Yesterday, we shared the story of the tragic accident in the Grand Tetons and the Carnegie Medal awarded to Officer Ronald Ottoson for his bravery in trying to save the lives of Luis Ybarrondo and Wayne A. Creek.
Today, we are honored to share more materials including photographs, letters, and newspaper articles from the time of the tragedy, along with the memories of Retired Minneapolis Police Officer Ronald Ottoson.
In the words of Retired Officer Ottoson:
“When Officer James Hovda and I came upon the watery cavern, members of the first party were standing by it and informed us there was one climber dead at the bottom of the waterfalls. The cavern was located below a small drop-off or ridge and was not visible from above. Both of us realized another climbing party of four was coming down the mountain behind us.
Officer Hovda immediately climbed back up the mountain and began yelling for the parties to stop and in doing so saved the lives of two of the four.
I stood by the top of the drop off and saw Wayne Creek come tumbling over the ridge and into the cavern.
A few seconds later Luis Ybarrondo came over the ridge and fell into the hole.
Standing upon the ledge I was not able to see the bottom, which was approximately 30 feet deep and bent underneath and out of site”.
The Minneapolis Star interviewed Officers Ottoson and Hovda upon their return to Minneapolis in June of 1971.
Howard Chapman, Superintendent of the Grand Teton National Park, wrote to Minneapolis Police Chief Gordon Johnson commending the actions of Officers Ottoson and Hovda.
Here is additional information about the tragedy from the Resume of Officer Ottoson:
Here is a photograph of Officer Ottoson near the entrance to the cavern after he emerged following the rescue attempt.
In the photograph below, the Park Rangers carefully bear one of the bodies down to the base camp.
Officers Ottoson and Hovda were recognized for their bravery in the rescue attempt by the American Red Cross. They received their honors in a special presentation at the 1971 Convention of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association as reported by the Minneapolis StarTribune.
The Minneapolis Police Museum is proud of Retired Officers Ottoson and Hovda for the good they did on that terrible day.
We remember Luis Ybarrando and Wayne A. Creek and offer their families our heartfelt condolences.
The Minneapolis Police Museum is grateful to Retired Officers Ronald Ottoson and James Hovda for sharing their memories, photographs, letters, and newspaper articles from the time of the tragedy with us.