Second Man Accused of Damaging Yellowstone

abc ^ | 11/22/03

[knak]

Second Man Charged With Damaging Yellowstone Geyser Area

The Associated Press

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. Nov. 22 — A second man has been charged over damage to a geyser area at Yellowstone National Park, accused of not stopping a friend who drove his truck in circles on the geyser's fragile soil before getting stuck.

Austin B. Olsen, 19, of Battle Ground, Wash., was charged Wednesday with aiding and abetting Adam R. Elford, 22, of Vancouver, Wash., in the Oct. 10 incident.

Elford was cited last month for driving off-road, damaging park resources, having a loaded gun in his truck, improper food storage and driving on a suspended license.

Investigators allege Olsen was accompanying Elford, who they say drove his pickup truck around two barriers and spun "doughnuts" on fragile soil known as sinter surrounding Lone Star Geyser before getting stuck.

The next morning, the two men asked two visitors for help, but were unable to free the vehicle. They eventually went to the Old Faithful ranger station.

The U.S. attorney's office is reviewing the case to determine if felony charges will be filed.

Workers have spent more than 80 hours trying to repair the damage.

[knak]

Jerks

[OpusatFR]

Are these the same truck driving rednecks that Dean is courting?

Guess he'll lose his envirowhacknut base.....

[Ole Okie]

Well, I guess that's thinking and driving outside the box.

They are jerks indeed.

[rickmichaels]

Another Jackass movie in the making?

[BushMeister]

These punks should be smeared with blood and dropped off in Grizzly country.

[sakic]

Guys like this would do do society a favor if they switched to taunting bears while tied to stakes in the wilderness.

[Calamari]

...having a loaded gun in his truck

This one will probably get him some jail time. Possesion of a firearm in a national park is a big no no.

[ThinkLikeWaterAndReeds]

Just a couple of all American red-neck kids doing what our society teaches to be manly - ignore government regulations because they are supressive and be a tough guy.

[Cultural Jihad]

I thought you said elsewhere they'd likely suffer 'spiritual ruin' by not indulging their every whims and passions. Is it 'society teaching to ignore suppressive regulations' or it is moral-liberals so proselytising?

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

That soil adjacent to the geysers is highly acidic and can burn through clothing and shoes, (causing burns and even death). Maybe it burns thru truck tires, too.

[Big Horn]

Throw the book at them.

[CGTRWK]

Elford was cited last month for driving off-road, damaging park resources, having a loaded gun in his truck, improper food storage and driving on a suspended license.

I don't understand this one.

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

improper food storage

Bears.

[3_if_by_Treason]

improper food storage

They didn't use Tupperware. /joke Yellowstone has lots of bears that think humans owe them a meal.

Improper food storage reinforces that behavior. Bears that have little fear of attacking campsites in search of improperly stored human food are relocated outside of populated areas and then killed if they return and continue to be a nuisance.

They can rip into any vehicle where they smell or even see what looks like food. Bears are smart and damn aggressive.