. The search for F.T. ended on the afternoon of February 9th when rangers found him floating in a debris field about 11 miles off shore in the Gulf of Mexico. He did not survive. 

Assisting in the search were personnel from the Collier County Sheriff's Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Coast Guard and NPS staff from both Everglades and Big Cypress.

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[Tom Iandimarino, Gulf Coast District Ranger]

Arkansas Post NM

Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Felony ARPA Violation

On June 25, 2012, an ISB special agent received a call from Arkansas Post NM regarding a possible violation of the Archeological Resources Protection Act occurring at the park's Osotouy Unit. A park neighbor had reported a suspicious vehicle and occupant(s) in the unit commonly referred to as the Menard Mounds.

Further investigation by the agent and Ranger David Van Nest of Hot Springs NP, who assisted with this investigation and made the initial response, revealed that R.D.S., Jr., of Winnsboro, Texas, had entered the park on that date and excavated or attempted to excavate archeological resources from two pre-Columbian Native American mounds preserved in the park.

R.D.S. was aided and abetted by a co-worker and was currently working under contract with the US Army Corps of Engineers on a nearby abatement Corps project with his father's construction company. It was determined that R.D.S. excavated 17 features on or near the mounds and damaged or discarded approximately 139 archeological resources. The activity resulted in $14,010 in damages to the mounds in felony violation of 16 USC 470.

On March 18, 2015, R.D.S. pleaded guilty and was sentenced under a single count violation of the ARPA in US District Court in Little Rock. He agreed to cooperate with investigators and paid $3,925 in restitution to the NPS and $25 in court costs.

The NPS wishes to acknowledge and thank Hot Springs NP, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Fish and Wildlife Service for assistance with this investigation. In addition, NPS Archeologists Caven Clark and Melissa Baier conducted the site damage assessment work, and Chris Givens, Assistant United States Attorney, Eastern District of Arkansas, Little Rock, prosecuted this case for the government.

[Investigative Services Branch]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers):

Office of Communications - National Park Week, sponsored by the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation, begins tomorrow, April 18th, and continues until Sunday, April 26th.

Oregon Caves NM - The new Oregon Caves National Preserve was dedicated at a ceremony on April 10th. The land in the new preserve adds 4,070 acres to the park's existing 480 acres.

Big Bend NP - On April 10th, Secretary Jewell and Mexican Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Juan José Guerra Abud celebrated the two-year anniversary of the Boquillas Port of Entry and the ongoing conservation initiatives in the region.

Grand Canyon NP - Former Grand Canyon National Park contract helicopter pilot Jerry Bonner, 72, passed away March 6th. He was the primary pilot at Grand Canyon from 1987 to 1996.

Servicewide Training Calendar - Added to this week's calendar is a national search and rescue conference in Estes Park, Colorado, in June.

To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites:

NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index

Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/

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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