Park rangers at Lake Mead National Recreation Area are seeking the public’s help in identifying two visitors who were captured on video destroying ancient rock formations, in an act of vandalism.
Park rangers in the Adirondacks are worried about the potential influx of 170,000 people next month to watch the total eclipse, fearing that inexperienced hikers may attempt to climb peaks and overwhelm rescue teams.
A person died after going missing in Fall Creek Falls State Park in Van Buren County, Tennessee. Rescue personnel found tracks in the snow leading into the woods and followed them to a bluff line overlooking Cane Creek gorge. The missing person was found down a 700-foot bluff, and it took park rangers over an hour to retrieve the body using rope systems. One rescuer was treated for mild hypothermia but is expected to be okay.
A 51-year-old man from Louisiana was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead on a trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. Hikers discovered him and alerted park rangers, who attempted CPR before he was declared deceased. The incident is under investigation, and the cause of death will be determined by the coroner. The park was assisted by local authorities and medical services. The weather in the area was relatively mild at the time.
A man was shot near Green Lake Park in Seattle, and the shooter is still at large. This incident has raised concerns about safety among residents and visitors to the park. People are calling for more security and police presence in the area. The city of Seattle has announced plans to add more park rangers, but only to downtown parks. Other parks in the city have also seen violence in recent months, causing them to close early for the summer.
The body of missing George Mason University student Mateo Cobo Zevallos was found by search crews in Shenandoah National Park near rock outcrops nearly two miles from where his car was parked. Zevallos was reported missing on May 6 and his car was found in a parking lot that serves the popular Overall Run Falls Trail. The trails in the Overall Run area that were closed for the search have since reopened. The body is being transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Manassas for positive identification and determination of cause of death.