Lee Whittlesey is the author of Death in Yellowstone. Whittlesey says that he first became interested in the problem of deaths in Yellowstone when he served as a bus tour guide and later a park ranger in Yellowstone where he spent over two decades. Whittlesey later became a law student where he examined wrongful death suits and injury claims that were tied to Yellowstone. He also has a master's degree in history, which equips him to understand the historical context of problems in the park and the laws and deaths associated with them. Whittlesey often thought about death in Yellowstone through answering questions about deaths on tour.