Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park, Second Edition

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Comparatively speaking, a visitor is less likely to die in Yellowstone than in other national parks.

Yellowstone’s gravest threat to visitors (it’s not what you

While this could have been a dry recitation of names and manor of death, Lee Whittlesey has provided a narrative with the deaths, how it happened and how he came by the information. He also gives a little bit of the history of his life and also why he wrote the book. This is actually the second edition, the first being published in 1995, and has more deaths. Some are older ones, the information sent to him by people who know about them. Some are deaths that occurred between 1995 and the publishing of this book. Trials in the district court are normally held at the federal courthouse in Cheyenne, Wyoming. However, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution decrees that "the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed" [ emphasis added]. Because of this, charges for a crime alleged to have been committed in the area of the park in Idaho would have to be tried before a jury consisting entirely of residents of that area. [6] However, the Idaho portion of the park is uninhabited, so a jury of residents of both the state and district could not be empaneled. As the Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial, specified three separate times ( Article III, Section 2; Sixth Amendment; Seventh Amendment), a defendant facing any felony or misdemeanor charge, being unable to receive a constitutional trial, could not be legally punished regardless of guilt or innocence. [7] [6] Discovery [ edit ] At many points in the book, Whittlesey warned his readers that Yellowstone is not an amusement park full of tame animals and guardrails on the trails. It’s a place full of hidden and obvious dangers, he said, which is why he felt compelled to share his cautionary tale while also capturing the park’s colorful history. Some folks require the park’s wildness and yet deny its right to exercise its wildness upon them.”--Lee Whittlesey In the early 1970s, the parents of Andy Hecht, the nine-year-old who died in Crested Pool, mounted a nationwide campaign to improve national park safety. They eventually settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the National Park Service. A Wyoming judge threw out a lawsuit by Lance Buchi, one of Sara Hulpher’s friends, who was severely burned. Buchi contended that park officials failed to give adequate warning about thermal feature dangers.Nine years later, Whittlesey released the second edition of the book, updated with more than 60 new tales of demise. We caught up with Whittlesey, who was then park historian, to discuss true threats, stupid visitors, and what just might be the scariest fate of all at Yellowstone. Whittlesey retired April 29, 2018, from the National Park Service. The author of Death in Yellowstone, Lee Whittlesey Photo by Rocco Paperiello National Park Trips: What inspired you to write about such a morbid subject? We’re not trying to terrify anybody. We’re trying to face reality about what the threats are. That’s part of the charm, the adventure, the fun.

Yellowstone: All 19 Major Character Deaths Ranked by Impact Yellowstone: All 19 Major Character Deaths Ranked by Impact

August 1942 - a bear killed a woman at night in the Old Faithful campground. The species of bear involved was not determined. In the first chapter "Death in Hot Water", it's pretty insane how often people ignore warning signs. Even in 2018, I witnessed a lady step over the warning signs to get a closer look/picture of a hot spring with her phone. Like obviously this is wrong, but people live on the belief that it won't happen to me. More outraging is 'Deaths from Bears', people thought because it was a "park" that the bears were tamed creatures and that they could befriend them. How dumb?!? Why would that ever be a thing. I'm afraid of dogs that are roaming by themselves on the streets...I couldn't imagine walking into a BEAR and being like "look how cute he is?!?". Wow some people. In the end, Whittlesey said he’s not trying to terrify anybody but rather be realistic about the potential threats, which of course, is part of the what draws so many visitors to the iconic park. i am not someone who is overmuch impressed with the majesty of nature. nor of the majesty of architecture, for that matter. when i find myself in distant lands, my first thought is, "where is the closest bookstore?" and "food!! gimmie exotic food!" so the thought of going to a place to just be inspired by nature's vast canvas - i can see how people would dig it, but i am not one of them. Another thermal fatality occurred in 2000. One moonless August night, 20-year-old Sara Hulphers, a park concession employee from Oroville, Wash., went swimming with friends in the Firehole River. Accompanied by two co-workers for Old Faithful businesses, Hulphers returned by hiking through Lower Geyser Basin. They carried no flashlights, and the three thought they were jumping a small stream when they fell into Cavern Spring’s ten-foot-deep boiling waters. Hulphers went completely underwater and died several hours later from third-degree burns that covered her entire body. Her companions survived, but the two men spent months in a Salt Lake City hospital recovering from severe burns over most of their bodies. Other Dangers: Drowning, Falling, CrashesThere’s many ways to die in Yellowstone,” he said. “It’s not a sanitized city park. People think it’s like Disneyland and safe. But we have animals here that can eat you. People need to understand that.”