Woman Found Dead in Yellowstone, Man Arrested for Drug Possession

The woman’s death remains under investigation

May 17, 2023

A woman was found dead in a vehicle on a pass near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park on Saturday. (Courtesy National Park Service)

By Ellen Fike

Special to the Wyoming Truth

The discovery of a car in a Yellowstone National Park snowbank led to the arrest of one man and an investigation into the death of a woman during one of the first weekends this year when the park has been open to automobile traffic.

Yellowstone rangers responded Saturday to an incident on Craig Pass within the park, which lies about three miles south of Old Faithful, park officials announced Monday. Rangers observed a single vehicle driven into a snowbank with a man standing outside.

Michael Wayne McCollum, 47, of Texas, was detained and subsequently arrested for drug possession and other traffic-related charges, according to Lori Hogan, public information officer for the U.S. District Attorney’s Office of Wyoming.

A deceased woman was found inside the car. Investigators are determining what led to her  death and are withholding her name until they have contacted her next of kin.

Hogan declined further comment regarding the incident.

The investigation is being conducted by the National Park Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Teton County Coroner’s Office.

The road between Old Faithful and West Thumb was closed for around 24 hours while the scene was processed before reopening Sunday evening.

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