On Monday, May 15, Yellowstone National Park officials confirmed that the “ongoing law enforcement incident” that shut down the road between Old Faithful and West Thumb Junction on May 13-14 was due to a fatality discovered by park rangers.
At 7:26 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, Yellowstone officials closed the road from Old Faithful to West Thumb Junction (over Craig Pass) due to “an ongoing law enforcement incident.” No additional information was provided.
That evening, Yellowstone rangers responded to an incident on Craig Pass, approximately three miles south of Old Faithful. At the scene, rangers observed a single vehicle that had been driven into a snowbank, with a male standing outside.
A deceased female was found inside the car. Her identity has not been released.
The male at the scene was detained and subsequently arrested for drug possession and other traffic-related charges.
Investigators are determining what led to the female’s death and attempting to complete next-of-kin notifications. Additional information will be provided as the investigation proceeds.
An investigation is being performed by the National Park Service (Investigative Services Branch and Yellowstone Law Enforcement Division), with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Teton County Coroner’s Office.
The road between Old Faithful and West Thumb was closed for approximately 24 hours while the scene was processed. The corridor reopened on Sunday evening.
KODI reported on the ongoing closure of the Norris Geyser Basin and its possible connection to the Old Faithful-West Thumb closure. However, this is not the case – Norris is closed because the region is still heavily covered with snow from winter.
