Ranger dies, shooter still on the loose in Mt. Rainier Nat. Park.

[Matthew Perry]

Routine traffic stop:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/53213765-68/park-national-ranger-mount.html.csp

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/komo/article/Park-ranger-fatally-shot-at-Mount-Rainier-2435973.php More is coming in, but not enough yet :-(

[Mary D]

More details:
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Park-ranger-shot-at-Mt-Rainier-136505028.html

I'll keep watch; this is devastating news for all in the Pacific NW. We lost an Olympic National Forest ranger similarly a couple of years ago, also a mother of young children.

My profound sympathies to Ms. Anderson's family and the entire MRNP staff!

[Bob Gross]

I understand the routine traffic stop, but I don't understand why the deceased ranger had set her vehicle as a roadblock, as was reported. A roadblock and a traffic stop are kind of two different things.

They ought to get the shooter.

–B.G.–

[David Thomas]

Bob: Agreed, when I saw the headline, I thought, "More peace officers die doing routine traffic stops than anything else." They do so many and know nothing about who they are stopping.

But then there is mention of a road block and I want to know why there was a road block? We they looking for this guy? Drunk drivers? Checking for permits?

Regardless, a tradegy for the family, the park and the area.

It's a much smaller, but more pervasive tradegy that park rangers are now hired mostly for their law enforcement roles rather than as educators, rescuers, and stewards of the land.

[Bob Bankhead]

And they shouldn't don't bother trying to bring the perp in alive so some politically correct public defender can show how he was abused as a child or is mentally ill and needs loving care rather than incarceration…..to say nothing of the waste of public funds.

I suspect this perp will start shooting as soon as he sees the local LEOs. Shoot to protect yourself and others. Keep shooting until the magazine is empty or until the threat is gone, whichever uses up the most ammo!

addedum: The NPS has two kinds of rangers; the unarmed Ranger-Rick types and the sworn, armed law enforcement or NPS Police types.

[Mary D]

A few more details, updated as of 3:26 pm PST:
http://today.seattletimes.com/2012/01/park-ranger-shot-at-mount-rainier/

Evidently it was a felony stop, with several LE rangers chasing the perp up the road to Paradise (scary place for a chase!). That's why the road block.

Quite a few visitors at Paradise have been locked into the visitor center for safety. They can't get out without passing the perpetrator.

They really need a sharpshooter team in there since the perp has a rifle! I pray that nobody else (except, of course, the perp) gets shot!

[Bob Gross]

"Evidently it was a felony stop, with several LE rangers chasing the perp up the road to Paradise (scary place for a chase!). That's why the road block."

No, that explains why there was a road block after the shooting. The original news said that the deceased ranger had set up a road block before the shooting, but it was not obvious why.

–B.G.–

[Steve Cain]

Several of us local "regulars" around here historically do a New Years day snowshoe hike at Paradise today. Didn't happen this year, though. Sure wish I would have been there & could have helped out the rangers.

[Mary D]

Per the Seattle Times source I cited above:

"The incident started about 10:15 a.m., Taylor said, when park rangers attempted to pull over a vehicle on the road just above Longmire. The car kept going.

"When officers radioed that the suspect failed to stop, Anderson, in another vehicle, set up a roadblock by pulling her car across the road a mile or so south of Paradise at a pull out known as Barns Flat."

This is normal police procedure in "failure to stop" cases.

I suspect we'll see more clarification later once things are resolved. While such events are going on, it's hard to get accurate information, because the authorities have more important things to do than spend a lot of time with reporters (who have been known to get things incorrect, anyway).

[Mary D]

Presumably the FBI is being called in–federal officer on federal property.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

HD…I was thinking the same sad thing. I miss our yearly NYD snowshoeing trips. Just so awful.

[drowning in spam]

Bob, I disagree with police state killing of any and all suspects without a trial.

[John S.]

Barnes needs to be put down like a rabid skunk for shooting a federal officer and mother of two. No trial needed.

[Bob Gross]

"Bob, I disagree with police state killing of any and all suspects without a trial."

The shooter seems to be bent on suicide by cop.

–B.G.–

[Mary D]

I don't approve of "execution" killings, either, but here we have an extremely dangerous perpetrator armed with a rifle. Taking him out with a sharpshooter team is most likely the only way they're going to be able to get near him, unless he runs out of ammo or succumbs to hypothermia.

As I stated earlier, we probably won't get a lot of detail until the situation is resolved.

[Steve Cain]

Person of interest named now. There had been a shooting in the early morning hours in the fairly close by town of Skyway where 4 people were shot after a dispute at a party. Apparently the same guy.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Person-of-interest-in-park-rangers-death-a-suspect-in-earlier-shooting-136513003.html

[drowning in spam]

But who is the shooter? Having a suspect isn't good enough. Maybe I suspect you. You okay with me executing you? Just in case.

[Steve Cain]

Eugene…you talking to me?

[Mary D]

Bump, to get this thread on top of the one someone else started later.

Latest update, not much new:
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Person-of-interest-in-park-rangers-death-a-suspect-in-earlier-shooting-136513003.html

[John S.]

KOMO-TV reported that a man named Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24, was being sought as a person of interest in the shooting.

[Dirk Rabdau]

My heart goes out to the family, friends and colleagues of the park ranger. Like many of you, I visit frequently during all seasons. This breaks my heart, a lot of good people work in that park, love the park and make it better for everyone who visits.

This is terrible news.

Dirk

[Paul Wagner]

Exactly. A very sad day for all of us in who love the mountains

[Steve Cain]

Breaking right now. Television news reports that he was "found in a ditch."

http://www.king5.com/news/crime/Massive-search-underway-for-rangers-killer-136532718.html

[John S.]

Good. No further waste of human resources.

[Author]

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