The following Incident Reports were extracted from the NPS Morning Reports/Coalition Reports from 1986-2025. They are not a complete record of all incidents which occurred in this park during this timeframe.
Monday, June 9, 1989
89-124 – Yellowstone – Takeover of Old Faithful Visitor Center
Just after 3 p.m. on the afternoon of Friday, June 9th, 18-year-old B.H. of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, walked into the visitor center at Old Faithful, drew out a .30 caliber Ruger revolver, and ordered everyone inside to lie down. Women and children in the building were released within a few minutes, but B.H. held eight hostages for the next three hours. The hostages included an employee of the Yellowstone Natural History Association, two seasonal interpretive rangers and five male visitors. Park rangers responded, cordoned off the area and employed rangers trained in hostage negotiation to talk with B.H. via phone. Ranger Joe Evans served is incident commander. Ranger Bundy Phillips conducted telephone negotiations with B.H., who had his gun trained on the hostages much of the time. Although B.H. was calm while on the phone, a check with the Baton Rouge sheriff’s office revealed that he was listed as a missing person who was suicidal and had threatened to take someone with him when he went. At 6 p.m., B.H. suddenly told everyone to leave, and the hostages quickly left the building. At 8 p.m., he put his gun down and walked out of the visitor center. B.H. was taken into custody and transported to Jackson, Wyoming, where he will undergo a psychiatric examination. B.H. told rangers that he had planned the incident, and that he had intended to carry it off at either Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. (John Chapman, RCR, RAD/RMRO, via phone report to RAD/WASO; supplemental information from 6/10 Associated Press story).
Tuesday, January 17, 1994
94-13 – Yellowstone (Wyoming) – Death of Ranger
Around 7 a.m. on Monday, January 17th, Robert Ernst Mahn, Jr., 51, the park’s East Area ranger, left the east entrance on a snowmobile patrol west toward Sylvan Pass. About five miles north and west of the entrance, Mahn went off the road and down a 40- to 70-foot embankment. A fellow ranger looking for him about an hour later found him under his snowmobile and summoned assistance. Responding personnel, including his wife, Grace Nutting, conducted CPR on him during the evacuation and ambulance trip, but were unable to revive him. The accident occurred during a period of low visibility due to high winds and blowing snow, and park investigators believe he may have struck a low-hanging tree branch. Mahn joined the Service in 1973 and worked at National Capital Parks, Canyonlands and Golden Spike before going to Yellowstone in 1976. He’d been the East Area ranger since 1982. [J.T. Reynolds, RCR, RAD/RMRO, 1/17]
Tuesday, July 9, 1998
98-433 – Yellowstone NP (MT) – Assault on Ranger
Shortly after midnight on July 9th, ranger Keith Young responded to a report of a disorderly person – later identified as M.A. – at the concession dormitory in the Mammoth Hot Springs area. When Young arrived at M.A.’s dorm room, he was met by a concession manager in the hallway. They both heard glass breaking and other loud noises coming from the room. Young announced his presence several times, but M.A. did not respond. Young then opened the unlocked door and again announced his presence. M.A. almost immediately lunged at Young with a large, bowie-type knife and a large wooden walking staff. M.A. pursued Young into the hallway, attempting to strike him with both the knife and the stick. Young did not fire at him because several residents of the dorm were in the hallway, but instead attempted to defuse the situation by talking to M.A. M.A. again rushed at Young, who retreated down the hallway and exited to the parking lot. M.A. came out into the lot and began running through a guest cabin area, striking several parked cars with the knife and stick. Young kept him in sight until back-up units could arrive. Ranger Lane Baker soon arrived; Young and Baker then pursued M.A. onto a hillside behind the cabins. They ordered him to drop his knife. He said he’d thrown it away, but they could see it in his right hand. The rangers attempted to control M.A., including spraying him with pepper spray. The spray had no apparent effect and he ran back into the cabin area. The rangers pursued and found him attempting to crawl under a van. Baker heard the knife fall to the pavement, and was able to spray M.A. one more time. Other rangers then arrived and helped drag M.A. from under the van and place him in custody. During the course of the incident, M.A. never spoke or complied with any commands given by the rangers. The pepper spray had no perceptible effect until after M.A. was in custody, when his eyes began to water and redden. M.A. was indicted for assault on a federal officer in federal grand jury on July 22nd. [Chris Hansen, CI, YELL, 7/24]
Wednesday, July 19, 1998
98-410 – Yellowstone NP (WY) – Carbon Monoxide Poisoning; Three Lives Saved
On the evening of July 19th, ranger Dino Nicholau came upon an RV parked in the Sand Point picnic area along Yellowstone Lake. The engine was turned off, but a generator was running in the left rear quarter section of the vehicle. All windows and doors were shut tight, with the exception of a two- inch gap in the left rear quarter panel window located directly above the generator. Nicholau was able to see a hand in the vehicle while looking through a rear window. When several knocks on the side door went unanswered, Nicholau entered the vehicle. He was immediately aware of heat and strong fumes. He saw E.R., 60, of Columbia, Mississippi, lying unconscious and face down in her own vomit. He carried her from the RV and returned to find two other unconscious victims, her five-year-old granddaughter, S.R., and her husband C.R., 68. Nicholau was able to carry the granddaughter to safety, then summoned another visitor to help him carry out C.R. All three victims were exhibiting severe signs of carbon monoxide poisoning from fumes that had entered through the rear window. S.R. was most critical, having been closest to the window. Additional rangers were on scene within minutes of Nicholau’s call for assistance. An incident command system was established and emergency rescue operations were begun in an attempt to revive the three. All three were taken to Lake hospital, then flown to a hospital in Billings, Montana. Both adults have since been discharged from the hospital; S.R. is also expected to recover fully and should be discharged in two days. Over 20 NPS personnel, three ambulances, a helicopter, and an aircraft were utilized during the incident. Investigation revealed that the three had been sleeping in the RV for approximately two hours before Nicholau discovered them. The generator was on in order to run the vehicle’s air conditioning. Attending physicians confirmed that all three would have died within minutes if they had not been removed from the RV. [Keith McAuliffe, Shift Supervisor, Lake Area, YELL, 7/20]
A Ranger's Journal 