National Parks Withhold Names of Accident Victims

· Story link

National parks have quietly adopted new policies that prohibit the release of names and identifying information of people injured or who die within park boundaries, the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, MT reports. The names, ages and hometowns of persons injured or involved in rescues have long been provided. Names of persons who died were generally withheld for up to 48 hours to allow for notification of relatives. A parks spokesperson said the privacy exemption in the Freedom of Information Act prevented disclosure. (6/2/06)