Vancouver police officer dies while mountain biking in Columbia Gorge

So much for the alleged health benefits of mountain biking!

Mike


http://www.oregonlive.com/clark-coun...bia_gorge.html

Vancouver police officer dies while mountain biking in Columbia Gorge


Published: Tuesday, August 03, 2010, 4:01 PM Updated: Tuesday,
August 03, 2010, 4:16 PM

Michael Russell, The Oregonian

Courtesy of Vancouver policeAndrew Young
A 45-year-old Vancouver police officer died while mountain-biking last
week in the Columbia River Gorge, the Vancouver Police Department
reported.

Andrew Young, an 18-year veteran of the Honolulu and Vancouver police
departments, was off-duty when he collapsed near Hood River July 30,
said Kim Kapp, a police department spokeswoman.

The police department did not disclose his cause of death, saying that
he suffered from a "medical emergency."

Young joined the Vancouver force in February 1999 after spending
nearly seven years with the Honolulu Police Department, Kapp said.

When the department maintained a full-time bicycle patrol, he
patrolled the city on bike, Kapp said. He was most recently assigned
to a patrol car.

The public is invited to attend a memorial service for Young at 4 p.m.
on Friday Aug. 6 at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 17010 N.E. 9th
Street in Vancouver.

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THE MORNING REPORT
Monday, July 26, 2010

Zion National Park (UT)
Boy Scout Dies During Backpacking Trip

On July 21st, twelve members of a Las Vegas-based Boy Scout troop were
completing the second day of a planned four day backpacking trip in the park.
Corey Buxton, 17, was having difficulty and lagged behind as the group hiked
south along the Hop Valley Trail. Around noon, a leader who was hiking a short
distance in front of Buxton turned around and did not see him. He hiked five
minutes back down the trail to the point where he last saw Buxton, but could not
find the boy. Rangers conducted a hasty search that afternoon by foot and
helicopter with no success. More than 25 NPS personnel participated in the
search the next day. Four dog teams from the Zion K-9 SAR Team, based in
Hurricane, Utah, joined the operation. Early in the afternoon, two of the dog
teams alerted on a side canyon near the point last seen. Ground searchers
discovered Buxton’s body there. It appears that he hiked about 500 feet off of
the trail and into the brushy side canyon. A cause of death will be determined
by the state medical examiner’s office. [Submitted by Ray O’Neil, Plateau
District Ranger]

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THE MORNING REPORT
Monday, July 26, 2010

Grand Teton National Park (WY)
Rangers Recover Climber’s Body From Garnet Canyon

Rangers are investigating the death of a young University of Michigan student
who apparently fell 80 feet after summiting the 12,804-foot Middle Teton on the
evening of Tuesday, July 20th. Jillian Drow, 21, of Chelsea, Michigan, became
separated from her climbing partner as they descended the mountain. When Drow
failed to return to a backcountry camp in Garnet Canyon, the group’s leader
began to search for her. He discovered Drow’s body around 9 p.m. The Teton
Interagency Dispatch Center received a cell phone call from the University of
Michigan group leader at 7:30 on Tuesday evening. He reported that a member of
their group of eight was missing and that they were searching for her
whereabouts; a second cell phone call was received just after 9:00 p.m.
reporting that Drow’s body had been found. Because of the late hour and waning
light, a helicopter flight was not possible. Four rangers were therefore
dispatched to hike up to the Garnet Canyon campsite to begin a recovery
operation. They arrived around 1:30 a.m. Six of the University of Michigan
students hiked out of the canyon to the valley floor in the early hours of
Wednesday morning, while park rangers remained with Drow and the group leader to
make preparations for an aerial evacuation with daylight on Wednesday morning.
An interagency helicopter flew Drow and the group leader out at 9:30 a.m. on
Wednesday, just a few hours before a severe lightning storm enveloped the Teton
Range. The lightning storm injured 17 climbers on the 13,770-foot Grand Teton
(see last Friday’s report) and a full-scale rescue mission was launched by park
rangers to rescue and extricate the injured climbers in the aftermath of the
Drow evacuation. [Submitted by Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]

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THE MORNING REPORT
Monday, July 26, 2010

Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Body Of Backcountry Skier Found Near Cony Lake

Rangers were notified of an overdue backcountry skier early yesterday morning,
The 40-year- old Colorado man was reported to be an experienced backcountry
skier. He planned on hiking to Finch Lake on Saturday and skiing on a nearby
snowfield. Rangers found the man’s car at the Finch Lake trailhead and began
looking for him. They found his body on a snowfield above Cony Lake in the
Hutcheson Lakes drainage near the park’s southern boundary, about ten miles from
the nearest trailhead. It will be recovered today. The cause of death is not yet
known. [Submitted by Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]

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THE MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Golden Gate National Recreation Area (CA)
Fisherman Falls To Death At Marin Headlands

On the afternoon of Saturday, July 10th, dispatch received a call reporting that
a man had fallen off a cliff at Rodeo Beach in the Marin Headlands. Rangers and
public safety personnel from the Presidio responded; patrol craft from the Coast
Guard and Marin County Sheriff’s Office were also dispatched. The reporting
party, talking through a Spanish interpreter, said that her husband had been
fishing on the rocky coast of Rodeo Beach when a large wave hit him and knocked
him off the rocks, causing him to fall about 40 feet to the water below. County
deputies found and retrieved the man and transferred him to the Coast Guard
vessel, Coast Guard personnel conducted CPR while he was being transported to a
waiting ambulance at Fort Baker. Southern Marin emergency responders pronounced
him dead at the Coast Guard Station. U.S. Park Police criminal investigators
conducted the follow up investigation. [Submitted by Kim Coast, Acting Chief
Ranger]

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THE MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve (AK)
Hiker Bitten By Animal

A Glennallen man was bitten on the hand, reportedly by a bear, during a
backpacking trip in the park last week. On July 16th, Kurt Skoog, 55, reported
that he was in his tent at about 2:30 a.m. when an unseen animal struck the
outside of the tent. Skoog raised his hand against the tent, and the animal took
his hand in its mouth and held it for a few seconds; when Skoog attempted to
pull his hand back, the animal bit. He recounted that the animal left after
about 30 seconds while Skoog “played dead” in the tent. He then heard the animal
cross the creek and depart from the area. Skoog was camping along Easter Creek,
west of Anaktuvuk Pass, in the Brooks Range. Skoog packed his gear and began
hiking out, contacting NPS staff at Agiak Lake about a dozen miles away from the
incident. He declined assistance, and continued hiking to Anaktuvuk Pass, more
than 30 miles to the east, where he received medical treatment on July 19th. He
then flew to Fairbanks where he was treated at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital,
National Park Service staff are investigating, and will try to determine if the
animal that bit Skoog was indeed a bear; tracks at Easter Creek did not provide
a clear identification, Skoog said. Bear-resistant food containers are required
in Gates of the Arctic, and are loaned for free at NPS ranger stations in park
gateway communities. Skoog had most of his food in an approved container. He may
have had some food outside the container, but the animal did not obtain any
food. [Submitted by John Quinley, Public Affairs Officer, Alaska Region]

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THE MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Gateway National Recreation Area
Two Men Drown, Third Rescued Off Plum Island

On the afternoon of Saturday, July 24th, Sandy Hook Unit lifeguards, rangers,
and fire staff responded to a 911 call reporting a drowning off Plum Island.
Gonzalo Romero-Tlamintzi was with his wife and two-year-old daughter when he
stepped off a sandbar surrounding a tidal lagoon and lost his footing in the
current of the incoming tide. His wife, while holding the two-year-old, tried to
help him, but also fell into the water. His cousins Miguel Romero-Leon and
Martin Romero, both non-swimmers, entered the water to help rescue him. Visitors
in the area were able to help his wife and daughter from the water and
bystanders Bobby James of Woodbridge, New Jersey, and Howard Morris of Columbus,
Ohio, pulled Martin Romero from the water. He was unconscious and unresponsive,
and CPR was begun. Arriving park staff took over CPR and began a water search.
Lifeguards quickly located Romero-Leon in 15 feet of water on the northwest side
of the lagoon and began CPR. Rangers were assisting Romero-Tlamintzi’s wife when
she collapsed. It was then that they learned that a third person was missing.
The ground and water search resumed. Lifeguards found Romero-Tlamintzi about 45
minutes later. All of the victims were transported to Monmouth Medical Center by
local ambulance squads. Gonzalo Romero-Tlamintzi and Miguel Romero-Leon were
pronounced dead at the hospital. At last report, Martin Romero remained in the
hospital and was responsive. Natasha Romero-Tlamintzi and her daughter were
treated at the hospital immediately following the incident and have since been
discharged. Plum Island, located on the bayside of Sandy Hook, is a popular area
for fishing, seining, kiteboarding and windsurfing. The investigation into this
incident continues. [Submitted by Peter Tortorell, Law Enforcement Supervisor]

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THE MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (AZ,UT)
Greek Visitor Falls To Death At Horseshoe Bend Overlook

Rangers responding to a report of a man falling from a cliff at the Horseshoe
Bend Overlook last Saturday found the body of a 20-year-old man at the base of
the cliff near the Colorado River. He was identified as a Greek national who had
been traveling with a small tour group. He’d fallen about 600 feet. Rangers and
county deputies recovered the body with the assistance of a helicopter and crew
from Grand Canyon and transferred it to the county medical examiner. The
Coconino County Sheriff's Office is conducting an investigation in coordination
with the National Park Service. [Submitted by Erin Frackleton]

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THE MORNING REPORT
Thursday, July 29, 2010

Buffalo National River (AR)
Visitor Drowns In Middle Buffalo River

Twenty-one year-old Justin Clark of Augusta, Arkansas, drowned in the Buffalo
River downstream from Grinders Ferry on Tuesday, July 27th. Around 12:30 p.m., a
ranger from the Middle District working out of Tyler Bend was contacted by a
visitor and advised that someone was underwater downstream of the landing. The
ranger notified dispatch, then commandeered a canoe from a visitor and headed
downstream, arriving at the scene within 15 minutes. The ranger called for
assistance from other rangers and requested a medevac helicopter. Clark was
found within minutes and CPR was begun as he was taken by canoe to Grinders
Ferry. Medical personnel took over there, but were unable to revive him.
Witnesses said that Clark had complained of leg cramps prior to his
disappearance. [Submitted by Robert Maguire, Chief Ranger]

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THE MORNING REPORT
Thursday, July 29, 2010

Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Woman Drowns In Firehole River

A 22-year-old woman died on Tuesday night at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical
Center from injuries sustained when she slipped under the surface of the water
at Firehole River near Old Faithful. Lin Ching-Ling, a Taiwanese national, was
submerged for approximately five minutes before bystanders were able to pull her
out of the water. Rangers and a paramedic responded to a call received at
approximately 1:35 p.m. regarding a woman who had been submerged in the water. A
park visitor saw the woman on the bottom of the river, approximately 10 feet
below the surface, and dove down to retrieve her. He then brought her to the
water’s edge, yelled for help, and immediately began CPR. A doctor and two
nurses who happened to be in the area quickly took over CPR efforts. When park
paramedics and rangers arrived, CPR was continued for about 40 minutes at the
scene, at which point the patient regained a pulse. She was then taken by
ambulance to Madison Junction where a waiting helicopter transported her to
Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. She later died. [Submitted by Al Nash,
Public Affairs Officer]