I have grown up around law enforcement. Getting ready for grade school, the sound of the racking slide of a pistol and the ripping of Velcro body armor as my dad prepared for another day at work broke the silence as I ate my cereal. Most days it is easier not to think too much about why he has to carry a pistol loaded with hollow point ammunition or wears bullet proof body armor. This New Years day it was unavoidable.
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| Pondering New Year Day snow shoe plans and waiting for breakfast to be served |
I kicked of 2012 at a friends cabin, hidden just off the highway past Ashford, within walking distance Mount Rainier's entrance station. Just six hours after going to sleep way too late, people started mulling about. A ranger passed with lights and sirens. And then another. And then an ambulance. After two more ambulances and eight sheriffs running lights, I gave my dad a call. Three minutes later my phone buzzed, a text from my sister.
"Dad had a message on his phone that said something about a shooting at the office and someone was down. He's pulling over to call back."
Four minutes later: "Margaret got shot"
Officer down. Words that sent chills down my spine.
I stumbled over the words as I read them to everyone else in the cabin, silent by that time. They might not have been silent but I wasn't listening.
Ranger Margaret Anderson was shot and killed New Years day when a gunman involved in a shooting in the Renton area early that morning blew through a chain up checkpoint lower on the mountain. Ranger Dan Camiccia pursued the car and called ahead for a roadblock to stop the car short of Paradise. Arriving at the roadblock, the gunman fatally shot Margaret before she could get out of her car, as well as fired rounds through Dan's windshield, though thankfully he was not injured.
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| SWAT team members searching in the park (TNT) |
The gunman took off on foot from his car, triggering a manhunt. The brave men and women of agencies including the National Park Service, Pierce County Sheriff Department, State Patrol, US Forest Service, Lewis County Sheriff Department, Seattle PD, Tacoma PD, Enumclaw PD, US Border Patrol, and the FBI all responded to the officer down call and the following search. More than 150 LEO's responded in the first couple of hours. The gunman prevented the SWAT team from getting to Margaret for an hour an a half, shooting at anyone who approached her location.
Paradise was thrown into a lock down, visitors barricaded themselves in the visitor center with park staff working to keep people safe and comfortable.
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| Dad presenting to the press and answering questions (TNT) |
More than 70 FBI agents flew in on a military plane from Quantico, Virginia loaded up with ATVs, snowmobiles, and other equipment to supplement the armored personnel carriers and other equipment already deployed. Helicopters and fixed wings searched over head, utilizing FLIR (forward looking infrared), while SWAT teams on snow shoes searched the ground. The incident came to end end when they found the shooter's body half submerged in Paradise Creek not far from the scene. Died from exposure and drowning in his frantic escape. A kind of poetic end to a terrible tragedy.
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| An mourning band, worn for 30 days after Margaret's End of Watch |
I worked alongside Margaret Anderson, she and Eric worked underneath my dad in the protection division of the park. There is a passion for Mount Rainier that all of us who call the mountain our back yard, vacation, office, community service or playground share. Margaret shared that with all of us and we remember her life and sacrifice to protect Mount Rainier and its faithful people.
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| Just one staging area where emergency vehicles lined up |
Margaret was honored with a full LE memorial service. It was a long day of tradition and tears, one I never want to have to go through again, but an incredible ceremony which I was honored to attend. It started with the procession. A fallen officer's body is guarded around the clock, from their end of watch until they are laid to rest. MORA rangers and family led the procession of emergency vehicles carrying first responders from around the country. Rangers, firefighters, police, troopers, paramedics, and, just for Margaret, search and rescue personnel trailed behind the hearse. Locals waited along the route. Hand over heart onlookers wavered only to wipe tears from their face, old men held flags and solemn salutes. The procession onto the campus was framed by an American flag draped over the road from outstretched fire truck ladders.
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| Arriving at PLU: Mom and dad are in the front seat of the unmarked Escape, Kiana and I rode in the back (TNT) |
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| (TNT) |
The full gamete of law enforcement tradition was pulled out, each one more powerful, more heart wrench than the last. Each ring of the 21 Bell Salute stabbed a little farther and the bagpipe performance of Amazing Grace was overwhelming. Its volume and power were unrelenting. The last radio call, when 741 fails to respond to dispatches hailing attempts is the hardest. Tears flowed.
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| A traditional riderless horse precedes the hearse carrying Margaret's casket (TNT) |
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| (TNT) |
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| (TNT) |
On the 1st, I had snow shoes loaded up in my truck. The plan, after breakfast, was to head up to Paradise and enjoy the rare beautiful winter day with most of my best friends. Margaret is a hero. A ranger, daughter, wife and mother, her actions and sacrifice saved lives that day. She is gone but not forgotten.
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| Kiana, Dad, and Mom head across campus after the ceremony to end a long day with familiar faces at a park reception |
Video of Taps, Amazing Grace and the 21 Bell Salute can be watched
here.
A more extensive gallery of some pretty powerful images can be viewed
here.
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| Randy offers comforting contact to dad after addressing the press just outside the entrance to the park while the manhunt is still underway (The Oregonian) |
