Archive for the ‘Death’ Category
Posted by Muir on
September 25, 2009
A Kentucky woman received a $5 million settlement from the National Park System for the deaths of her husband and daughter who were killed when they washed over a waterfall in Haleakala National Park near Maui, Hawaii.
Dr. Holly Brown of Louisville was vacationing with her husband Kevin, 11-year-old son Clayton and 8-year-old daughter Elizabeth in 2003. They were hiking off-trail toward Makahiku Falls, a popular destination for tourists that requires wading across the normally placid Palikea Stream. An electronic sign warning of high water wasn’t working that day.
The husband waded out to help his family across the stream. He first helped his daughter, but they both slipped on the slick rocks. Then, a 6-foot wall of water from a flash flood pulled both Kevin and Elizabeth Brown headfirst over the precipice of Makahiku Falls, and they both plunged 184 feet to their deaths.
“They had no reason to think walking across those rocks was dangerous,” said family attorney John Cox. “This wall of water came around the bend and got them.” Park officials said there have been nine deaths at the falls since 1983.
The settlement does not require the government to admit wrongdoing or fault in the deaths. And that’s because the government didn’t do anything wrong.
Our condolences to the Brown family for their tragic loss. But a national park is not Disneyworld — it’s a wild open space full of wonder and danger. The government should be responsible for the visitors centers. It should have less liability on park roads and established trails. But for everywhere else in the park, people should enjoy it at their own risk. You cannot bubblewrap nature and remove all threats of animal attacks, poisonings, falls, floods, storms, etc. People need to take responsibility for their own safety. And sometimes bad things happen to good people.
Story at Newsday
Posted by Muir on
September 11, 2009
“Going to the Sun Road” (or “Sun Road” for short) is one of the world’s most spectacular highways. The 53-mile-long road runs west-to-east across the middle of Glacier National Park. But for all its beauty, Sun Road is a challenging drive given the elevation, winding highway and volume of vehicles.
A 51-year-old Canadian motorcyclist discovered this the hard way when he plunged to his death off Sun Road at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday as he drove eastbound toward the town of St. Mary.
The man was travelling with about two dozen other motorcyclists from Alberta, Canada. One of the bikers looked in his rear-view mirror and noticed his friend wasn’t behind him anymore. The bikers stopped and discovered he’d gone off the edge of the road. Park rangers found the man dead about thirty feet below the roadway. It was a clear and sunny day, but the road is winding in that area.
“Whether you are on a motorcycle or in a car, or even on a bicycle, it’s a road that demands a driver’s constant attention,” said park spokesman Wade Muehlhof.
Story at Calgary Herald
Posted by Muir on
August 27, 2009
Hurricanes can be deadly, even when they are hundreds of miles away. A group of spectators at Arcadia National Park in Maine discovered this lesson the hard way.
They were perched on a rock cliff about 20 feet above the Atlantic Ocean as massive waves from Hurricane Bill smashed against the shore below them. A large wave soaked the ankles of the spectators who thought they were “in a safe area.” As people started to turn back from the cliff, a second monstrous wave struck violently and swept seven people into the churning ocean.
Four people managed to swim their way back to shore, but three others were swept out into the cold sea. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two of them, but 7-year-old Clio Axlerod of New York drowned.
Spectator Mary Ellen Martel saw their bodies “bobbing along in the frothy waters.” She added, “People were clapping and laughing when the wind would bring the spray over. It was a very festive atmosphere,” Martel told CNN in a telephone interview. “It was a warm, sunny day, and everyone was just enjoying the show that Mother Nature was offering, but not everybody knows to stay away from the edge — or way away from the edge.”
Story at CNN
Posted by Muir on
August 11, 2009
An 11-year-old boy died from dehydration in the intense heat of Death Valley National Park after he and his mother became stranded.
Rescuers found Alicia Sanchez, 28, her dog and dead son in a Jeep Cherokee buried up to its axles in sand. She said her son Carlos died Wednesday.
Sanchez and her son set out Saturday with a case of 24 bottles of water and snacks on what was to be an overnight camping trip. She fixed a flat tire and continued into Death Valley following directions from a GPS. She eventually hit an underground animal den and became mired in the sand.
Nobody reported them missing until Wednesday. An air and ground search was launched at dawn Thursday, and a park ranger discovered them about 11 a.m by following tire tracks on a dirt road into the desert.
“It’s in about as remote and isolated an area as you can find,” said Death Valley National Park Chief Ranger Brent Pennington. “A GPS does not replace a map, a compass, checking in at the visitor center and letting people know where you’re going to be.”
Summer temperatures soar above 120 degrees in Death Valley. The high temperature Tuesday and Wednesday was 111, with a low of 96 early Tuesday.
Story at FoxNews
Posted by Muir on
August 10, 2009
A California woman fell to her death Sunday while hiking in Zion National Park with her husband and three children. Nancy Maltez, 55, fell 1,000 feet off the north side of Angels Landing. Witnesses say Maltez stumbled while hiking on the tricky trail, which hugs the cliff nearly 1,500 feet above the Virgin River.
“There is an element of risk involved with hiking any of our trails, especially when they are high elevation trails like Angels Landing,” said Zion Pubic Information Officer Ron Terry.
A National Park Service search and rescue team found the woman’s body in the canyon below. Angel’s Landing was temporarily closed Sunday during the investigation and recovery, but is expected to reopen today.
Angels Landing Trail is one of the most famous and thrilling hikes in the U.S. National Parks. The trail climbs along a narrow rock fin with dizzying thousand-foot drop-offs on both sides. Chains are embedded into the rock in places to give hikers an extra hand-hold. The trail ends on a small bald with magnificent 360-degree views. Only experienced hikers and climbers with no fear of heights should attempt the trail. As this incident demonstrates, one wrong move on Angel’s Landing can result in a fatal fall.
Story at The Spectrum
Posted by Muir on
July 16, 2009
A man died after he drove his car off a 600-foot cliff at the edge of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim.
“Upon arriving at the scene, investigators found tire tracks leading to the edge behind the Thunderbird Lodge and received reports of a single occupant in a blue passenger car driving over the edge,” the National Park Service said in a statement.
Rescuers used ropes to descend into the canyon, where they found the vehicle and the man’s body. Police have not yet ruled the death a suicide, though there was no evidence of foul play.
Story at CNN
Posted by Muir on
July 15, 2009
Glacier National Park officials have recovered the body of a Pennsylvania man who apparently drowned when the canoe he was in capsized on Swiftcurrent Lake.
The body of 22-year-old James Green of Harrisburg, PA, was located shortly before noon Tuesday in about 8 feet of water about 20 feet from shore.
Green and 29-year-old Joseph Nelson of Spring, Texas, fell into the water Tuesday. Nelson was able to swim to shore. Nelson is a current employee of Glacier Park Inc., while Green was a former employee.
Glacier National Park Photo Tour
Posted by Muir on
June 17, 2009
A Yosemite National Park employee was found dead Monday afternoon. Christopher Hale, 23, was reported missing Sunday morning and was found by park rangers in the eastern part of Yosemite Valley. It appears that he fell from a cliff above Mirror Lake. The incident is under investigation. Hale’s death comes just two days after a hiker fell to his death from Half Dome.
More Death & Destruction
Posted by Muir on
June 15, 2009
Yosemite National Park officials say a hiker fell to his death Saturday while descending Half Dome, the park’s famous mile-high granite monolith.
California man Manoj Kumar, 40, was using the cabled hand rails while climbing down from the top of Half Dome, when he slipped and fell an estimated 100 feet around 3:40 p.m. as forty other hikers watched in horror. Rain and hailstorms had made the face of the granite mountain slippery.
“The weather was not ideal for the hike,” said Yosemite National Park Ranger Kari Cobb. “That definitely played a big part. It gets really slippery when it gets wet.”
Rangers escorted thirty other climbers down Half Dome for their safety Saturday evening.
The last death at Half Dome was Japanese hiker Hirofumi Nohara, who slipped off the cables in June 2007.
Story at FoxNews
More Death & Destruction
Posted by Muir on
June 1, 2009
Rangers trying to haze a black bear from the St. Mary area on the east side of Glacier National Park accidentally killed the bear last week. The rangers were trying to prevent the bear from becoming habituated to people. They attempted to scare it away with a “cracker shell,” which is fired from a 12-gauge shotgun and makes a loud bang when it explodes seconds later. However, during a follow-up the next day, a ranger found the bear dead.
A necropsy — an autopsy for animals — determined the cracker shell entered the bear’s body before exploding. Park officials plan to conduct a Board of Review to recommend management actions and improve strategies and tactics.
In 2006, a grizzly bear in the park died after being snared as part of a research project. And in 2007, park rangers destroyed a black bear after it chased a family to their car.
Story at Great Falls Tribune
Glacier National Park Photo Tour
