Rangers seek information on Yellowstone deaths

By MICHAEL BECKER Chronicle Staff Writer

and The Associated Press

Park officials are looking for information about how a father and son fell 200 feet to their deaths below the Gardner River High Bridge Friday morning.

According to the Associated Press, sometime between 9:30 and noon, a 50-year-old man and his 13-year-old son went to the bridge east of Mammoth Hot Springs to take a photograph. The pair either fell or jumped from the bridge during that time.

Park rangers were contacted around noon by another park visitor. According to a press release issued by the Park Service, a language barrier prevented the ranger from fully understanding the visitor, who left the scene before authorities could respond.

Special Agent in Charge Brian Smith told the Chronicle Saturday that they are seeking the man, an Asian male in his late 50s or early 60s driving a dark colored, full-size van, for information about the incident.

Smith also said there was no indication thus far of foul play and that the case is still under investigation.

A ranger also contacted a woman who reported her husband and son had gone to the bridge around 9:30 a.m. to take a photograph and had been missing for more than two hours.

The woman hiked a short distance looking for the pair without luck. The ranger then searched under the bridge and found the bodies near the river bank.

Park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews said Saturday that the family was not from the Gardiner area and that the names of the deceased were being withheld, pending notification of family members.

The bodies were recovered from the river Friday and are now with the Park County Medical Examiner. Autopsies were being performed Saturday evening to determine the precise cause and time of death.

Park officials asked anyone who might have witnessed activity on the High Bridge on the morning of Friday, Sept. 16, to call criminal investigators at (307) 344-2640.

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