Morning Report Excerpts
September 16 - 30, 2000
00-583 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Follow-up on Search
Zhen Bao, who was reported missing on the afternoon of September 14th,
was found around 11:30 p.m. that night by his parents in a restroom at
the Uncle Tom's parking area, about a mile west of the point where
he'd last been seen. He was in good condition. Zhen had been touring
the Canyon area with his parents when they decided to take a short
hike near Artist Point. Zhen declined to go, and was missing when his
parents returned. Zhen explained to park rangers that he had gone into
the woods and fallen asleep. When he awoke, he looked for his parents
but was unable to find them. He was cold, so started walking along the
South Rim trail. He reached the restroom area at 7:30 p.m. and
remained there until found by his parents. Rangers had searched the
area shortly before Zhen was found, but saw no sign of him.
Approximately 20 park staff and volunteers participated in the search
operation. [Public Affairs, YELL, 9/4]
00-589 - Western Arctic NP (AK) - Aircraft Damaged by Bear
During the night of September 15th, an American Champion Scout
aircraft belonging to the park was damaged by a bear at the Kelly
River ranger station in Noatak NP. The bear broke out the left rear
window, slashed the plane's fabric skin, chewed the rear seat, and
slightly damaged the plywood floor. Former park pilot and current
regional aviation trainer Rich Kemp made temporary repairs with
patches comprised of plywood, a duffel bag, parachute cord, and duct
tape. Kemp then flew the plane to park headquarters in Kotzebue, a
distance of 110 miles. Kemp and ranger Peter Christian had been
conducting aerial hunting patrols along the Noatak River. There was no
food or other known attractants in the plane at the time of the
incident. This is the third time in less than a year that bears have
significantly damaged park property at the remote ranger station.
[Greg Dudgeon, CR, WEAR, 9/18]
NPS AND NPS-RELATED FIRES
Zion NP (UT) - A fire was reported in the woods just north of Zion
Lodge around 1 a.m. on September 14th. Fire crews responded within 20
minutes and contained the one-acre fire. A total of about 20
firefighters and eight engines responded from the park and two local
fire departments. The fire threatened buildings and propane tanks
along the northern edge of the lodge complex. Strong down-canyon winds
fanned the flames until fire crews could slow it down. There were no
injuries or property damage. The cause of the fire is under
investigation.
00-591 - North Cascades NP (WA) - Climbing Fatality
On Saturday, September 16th, John Nedila, 50, of Surrey, British
Columbia, slipped on a 50% snow slope while hiking with crampons on
the Fisher Chimneys route of Mount Shuksan and slid about 125 feet
onto rocks below, suffering injuries to his face, torso and
extremities. Two other hikers happened by and rendered aid. Nedila was
semi-conscious at first and complained of an ache in his side, but he
lost both consciousness and pulse within 15 minutes. The hikers
performed CPR for 20 minutes without effect. Rangers on board a
contract helicopter were unable to land due to fog and darkness, so
his body was recovered the following day. [Pete Cowan, CR, NOCA, 9/18]
FILM AT 11...
Today's edition of USA Today has a front page story entitled "A
Scarcity of Silence: It's Becoming Harder To Find Tranquility At
Nation's Parks." Reporter Traci Watson writes: "Americans visit the
national parks expecting tranquility, a little respite from the
hurly-burly of everyday suburban life. But unless they're among the
few who venture into the backcountry, they don't always find the peace
and quiet they seek. Even at isolated parks, the sounds of
civilization - the internal-combustion engine, the car alarm, the
jackhammer - intrude on the visitor's ear. Too often lost in the
hubbub are the wind in the trees and the singing birds." See the paper
for the full text.
00-596 - North Cascades NP (WA) - Drug Smuggling
On September 17th, a non-commissioned wilderness ranger contacted four
men with large packs hiking south on the Chilliwack Trail, a
25-mile-long trail that crosses the U.S. - Canadian border. The men
refused to acknowledge the ranger and continued south. Three hours
later and 12 miles further south, district ranger Hugh Dougher was
moving to a surveillance location when he encountered one of the men.
The man dropped his pack (later determined to contain 18 pounds of "BC
Bud" marijuana with a wholesale value of $70,000) and ran north. He
met his companions and all four headed into thick vegetation. Dougher
located and arrested one of the men, and also detained the suspected
driver of a pickup vehicle - a man from Berkeley, California - at the
trailhead. The remaining three suspects were not located, despite
containment north and south of the scene and a search involving
rangers, Customs agents, deputies, and a canine unit. While this
incident was occurring, other rangers were attempting to locate
suspected smugglers in a valley to the east, and the Border Patrol was
arresting four other backpackers with 138 pounds of BC Bud and their
courier along a trail immediately to the west. [Pete Cowan, CR, NOCA,
9/19]
00-608 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Assist: Airplane Crash with Injuries
A single-engine Cessna 207 operated by Westwind Aviation made a crash
landing in the Kaibab National Forest southeast of the park on the
afternoon of September 23rd. Park wildland fire personnel, a Guardian
Medical Transport ambulance, the park's ambulance, and the park
helicopter responded. The four occupants of the Cessna suffered
relatively minor injuries and were taken by ambulance to Flagstaff
Medical Center. The incident coincided with a single-vehicle rollover
accident in the park; the two victims were also taken to the center.
Ken Phillips was IC. [Mat Vandzura, GRCA, 9/25]
00-611 - Golden Gate NRA (CA) - Assault on Rangers
While closing Stinson Beach on the evening of September 16th, ranger
Norm Simons was contacted by Michael McGee, who reported that his
vehicle was stuck in the sand at the south end of the beach. Simons
found the vehicle, which had been driven about 40 yards into sand
dunes, and saw both opened and unopened containers of alcohol inside.
McGee also had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. Supervisory
ranger Bob Cheung joined Simons and the two rangers arrested McGee for
public intoxication. McGee attempted to resist by pulling away and
kicking the rangers, but was subdued and placed in Simons' caged
patrol car. Even though handcuffed and restrained by a seatbelt with
shoulder harness, McGee was able to lean back far enough to kick out
the left rear window with his bare feet. He was put back in the car
and his legs and feet were restrained, but again got free and
attempted to get out of the car through the broken window. Rangers Pat
Norton and Richard Danielsen assisted Simons and Cheung in again
subduing McGee, but McGee was able to kick Simons three times in the
chest and narrowly missed kicking him in the head. He also spat on the
rangers, made threats against them and their families, and continued
to struggle. When put back into the vehicle, he alternated between
hitting his head on the cage and attempting to kick out the remaining
rear window. Park Police officers Mike Siler and Darren Battles joined
the rangers and got McGee into their patrol car, which has bars across
the rear side windows. McGee was transported to jail, where he
complained of an injured shoulder. He was taken to Marin General
Hospital, where he continued to make threatening remarks and kicked a
hole in the wall of the ER. No medical problems were found. It took
the efforts of four rangers and officers to get him back into
handcuffs for the return to jail. Further investigation revealed that
McGee's rap sheet ran to seven pages, including many similar previous
incidents. He is currently facing a number of charges, several of them
felonies. [Richard Danielsen, Operations Supervisor, GOGA, 9/18 and
9/25]
00-612 - Sleeping Bear Dunes NL (MI) - Rescue
Two Ohio men were attempting to canoe the seven miles from Sleeping
Bear Point to South Manitou Island on September 22nd when a large wave
swamped their canoe (20-knot winds had blown up four-foot waves on the
lake). The 44-year-old father and 19-year-old son spent four hours
swimming in 61-degree water to the island, then hiked another mile and
a half to the ranger station. They were treated for moderate
hypothermia; since the father is legally blind and an insulin-
dependent diabetic, they were both flown off the island that night.
Both men were wearing lifejackets, which likely saved their lives.
[Chris Johnson, DR, SLBE, 9/25]
00-617 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Search in Progress
On Tuesday, September 26th, Robert Berry, 68, of Graves Mill,
Virginia, left his residence to search for ginseng plants. He failed
to return that evening, and the Madison County Sheriff's Department
was notified. They contacted the park on September 27th. Berry's
vehicle was found parked near the park boundary in the Graves Mill
area. A unified command was established with the sheriff's department
and a search was begun. Search segments include several large areas
inside the park. Over 100 searchers are currently assigned to the
operation. Although Berry is extremely familiar with the area and has
never been reported lost, he does suffer from a chronic medical
condition. Clayton Jordan is IC for the NPS. [Greg Stiles, Acting CR,
SHEN, 9/28]
00-618 - Zion NP (UT) - Search and Rescue
On the evening of September 24th, rangers were notified that
48-year-old Brian Stephens was overdue from a hike in the park.
Stephens' wife took them to the point where she'd dropped him off just
after noon, a spot four miles south of the Orderville Canyon trailhead
between Eglestead and Birch Hollows. Stephens had been on foot for 10
hours at the time of the report and was not prepared for an extended
trip. A search was begun the following morning; a dog team and later a
helicopter were utilized. Stephens was found by helicopter at 11 a.m.
He was uninjured but stuck several hundred feet below the rim of
Eglestead Hollow. Stephens had rappelled down several cliff bands, but
did not have the requisite equipment to continue. The park's technical
rescue team was flown in by helicopter. Stephens was raised to the rim
and evacuated. The guide book that Stephens was using did not provide
him with adequate information to find the correct route. [Scott Brown,
IC, ZION, 9/27]
00-619 - Olympic NP (WA) - Search and Rescue
Rangers began an investigation and search into the whereabouts of Paul
Nelson on Saturday, September 16th. Nelson was believed to be hiking
somewhere in the northern section of the park, an area encompassing
about 400,000 acres. He had failed to return home as planned and did
not report for work on Saturday at his job as a DJ for KLSU in
Seattle. A backcountry permit and other information turned up during
the initial investigation. Nelson had entered the park on the 7th,
intending to hike for six days and return on the 13th. His vehicle was
found at the Boulder Creek trailhead on Saturday afternoon. The area
was contained and hasty teams checked the Appleton Pass - Boulder
Creek trail and campground area and the Olympic Hot Springs area. On
Sunday, additional clues led searchers to focus on the Cat Basin and
Cat Creek area. The tracks of a lone hiker and a recently abandoned
campsite in lower Cat Creek were found late that afternoon. A SAR
helicopter found an SOS in the snow on a ridge between Cat Creek and
Schoeffel Creek around 4,000 feet a few hours later. The SOS, made of
sticks, appeared to have been recently constructed. Rain, fog, clouds
and darkness caused the air search to be suspended until the following
morning. Nelson was spotted from the air, standing on a rock in
Schoeffel Creek, just before 2 p.m. A radio was dropped so that
instructions on the pending rescue could be relayed to him. A
helicopter from Fort Lewis was summoned and hoisted Nelson out of the
canyon. He was covered with bruises and minor cuts, had lost his tent,
map and wrist watch, and had eaten much of his food. Media interest
was intense, with three news helicopters documenting the search and
rescue effort. Nelson made the mistake of hiking drainages rather than
ridges after he became lost - a common error in the Olympics. [Dan
Pontbriand, DR, Lake District, OLYM, 9/26]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Zion NP (UT) - The park is seeking three commissioned GS-9 park
rangers. The positions are advertised on USAJobs under announcements
Zion-Merit-10 and 11. One will serve as a supervisor in the fee
program branch and supervise up to eight permanent and seasonal
visitor use assistants, two seasonal protection rangers, and three
campground hosts. He/she will also be responsible for supervising the
operation of two 150-site campgrounds and sharing daily operation of
all fee operations with three other supervisory VUA's. Law enforcement
and EMS duties are conducted in conjunction with district operations.
Other emergency service duties will be assigned depending on skills,
interests and division needs. Park housing may be available. Contact
Scott Brown at 435-772-0177 for more information. The other two
positions are located in the Canyon District and include the full
range of law enforcement, resource protection and emergency service
duties. Both of these positions are required occupancy. Contact Brent
McGinn at 435-772-0187 for more information. [Chuck Passek, ZION)
