Great Basin |  |
The following Incident Reports were extracted from the NPS Morning Reports/Coalition Reports from 1989-2025. They are not a complete record of all incidents which occurred in this park during this timeframe. INCIDENTS | |
|
July 6, 1987 Location: Parkwide The outlaw biker encampment went off without incident. About 350 bikers were expected, but only 50 showed up. The superintendent says there were no problems. Memorandum In response to your inquiry of July 10 regarding the above mentioned report, a follow-up review revealed that the Biker Encampment" was in fact an outlaw motorcycle group known as the "Barrons". This group and others, such as the Hell's Angels, over the last three to four years have gathered at the Great Basin National Park during the July 4th holiday weekends. As a precautionary measure, additional law enforcement personnel are assigned to the park during their encampments. As in the past, we have had no problems develop during their conclaves at the park.
Location: Wheeler Peak N.K. was last seen alone by another hiker about noon near the summit of the peak. About 3:00pm another visitor reported hearing calls for help and notified park rangers. A. search was organized by 6:00pm and lasted until dark (about 9:30pm). On. 7/21 the search involving 6 searchers, was resumed at 5:30am. Efforts were impaired by a sudden, severe storm which brought 50- 60mph winds, rain, ice and snow. A technical rescue team was placed on standby at Grand Canyon National Park in. case their services were needed. N.K.'s body was found at 11:30am on 7/22, approximately 100' below the summit. No sign of trauma evident, coroner's report pending, next of kin notified.
On the morning of May 16th, the park received a request for medical assistance at a private residence in the neighboring community of Baker, Nevada. Superintendent Al Hendricks and employees Jim Unruh, Andy Artz and Kathleen Gonder responded. Upon arrival, they found park employee Karen Schuh, 51, unconscious and without a pulse. CPR was begun immediately. As the only EMT response team in the area, the park crew transported the patient to Ely, Nevada, 65 miles away. CPR was administered during the entire trip. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital emergency room, medical staff attempted to revive Schuh without success and she was pronounced dead. Schuh, who worked as the superintendent's secretary, had recently suffered a brief illness. [Al Hendricks, SUPT, GRBA, via telefax from Mike O'Neal, RLES, RAD/WRO, 5/18]
A spill of 20 to 30 gallons of an unknown substance was found at the Summit trailhead parking area on the afternoon of October 2nd. The parking area is being used as a staging point for heavy construction equipment working on the lot. Preliminary investigation indicates that the substance is probably petroleum-based and may be associated with the construction project. The contractor and paving subcontractor have refused to accept responsibility for either the spill or its clean-up. Arrangements have been made to test the contaminated soil. [Jim Bellamy, CR, GRBA, 10/3]
Four children, ranging in age from eight to twelve years old, were reported overdue at their Wheeler Peak campground site on August 1st. One of the four children had a history of asthma and was without his inhaler. The four were last seen at the campsite around 6 p.m.; their intention was to walk to Lehman Creek to cool off. The park was notified at 8:45 p.m. A hasty search was conducted, but proved fruitless. Additional rangers joined the search, and the four children were found about a half mile downstream from the campground at 11:15 p.m. All were in good condition. [Lisa Nielsen, AO, GRBA]
The park celebrated its tenth birthday on Sunday, October 27th. Senator Harry Reid and Steve Hobbs, The Nature Conservancy's state director, spoke at the event. Photojournalist Galen Rowell autographed his posters of the park, and the local postmaster canceled mail with the tenth anniversary commemorative stamp, designed by artist Robert Moore, wife of the former superintendent of Lehman Caves. The choir from the neighboring community of EskDale sang and participants partook of a birthday cake. This was the final event in a series of tenth anniversary programs, including Shoshone and Paiute presentations, history talks by local residents, and a presentation in Las Vegas with Lake Mead on the state of Nevada's national parks. The park's enabling legislation was amended this year to allow grazing permits to be donated to the Secretary of Interior and then be terminated. The Nature Conservancy is raising the funds to buy out the permits. The project has the full support of all three cattle ranchers who hold permits in the park. For more information on this process, contact The Nature Conservancy at 702-737- 8744 or Becky Mills at NP--WR. [Becky Mills, GRBA]
On August 23rd, rangers responding to a report of shots fired in Upper Lehman Creek campground found a 54-year-old female with a gunshot wound in her chest. Initial investigation indicates that the injury was self-inflicted. The victim was transported to Ely by rangers and the local volunteer ambulance service. The shooting is being investigated by the park and county sheriff's office. [Joe Fowler, CR, GRBA, 8/24]
At the request of the White Pine County sheriff's office, park emergency personnel responded to a possible drowning at the Silver Creek reservoir, just outside park boundaries, on August 16th. In the absence of county officers, rangers and EMTs organized and carried out a search effort which culminated with the discovery of the body of 18-year-old K.M. by seasonal ranger and rescue diver Scott Larson. Recovery was made within six hours of the drowning. [Joe Fowler, CR, GRBA, 8/24]
Park dispatch received a report of a fire south of Lexington Arch just outside the park on August 8th. Two park fire crews and a BLM helicopter responded. They determined that the fire had been caused by an airplane crash which had killed three people - a couple and their daughter. The county sheriff's office took over and investigated along with the NTSB. [Rick Yates, Acting CR, GRBA, 8/15]
On the evening of July 1st, rangers received a report that L.P., 39, had disappeared near the 12,800-foot level of Wheeler Peak. L.P. had reached the summit (13,063 feet) with her companion, but complained of a severe headache while there. As they descended, her companion ducked behind a rock wind break to avoid the high winds on the ridge. After three or four minutes he began looking for L.P., since she had been only a short distance behind him. For an hour, he looked both up and down the ridge, then descended and reported the incident. Because of the suddenness of her disappearance and the area in which she disappeared, a search was begun immediately. Fourteen park employees from all divisions helped search all trails in the area and the route to Wheeler Peak summit. On July 2nd, L.P. was brought to the visitor center by a local rancher. She said she got off the trail and headed west, thinking the trail circled the mountain. When she realized she was lost, she headed towards lights she saw in the distance. Because she had neither extra clothing nor a flashlight, she travelled all night by moonlight until she reached a ranch house located outside the park. She sustained numerous cuts and bruises but was otherwise okay. [Rick Yates, ACR, GRBA, 7/11]
A bronze plaque commemorating Stephen Mather, the Service's first director, was stolen from the park in August, 1995. The plaque, which weighs about 80 pounds, was spotted in the yard of a surplus dealer in Reno this May by an alert Forest Service law enforcement officer, who promptly notified the NPS. The subsequent investigation revealed that the surplus company may have acquired the plaque inadvertently from a military surplus depot. Agents recovered the plaque, which will be returned to the park. It was originally purchased for $1,800. There are no suspects in the case and no charges have been filed. [Eric Inman, SA, PWRO, 7/18]
On Tuesday, November 23rd, Great Basin National Park chief ranger Jim Schlinkmann was killed in a single-vehicle rollover accident while returning home from a Hurricane Wilma incident management team assignment. The Utah State Highway Patrol is investigating the accident. Further details and information on memorial services will be posted as soon as it is available. [Scott Wanek, Regional Chief Ranger, Pacific West Region]
James "Jim" Schlinkmann, 49, chief ranger at Great Basin National Park, was killed in a motor vehicle accident on Wednesday, November 23rd, while returning home from an incident management team assignment in response to Hurricane Wilma at Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida. Jim is survived by his son, B., and B.'s mother, C.; his parents, P. and S.; and his sister, J. Jim began his 23-year commissioned ranger career with the National Park Service as a seasonal park technician at Devils Tower NM. For the next five years, Jim worked seasonally between Devils Tower NM, Joshua Tree NM, and Denali NP. In 1987, he received a permanent appointment at Joshua Tree. In 1989, he transferred to Rocky Mountain NP, where he worked as a ranger for three years. In 1992, Jim returned to Devils Tower as the chief ranger and subsequently transferred to Great Basin NP, where he was the chief ranger from 2000 forward. Jim was an avid rock climber and throughout his career made enormous contributions to the NPS technical rescue program. Jim helped develop some of the first organized technical rescue courses at Joshua Tree NP and for seven years was a lead instructor for the Servicewide technical rescue course, taught annually at Canyonlands National Park. For the past two years, Jim was the plans section chief for the Pacific West Incident Management Team. He was known throughout the NPS as a plans "wizard" and in addition to his contribution to hundreds of searches and technical rescues throughout his career had recently made a significant impact on the PWR IMT. Jim was the Mojave Network representative on the Pacific West Region Ranger Advisory Committee and was a lively contributor to that group. His breadth of experience gave him valuable perspective on issues facing modern rangers. As stated by Regional Director Jon Jarvis, "Jim never forgot his roots as a field ranger." Jim will be remembered and missed for his intense dedication to the National Park Service, his incredible work ethic, and his contagious sense of humor. Memorial services are planned for Friday, December 2nd, at Queen of Angels Church, 209 W 11th Street, Port Angeles, Washington, at 2 p.m. The uniform will be Class A winter dress. Commissioned staff are requested to wear duty gear and arrive at least 30 minutes early. Condolences may be sent to: Schlinkmann Family, c/o Olympic National Park, 600 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
Jim Schlinkmann was honored at a memorial service last Friday at Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Port Angeles, Washington. Over 125 people attended, including a large contingent of NPS employees from around the Service. About 70 uniformed rangers stood at attention outside the church as Jim's family entered. The PWR Incident Management Team (of which Schlinkmann was a member) was there, along with the superintendent and visitor protection staff from Great Basin National Park. The service was covered by local media. Cam Sholly, Chief of Staff for WASO Visitor and Resource Protection, Pacific West Regional Director Jon Jarvis, and Olympic National Park Superintendent Bill Laitner each spoke of Jim's dedication, outstanding work ethic and sense of humor. Condolences may be sent to Jim's son, B.S., and his son's mother, C.S., as well as Jim's parents, P.S. and S.S. and his sister and brother in law, J.B. and S.B., c/o Olympic National Park, 600 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles, WA 98362. Those wishing to make memorial donations in Jim's name may send contributions: In Memory of Jim Schlinkmann, Employee and Alumni Association of the NPS, Hurricane Relief Fund, 470 Maryland Drive, Suite One, Fort Washington, PA 19034. [Barb Maynes, Public Affairs, Olympic NP)
A visitor called the park via cell phone on the morning of July 10th to report that he'd come upon the body of a man on the upper portion of the Wheeler Peak trail, about a half-mile from the summit (13,063 feet). A protection ranger and a park EMT headed up the trail to the location and confirmed the report. A litter team comprised of 14 members of the park staff recovered the body and turned it over to a representative from a mortuary who was acting on behalf of the deputy coroner. The death was evidently caused by some sort of catastrophic medical problem. A hiker reported passing the 53-year-old man earlier that morning. He appeared to be having problems, but said that he was okay. When the hiker returned, he found the man lying along the trail. The White Pine County Sheriff's Office is the lead investigative agency. [Curt Dimmick, Chief Ranger]
A visitor reported a poaching incident at the park visitor center early on the afternoon of October 5th. He said that he'd seen four hunters shoot a deer in the meadow along Strawberry Creek Road inside the park around 8 a.m. that morning. The visitor, who'd been camped at a designated campsite nearby, contacted the four men and told them that they were in a national park and that he didn't think that they could hunt there, but added that the hunters had convinced him that it was okay to hunt in the park. He watched as the hunters gutted the deer and packed out the meat, hide and antlers. Ranger Katy Lloyd was notified of the incident. She went to the Strawberry Creek area and began contacting hunting parties camped outside the park on BLM land. Several hunters said that they'd heard the shot and that they believed the hunters involved were camped in the Sage Creek Canyon area, located immediately outside the park boundary. Lloyd then traveled toward that location. While en route. she encountered a truck occupied by two hunters. During her conversation with them, Lloyd warned about the prohibition on hunting in the park, which prompted several boundary questions from the passenger. Lloyd then asked the pair if they had talked to a visitor earlier in the day about hunting in the park and both admitted that they had. After further questions, the passenger admitted to shooting a four-point buck mule deer within the park in the location described by the visitor. He said that he thought that they were on Forest Service land, but both hunters admitted that they had area maps and GPS units in their possession. Lloyd later met them at their camp, where the hunter involved was cited for illegally taking wildlife within the park. The deer meat, hide, and antlers were confiscated along with the hunter's Nevada state deer tag. The area where the deer was taken is approximately two miles from the park boundary along the Strawberry Creek Road. The area immediately adjacent to the park where the hunters were camped was formerly administered by the U.S. Forest Service, but last December was transferred along with all Forest Service land surrounding the park to the Bureau of Land Management by Congressional act. [Curt Dimmick, Chief Ranger]
Late on the evening of June 8th, the county sheriff's office notified the park's chief ranger that they'd received a 911 call reporting an overdue hiker on the Wheeler Peak trail. The responding ranger determined that a 56-year-old man had become separated from his hiking party while descending from the 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak. Weather conditions had been poor during the descent, with low clouds, snow flurries, wind gusts up to 30 mph and visibility of approximately 200 feet. The man had not been seen since approximately 5 p.m. Family members and other campers had been unable to locate him, finding only tracks in a snow bank suggesting he had left the designated trail. The missing hiker was reported to be in good physical condition with no known medical problems, but was not carrying food, water, flashlights, maps or any other equipment. He had left his daypack along a lower part of the trail on the ascent to reduce the weight he was carrying. A hasty team of two rangers was dispatched up the Wheeler Peak trail. They were unable to locate the man. After sunrise, an inter-divisional search team of park employees was dispatched to search the area to the west of the trail more thoroughly and seek signs of the missing hiker. Search units from the White Pine County Sheriff's Posse began searching areas immediately to the west of the park on BLM lands, while a fixed wing aircraft from the Civil Air Patrol was dispatched through the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center to begin an aerial search. Tracks indicated that the man had headed towards a drainage leading down the west side of the mountains on the park's northwest side. Willow Creek Ranch was clearly visible from the location where the man left the trail and lights from the ranch would have been prominent during the night. Since no sign of the missing man had been found by mid-morning, a search dog team from White Pine County and four dog teams from Zion K-9 Search and Rescue in Utah were requested and headed to the park. Just after noon, the missing man walked up to a park resource management crew conducting fish surveys along Strawberry Creek in the northernmost part of the park and identified himself. He was tired, hungry and thirsty, but otherwise in good condition. He was transported to park headquarters and reunited with his family. During a debriefing, he said that in the poor visibility he had mistakenly turned off the Wheeler Peak trail. He realized his mistake only after a brief clearing in the cloud cover revealed the setting sun and he determined he was traveling west. Since he had already descended a significant distance, he decided to continue hiking down the west side of the mountains and after dark headed for the lights of a ranch. He spent the night at the Willow Creek Ranch, finding no one in residence. In the morning he made the decision to hike back eastward into the park to return to his family. He hiked up the Willard Creek drainage, eventually finding an abandoned road that leads over a pass and into the Strawberry Creek drainage, where he found the resource crew. He had traveled at least 17 miles since starting his hike up Wheeler Peak the previous day. [Curt Dimmick, Chief Ranger]
On October 12th, park visitors brought some old blasting caps that they'd found to the park's Lehman Caves Visitor Center. Rangers Nathan Snyder and Jacob Wahler responded and found an old metal can with the words "Blasting Caps - Dangerous" on the unopened lid. Although the visitor center was already empty, the rangers also immediately evacuated the attached administration building and Lehman Caves Café, the latter with assistance from café employees. The White Pine County Sheriff's Office was contacted and officers came and removed the can and caps. The building was closed for about three hours. Cave tours had to be canceled due to the incident, but all tours were either rescheduled or refunds are being processed. [Jacob Wahler, Park Ranger]
While driving back to the park from Ely, Nevada, on the afternoon of October 22nd, off-duty chief ranger and EMT Tammie Henderson came upon an overturned tractor trailer on Highway 50 north of the park's boundary. The wreck had not been reported due to lack of cell phone service in the area. The truck compartment had been crushed, and the interior had completely enveloped and pinned the driver to the point where he was not visible or accessible. The truck's fuel lines had ruptured and the crash scene was soaked in fuel, which was still draining from the truck's tanks. Henderson dispatched a bystander to drive to an area with cell service and summon assistance. She was able to make voice contact with the driver, gained entry through the rear window of the sleeping compartment, squirmed into the wreckage, and gained access to the driver's head and one arm. She was able to apply oxygen to the driver, direct pressure to a bleeding head wound, and begin a limited patient assessment. Bystanders were enlisted to plug the ruptured fuel line and shovel dirt onto the pools of fuel under the wreckage. Emergency response in the area was delayed due to remoteness. The Snake Valley Volunteer Fire Department, whose responding members included several NPS employees, arrived with the Baker ambulance approximately an hour later. Park maintenance mechanic Brian Morrison directed the complicated extrication using Jaws of Life and impact tools. The Ely Fire Department also responded and assisted. The extrication took almost two hours. Due to high winds, the medical transport helicopter could not land in the area; the driver was therefore transported by ambulance to the Ely hospital. His condition at the time of the report is unknown. [Tammie Henderson, Chief Ranger]
A park visitor reported an unresponsive male in a vehicle parked at Upper Lehman to the staff at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center on January 18th. Responding rangers found the body of a 29-year-old man from Wisconsin with a gunshot wound to the head. A handgun was found in the vehicle. The investigation is continuing, with the White Pine County Sheriff's Department as the lead agency. [T. Henderson, Chief Ranger]
On the afternoon of October 13th, excepted employees who were still at work during the government shutdown were notified that an 88-year-old woman from the nearby town of Baker was missing. The caller was advised to contact the county sheriff, as the woman lived outside the park. Later that evening, park employees contacted a deputy and offered to assist if needed. Over the next few days, county SAR personnel, including horse-mounted and dog units, searched for the woman both inside and outside of the park. On October 14th, the White Pine County Sheriff's Office called rangers and asked them to assist in a grid search outside the park. Rangers worked in ICS command staff positions due to a turnout of about 40 citizens from Baker. The woman's body was found inside the park that same day. The county sheriff is conducting an investigation, but foul play is not suspected. The county sheriff's office expressed its appreciation for support from the park. [Matthew Martin, Acting Chief Ranger]
On Thursday, January 22nd, maintenance employees reported a suspicious vehicle parked near a closed road. A follow-up by rangers revealed that the car was registered to a Utah resident who had been reported as missing and was described as despondent. On Friday morning, rangers, assisted by a Forest Service K-9 unit, located a man's body in Grey Cliffs Campground. Identification is pending autopsy results. The White Pine County Sheriff's Office has the lead responsibility for the continuing investigation. [T. Henderson, Chief Ranger]
A summary of recent openings, closures and other changes in the status of parks and their facilities: Great Basin NP — Baker Campground remains closed until further notice. High water has damaged the road to the campground and park maintenance crews are working to repair it. River waters are high and flowing swiftly due to runoff from a regional snowpack that was 170% of normal, coupled with rising temperatures and a wet spring. Source: Elko Daily Free Press. | |