YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (KIFI) – According to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for Wyoming, Alan Rawlings Bowling, 57, was unable to purchase beer at the Old Faithful Upper General Store around 4:40 p.m. on Saturday, August 10 because his credit card was declined.
Bowling then left the convenience store, got into a tow truck at the Yellowstone Park Service Station without permission, and drove away.
At around 4:45 a.m., Yellowstone Park Rangers received a report of a stolen vehicle, which Yellowstone gas station employees were already following on the public side of Old Faithful.
The truck left Old Faithful heading north, then turned around and continued toward Old Faithful Lodge. It then drove the wrong way down the one-way road, eventually going off the road and stopping near a post office and ranger station.
Chris Maggiora, a U.S. Park Service ranger, said he arrived at the scene with his blue lights on and saw a Yellowstone gas station employee running toward the stopped tow truck while another man ran toward the trees to the south. The Yellowstone gas station employee began to pursue the man but was ordered to stop by another park ranger, Ranger McQueen.
Rangers pursued the suspect on foot through the trees, crossing the traffic lanes as the suspect continued south on Grand Loop Road. Rangers caught up with him behind the Xanterra Bus Barn.
Rangers held the man at gunpoint, ordered him to lie on the ground, handcuffed him and asked the suspect who he was. Bowling replied, “Nathan Patterson, unknown U.S. Marshal.” A ranger asked him why he stole the tow truck. Bowling replied, “I needed that truck to get to the U.S. Marshal’s headquarters.”
Bowling was taken back to the patrol car. According to documents, rangers noticed that Bowling smelled of alcohol and that this smell got worse the closer they got to him.
Bowling was initially taken to the Mammoth Jail and then returned to a ranger station, where two Yellowstone gas station employees confirmed his identity as the person they had seen driving the tow truck.
A ranger made it clear to gas station employees that they had to be 100% sure that the person they were trying to identify was the person driving the tow truck. The rangers transporting Bowling rolled down the back window to get a clear view of his face, and the Yellowstone gas station employees said they were 100% sure that Bowling was the man driving the tow truck.
After being transported to the Mammoth Jail, Bowling refused to submit to a sobriety or blood test, so rangers requested a search warrant to take his blood sample.
The rangers’ subsequent investigation revealed that the tow truck was tagged 180 feet from the road after breaking through a state fence.
Bowling is charged with nine counts, with penalties including fines of up to $45,000 and up to 4.5 years in prison.
On Monday, August 12, he pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court.
