The Yellowstone incident began on October 4, 2001, at approximately 5:00 p.m., when Xanterra Parks and Resorts personnel alerted park rangers to a suspicious male loitering in the Xanterra employee housing area in Mammoth Hot Springs. A check of the vehicle license plate revealed the vehicle was stolen from a homicide victim, Ms. Rebecca Dawn Smith, who had been strangled and stabbed to death. This stolen vehicle was linked to warrants which showed that Jacobsen was wanted by the FBI for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution and by Cherokee County, Oklahoma, for Murder in the First Degree. Jacobsen was reported to be suicidal, armed and dangerous.

Park rangers set up roadblocks and surveillance on the vehicle and other areas in Mammoth Hot Springs, and at approximately 7:00 p.m. apprehended Jacobsen without incident when he returned to the Smith vehicle.

Jacobsen appeared before U.S. Magistrate Stephen E. Cole at Mammoth Hot Springs that evening and waived extradition. He was transported to Teton County, Wyoming, where he was placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshal, and subsequently transported back to Oklahoma.

As part of his defense, Jacobsen claimed that he was not guilty because of mental illness-including suicidal tendencies-and that he had come to Yellowstone to commit suicide but was arrested before he could do so. However, an investigation of Jacobsen's activities while he was in the park demonstrated that he had been in the area for a week and was trying to establish himself in the local community by applying for jobs and trying to make friends with local people.

The FBI's Denver based Evidence Response Team assisted the Park by processing Smith's vehicle for physical evidence.

If you observe a crime or suspicious activity in Yellowstone National Park, please call: 307-344-7381, press zero (0) or ask for Dispatch.

Information provided by the NPS

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