Bill Fitzpatrick was the National Park Service District Law Enforcement supervisor (District Ranger) for the Lake Chelan Natl Recreation Area for many years until he retired a couple years ago. Fitzpatrick thrusted himself into a different type of law enforcement, hunting for poachers in Africa.
Fitzpatrick was a pilot and his Cessna crashed last week in Central Africa while en-route from Nigeria to Cameroon.
As part of Fitzpatrick's salary he was given three round trip tickets to Wenatchee each year to visit with his wife and their teenage daughter.
North Cascades National Park (WA)
Retired Ranger Bill Fitzpatrick Killed In Plane Crash
Bill Fitzpatrick, retired NPS ranger and former district ranger at Stehekin in North Cascades, died in a plane crash in Africa early last week.
An intensive search was launched on June 23rd when Fitzpatrick, who was flying a Cessna 172 for African Parks, an NGO that helps manage parks in Africa, failed to arrive as scheduled in Doula, the capital of Cameroon, after taking off from Kano in Nigeria late that afternoon.
Cameroon and US authorities, including the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, were all involved in the search. The plane was eventually found; Fitzpatrick did not survive the crash.
