MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyoming, Oct. 1, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The cause of death has been determined for a man found dead in Yellowstone National Park last month; the search continues for his brother, who is from Utah.
“An autopsy has been completed on 67-year-old Mark O’Neill, whose body was found on the east shore of Shoshone Lake in Yellowstone National Park Monday, Sept. 20,” said a news release from the National Park Service. “The autopsy determined the cause of death of O’Neill was exposure (hypothermia).”
O’Neill, from Chimacum, Washington, along with his brother, 74-year-old Kim Crumbo, from Ogden, were reported overdue by a family member Sunday, Sept. 19 from their four-night backcountry trip to Shoshone Lake.
“Search and recovery efforts continue at the lake to locate Crumbo,” the news release said. “Crews from the National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center are using sonar equipment to detect clues in the water. Park crews continue to search for Crumbo by foot and boat, with assistance from Grand Teton National Park’s interagency helicopter and dog teams from Western Montana Search Dogs. These recovery efforts will continue for the next several days as conditions warrant.”
The incident remains under investigation; officials will provide more updates as they are available.
“We ask the public to maintain distance from any law enforcement personnel and search crews, equipment, vehicles and their related activity for the safety of the public in this remote area and to protect the integrity of our work,” the news release said.
If you have information that could help investigators piece together a timeline of events, or if you were in the Shoshone Lake area between Sept. 12 and Sept. 19, you are asked to contact officials at 307-344-2428 or yell_tip@nps.gov.
