Base sergeant dies in Yellowstone accident

MSgt. Sandra Bryant, 35, of Mountain Home AFB, was killed Sunday in a snowmobile accident in Yellowstone National Park, part of a base Outdoor Adventure Program trip to the world's oldest national park.

She, along with her husband, who was injured in the same accident on the snowmobile the couple was riding, were among 18 people from the base taking part in a guided group tour of the park.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family," a base spokesperson said.

The accident was reported about 10:45 a.m. Sunday.

They had started the day in West Yellowstone and were riding tandem on a snowmobile headed east on the road between Norris Geyser Basin and Canyon Village when the accident occurred near the Ice Lake trailhead.

A passing snowcoach was flagged down by a member of the party, who asked the driver to get help. The driver radioed for assistance, notified an unrelated tour group stopped nearby, and contacted a ranger in person upon arriving at Canyon Village. The tour group returned to the accident site and provided assistance until rangers arrived.

The snowmobile, a high-tech four-cylinder machine provided by a West Yellowstone tour company, apparently flipped over during the accident.

The group found Bryant unresponsive and trapped between the snowmobile and some trees. They were able to move the snowmobile and free her from the wreckage. Bryant was still unresponsive when rangers arrived on the scene. All park rangers are trained as EMTs or paramedics, and they declared Bryant dead at the scene.

Her injured husband, who has not been identified due to National Park Service and USAF policy, was flown by Air Idaho Rescue helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls where he was treated and released.

The initial investigation and witness statements indicate that Bryant was operating the snowmobile when she apparently lost control, ran off the road and struck a tree, which caused the machine to flip over forward. Her husband, who was riding in tandem behind her on the machine, was thrown clear. The cause of the accident remains under investigation and the official cause of death is pending an autopsy.

It was the first fatal snowmobile accident in the park since 1997 and the seventh fatal snowmobile accident recorded in Yellowstone National Park in the past 30 years.

Winter trips into the park have become increasingly popular in recent years, with up to 20,000 people a month visiting the park during the "off" season.