Chris McCandless (National Park Service)

Hi Dick,

I am routing this request to you for processing. Let me know if it turns
out another office needs to search for responsive records.

As usual I've cc'd the requester so they know who will be handling their
request.

Thanks,

C.

____________________

Ms. Charis Wilson, PhD, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA
npsfoia@nps.gov <charis_wilson@nps.gov>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Thu, Jul 6, 2017 at 4:23 PM
Subject: Freedom of Information Request: Chris McCandless (National Park
Service)
To: npsfoia@nps.gov

July 6, 2017
National Park Service
FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
P.O. Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request
the following records:

Records concerning the death of Christopher McCandless, found off the
Stampede Trail on the border of Denali National Park. This includes
investigatory files, interviews, photos, and any other documents that were
involved in his bodies' discovery and removal from the back country, and
the investigation into how he got there and how he died.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform
me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer
the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or
CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I
look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business
days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Curtis Waltman

------
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DEPT MR 39577
411A Highland Ave
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PLEASE NOTE: This request was filed by a MuckRock staff reporter. Also note
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------

Curtis Waltman requests@muckrock.com
MuckRock
DEPT MR 39577
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

Dear Mr. Waltman:

The National Park Service, Alaska Region FOIA office received your Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) request, dated July 6, 2017 and assigned it
control number NPS-FOIA-2017-00980. Please cite this number in any future
communications with our office regarding your request.

You requested:

*Records concerning the death of Christopher McCandless, found off the
Stampede Trail on the border of Denali National Park. This includes
investigatory files, interviews, photos, and any other documents that were
involved in his bodies' discovery and removal from the back country, and
the investigation into how he got there and how he died.*

*No Records Found*

We are writing to respond to your request. After a thorough search of our
files, the National Park Service did not locate records responsive to your
request.

The Department of Interior's Incident Management Analysis and Reporting
System (IMARS) that manages Park records does not go back to 1992 when the
incident occurred, and we found no records of Christopher McCandless in our
earlier records around that time. Since the incident occurred outside the
Park, the National Park Service was not responsible for the recovery or
investigation.

Richard L. Anderson, National Park Service, Alaska Region, FOIA program
coordinator, is responsible for this denial. Elizabeth Gobeski, Office of
the Solicitor, Department of the Interior, Anchorage Alaska, was consulted.

*Appeal Rights* — 43 C.F.R. §§ 2.57, .58, .59

You may appeal this response to the Department’s FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals
Officer. If you choose to appeal, the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer
must receive your FOIA appeal no later than 90 workdays from the date of
this letter. Appeals arriving or delivered after 5 p.m. Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday, will be deemed received on the next workday.

Your appeal must be made in writing. You may submit your appeal and
accompanying materials to the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer by mail,
courier service, fax, or email. All communications concerning your appeal
should be clearly marked with the words: "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPEAL."
You must include an explanation of why you believe the National Park
Service's response is in error. You must also include with your appeal
copies of all correspondence between you and the National Park
Service concerning your FOIA request, including your original FOIA request
and the National Park Service's response. Failure to include with your
appeal all correspondence between you and the National Park Service will
result in the Department's rejection of your appeal, unless the
FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer determines (in the FOIA/Privacy Act
Appeals Officer's sole discretion) that good cause exists to accept the
defective appeal.

Please include your name and daytime telephone number (or the name and
telephone number of an appropriate contact), email address and fax number
(if available) in case the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer needs
additional information or clarification of your appeal.

DOI FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office Contact Information:

Department of the Interior
Office of the Solicitor
1849 C Street, N.W.
MS-6556 MIB
Washington, DC 20240
Attn: FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office
Telephone: (202) 208-5339
Fax: (202) 208-6677
Email: FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov

*Conclusion*

For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law
enforcement and national security records from the requirements of FOIA.
See 5 U.S.C. 552(c). This response is limited to those records that are
subject to the requirements of FOIA. This is a standard notification that
is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication
that excluded records do, or do not, exist.

The 2007 FOIA amendments created the Office of Government Information
Services (OGIS) to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between
FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to
litigation. Using OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue
litigation. You may contact OGIS in any of the following ways:

Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road - OGIS
College Park, MD 20740-6001
E-mail: ogis@nara.gov
Web: https://ogis.archives.gov
Telephone: 202-741-5770
Fax: 202-741-5769
Toll-free: 1-877-684-6448

Please note that using OGIS services does not affect the timing of filing
an appeal with the Department’s FOIA & Privacy Act Appeals Officer. If you
have any questions about our response to your request, you may contact
me by phone, fax, email, or mail at the address below.

You also may seek dispute resolution services from our FOIA Public Liaison:

Ms. Charis Wilson, PhD, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
P.O. Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
charis_wilson@nps.gov
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Richard L. Anderson
FOIA Program Coordinator, National Park Service, Alaska Region
240 W 5th Ave, Anchorage AK 99501
richard_anderson@nps.gov,
Tel 907-644-3525
Fax 907-644-3814
*... to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the
wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such
manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of
future generations. -- *NPS Organic Act 1916