1976
September 10
Brian Thomas, 26, a Viet Nam veteran suffering from a severe case of post battle shock, arrives at Crater Lake, along with his wife, hoping that the peaceful, mountain surroundings will calm his troubled spirit. Brian had been threatening suicide while battling bouts of depression. Thomas spent much of the night, sitting in the Lodge lobby, wrapped in a sheet, talking and praying. Mrs. Thomas keeps an all night vigil, hoping to be able to intervene in case her husband becomes violent or dangerous to himself.
September 11
At about 8:00 a.m. Brian Thomas suddenly jumps up, announcing that he is going to kill himself, and runs out of the Lodge. Mrs. Thomas screams for help, and is quickly joined in the chase by the boat crew and several other Lodge employees. Thomas leads his pursuers along the Rim Promenade toward the Visitor Center and the Sinnott Overlook. Running down the long stone stairway, with the boat crew yelling for him to stop, Thomas, without missing a step, jumps to his death from the curving parapet of the entrance walkway in full view of Ranger Linda Appanaitis and a group of Park visitors.
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