Two persons identified in Yellowstone fatality

Posted 5/18/23

Details remain scarce about a weekend incident in which a woman was found dead in a vehicle in Yellowstone National Park.

On Saturday evening, park officials say rangers “responded to an …

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Two persons identified in Yellowstone fatality

Posted

Details remain scarce about a weekend incident in which a woman was found dead in a vehicle in Yellowstone National Park.

On Saturday evening, park officials say rangers “responded to an incident on Craig Pass,” south of Old Faithful, and found a car in a snowbank. A man was standing outside the vehicle and was arrested on a drug possession charge and traffic violations, authorities say.

Inside the car, rangers found a woman, who was identified by Teton County Coroner Brent Blue as 38-year-old Catheryn Danyelle Griffin. Blue told the News&Guide that Griffin appeared to be from Florida, but that he also found addresses in Mississippi and Alabama tied to her name.

The road between Old Faithful and West Thumb Junction was closed from Saturday evening through Sunday night as officials worked the scene. Park officials said in a Monday news release that investigators were working to determine “what led to the female’s death.”

Authorities have not identified the man found outside the vehicle, but court records show only one person matches the description they provided: 47-year-old Michael Wayne McCollum of Port Neches, Texas was arrested Saturday and issued three misdemeanor citations in Wyoming’s U.S. District Court: possession of a controlled substance, driving with a suspended license and “occupants of care not wearing seat belts.” It’s unclear what’s meant by occupants “of care” or if it’s a typo for “car.” Federal court officials have blocked public access to the citation — which would reference the state statute or federal code at issue — and a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday that she also could not confirm the charge since she didn’t have access to the citation.

McCollum pleaded not guilty to all three charges at a Monday appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick of Mammoth Hot Springs. The judge ordered McCollum to remain incarcerated until a Thursday hearing, when she allowed him to go free on an unsecured bond.

While he awaits further proceedings in the case, McCollum has been ordered to stay with a family member in Brookfield, Missouri, unless traveling for work or assisting the family member with getting medical treatment. If he fails to appear for a court date in the future, it's possible he could be ordered to pay $2,500.

At Thursday's hearing, federal prosecutors said "that it’s no longer necessary to keep the man in jail," according to reporting by Cowboy State Daily. That represented a shift from Monday, when the U.S. Attorney's Office submitted a filing that argued McCollum should stay in jail while the case is pending. In the motion, Assistant U.S. Attorney T.J. Forwood said there was a “serious risk” McCollum would flee and of justice being obstructed if he was released. Forwood also said there were no conditions that would reasonably assure the “safety of any other person and the community” or that McCollum would reappear for court if he was released.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to elaborate on Forwood’s concerns on Monday and it was unclear what changed ahead of Thursday's hearing.

McCollum — who was held at the Gallatin County, Montana, Detention Center in Bozeman — is next set for a status conference. He's being represented by a court-appointed federal defender.

(This story has been updated with information from Thursday's hearing.)

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