Ex-Marine found dead in Yellowstone after suicide, authorities say
Sad news out of Yellowstone concerning a man with Oklahoma connections who disappeared there. Here’s a story from The Associated Press:
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — Authorities say a former Marine missing in Yellowstone National Park has been found dead after taking his own life.
Peter Louis Kastner of Oklahoma City was 25. Rangers had been looking for him since May 31 when his overdue rental car was found at a trailhead.
Kastner’s body was found July 14 by researchers working in the park’s backcountry. An autopsy confirmed the body’s identity and showed that Kastner had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The National Park Service says Kastner served four years in the Marine Corps and was twice injured by homemade bombs while serving in Iraq. Authorities say he was originally from the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. area and had recently moved to Oklahoma City to attend college.
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I guess what isn’t known is why he picked Yellowstone to be the place where he ended his life, though it’s not totally uncommon for people to go to wild places to commit suicide. It sounds like, from this story, that this man had gone through some pretty tough times. Sad indeed.
Bob Doucette
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This is truly a sad story. I served in the Marine Corps with Peter and as far as every one knew he was a happily married young man and he was a great Marine. It was a surprise that he didn’t stay in and make a career out of it, but this all goes to show that hard times can fall on all of us. I pray for his family in this very difficult time. Rest in peace marine!