From Morning Report on: Friday, April 22, 2005 Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (AZ,UT) Two College Students Die in Backcountry Slot Canyon On the morning of Sunday, April 17th, dispatch was advised of a search in progress in the Choprock and Neon Canyon areas of the Escalante drainage within Glen Canyon NRA. Two BYU students in their mid-twenties had entered the recreation area via the BLM Egypt trailhead on Wednesday evening to complete a circuit loop of the canyons. When the two failed to return on time, the family notified the Garfield County Sheriff's Office. Searchers from the park and from the sheriff's office were supported by rangers and a helicopter from Grand Canyon, local volunteer rescue groups from Tropic and Boulder, Utah, and Classic Aviation from Page, Arizona. A total of three helicopters and 32 searchers were involved. The bodies of the two students were found and eventually removed from Choprock canyon, one of the most technical, difficult slot canyons in southeast Utah – a canyon that is infrequently hiked due to the advanced skills required. The recovery efforts occurred in a long narrow slot section of the canyon that averaged 18 inches wide at the recovery site. The canyon at that location is over 200 feet deep, trends east and west, and receives no sunshine. Temperatures in the narrow, dark canyon were hovering around 40 degrees, with a water temperature in the low 40s. At the bottom of the slot, a log jam dam created a debris-filled pool 40 yards long, eight to 10 feet deep and less than two feet wide. The NPS recovery team of Brett Timm, Laurie Axelson, Derek Dahlremple, Bill Woverton, and Cathy Burns were starting the difficult process of removing the first victim when they found the second victim under the first and lying on the bottom of the pool. The cause of death is thought to be a combination of hypothermia and drowning. The medical examiners report is pending. [Submitted by Mike Mayer, Chief Ranger] ----------------------------- From Morning Report on: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 Glen Canyon NRA/Grand Canyon NP Staff from Two Parks Join in Major Rescue Effort On March 23rd, personnel from Glen Canyon NRA and Grand Canyon NP provided assistance to the Coconino County Sheriff's Department in the rescue of a 41- year-old man from Water Holes Canyon, which is located seven miles south of Page. Water Holes Canyon is a deeply sculpted slot canyon which normally requires significant canyoneering skills to descend. William Elmore had been located the day before by two hikers who were traveling along the canyon rim and heard yells for help. Coconino County SAR and Sacred Mountain EMS responded that night, reaching the victim at midnight. With a storm system approaching, NPS personnel worked with Coconino County SAR to relieve the initial responders and immediately begin rigging for a possible rope-based raising operation that would require a 400-foot guiding line to the canyon rim. Meanwhile, NPS Helicopter 368 was dispatched from Grand Canyon to conduct a short-haul extraction. A snowstorm on the South Rim abated enough to permit a response. Elmore was extracted via helicopter short-haul by late morning and transferred to Classic Lifeguard air ambulance, which was staged at the scene. Elmore was suffering from multiple lower extremity fractures, a pelvic fracture, severe dehydration and advanced stages of hypothermia. During an interview, Elmore told rangers that he had been stranded in the canyon for sixteen days, but the staff at Flagstaff Medical Center, who evaluated Elmore, felt that he had more likely been in the canyon for four to eight days. Elmore said that he'd gotten into an argument with his ex-wife in Ohio a month-and-a-half earlier and had been hitchhiking cross country since then. He said that he'd been attacked and robbed of his backpack near Kayenta in early March, so decided not to walk along the highway in order to avoid getting attacked again. He became disoriented at nightfall and apparently descended down a route into Water Holes Canyon. In the darkness, he suffered multiple falls, finally landing at the bottom of a narrow slot canyon. He was unable to climb out of the canyon due to his injuries and weakened state. Six rescuers from Glen Canyon NRA and four from Grand Canyon NP assisted with the joint agency operation.[Submitted by Ken Phillips, Chief, Emergency Services, Grand Canyon NP] --------------------------------------------- From Morning Report on: Monday, April 11, 2005 Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (AZ) Smuggling Interdiction Operations During a two-week operation in March, rangers from Grant Teton NP, Grand Canyon NP, Sequoia NP and Little River Canyon NPr assisted Organ Pipe rangers in conducting intensive interdiction operations and managing spring break crowds. During this period, rangers seized over 300 pounds of marijuana, seized four vehicles involved in smuggling operations, and arrested over 120 illegal aliens. Rangers were involved in two high-speed pursuits, worked five motor vehicle accidents with injuries, and conducted two SAR operations, including one fatality. A Grand Teton canine team assisted in frontcountry interdiction operations and the dogs made several marijuana, methamphetamine and Soma cases. During the night when spring break traffic heading into Mexico was at its peak, several motor vehicle accidents closed Highway 85 through the park and backed traffic up for six miles. The continued support Organ Pipe receives from other parks allows these special operations to occur with increased safety and effectiveness, particularly as border-related violence escalates. To preserve operational security, individual case specifics are no longer being reported by the park. However, rangers working as part of the multi-agency borderland anti- narcotics task force at Organ Pipe have seized 5,428 pounds of marijuana, arrested 35 smugglers, and apprehended over 600 illegal aliens since January 1st. [Submitted by Fred Patton, Chief Ranger] ----------------------------------------- From Morning Report on: Monday, March 21, 2005 Grand Canyon National Park (AZ) Multiple Serious Incidents on Same Night On the night of March 9th, rangers responded to several serious incidents within the park within a period of a few hours. At approximately 8 p.m., rangers were notified that a vehicle had been stolen from a parking stall in front of a guest room at the Maswik Lodge. As rangers were beginning their investigation, a taxi driver notified dispatch that he'd seen a man stumbling near the park's recreation center. Rangers found an unconscious 22-year-old man from nearby Mohave Street apartments who had evidently been assaulted. He had life- threatening injuries to his head and was rushed 30 miles south by ambulance to the Valle Airport to a waiting Arizona DPS helicopter that flew him to Flagstaff Medical Center. As rangers were processing the scene of the assault, they received a report of a serious motor vehicle accident near the Duck-on-a-Rock overlook on Desert View Drive. Six people were injured in the head-on collision. They were taken to Flagstaff Medical Center by park ambulances and Guardian Medical Transport. While the response to the accident was underway, rangers canvassing a neighborhood in an effort to gain information about the earlier assault found an unconscious 18-year-old woman in an apartment near the crime scene. She was found when rangers noticed an open door and an adjacent broken window. She was taken to Grand Canyon Airport, then flown by air ambulance to Flagstaff Medical Center. Investigations continued into the aggravated assault on the man and possible assault/sexual assault on the woman. On the afternoon of March 10th, rangers arrested a 25-year-old male for the sexual assault on the woman. [Submitted by Mike Archer, Shift Supervisor] ----------------------------------------- From Morning Report on: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 Grand Canyon National Park (AZ) Rangers Block Attempted "Suicide By Cop" On January 28th, law enforcement rangers received a report of a man who was planning to harm others in an attempt to have officers shoot him – a practice commonly referred to in the media as "suicide by cop." Rangers found him at a lodge on the South Rim and determined that he indeed intended to follow-through with this plan. He was detained by rangers on psychiatric hold, then transported to Flagstaff to receive professional psychiatric care.[Submitted by Greg Moore, IC] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Morning Report on: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 Grand Canyon National Park (AZ) Bright Angel Trail Reopens Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park reopened yesterday to hikers. Although all canyon trails are now open, rangers are requiring in-step crampons (a metal spike that is affixed to the shoe) when hiking on the Bright Angel and South Kaibab Trails because of icy conditions. Crampons are recommended on other trails throughout the park where ice is present. Hikers are cautioned to use care when hiking in the canyon during the winter months, and should be prepared for snow, ice, and very muddy conditions. Bright Angel Trail from Mile-and-a-half Resthouse to Indian Garden closed on January 5th after rains and heavy snow caused a rock slide that completely covered a section of trail below Mile-and-a half Resthouse. An additional section of trail from Mile-and-a-half Resthouse up to Cinch-up, a quarter of a mile below the trailhead, closed on January 12th after continuing winter storms caused additional damage. The weather can change quickly this time of the year – as the weather changes so do trail conditions. Visitors planning a hike in the Canyon are encouraged to plan ahead and to know the trail conditions and weather forecast before starting. In addition to crampons, hikers may want to use hiking poles and carry a flashlight. Hikers should be able to protect themselves from wind and precipitation – layered clothing and hats are recommended. Hikers are also reminded to balance food and water intake. Even in winter food is needed for fuel and liquids are needed to replace perspiration loss. Visitors can contact the Park's Backcountry Information Center at (928) 638-7875 for up-to-date trail information as well as tips for a successful winter hike. [Submitted by Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Specialist] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Morning Report on: Monday, January 24, 2005 Grand Canyon National Park (AZ) Attempted Arson at El Tovar Employees working for the contractors renovating the historic El Tovar hotel reported smelling smoke in a hallway around 10 p.m. on January 11th. The park's fire brigade, rangers and a criminal investigator responded and found the ignition source in a crawl space. Initial investigation indicates that the fire was deliberately set. The hotel was closed for renovation at the time, but there were 51 contract employees in the building. The El Tovar, which opened its doors in 1905, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel will be closed until mid-April while renovations are completed. The investigation is ongoing.[Submitted by Karyl Yeston, South Rim Shift Supervisor]