Pine Haven Firefighter Dies During Keyhole Reservoir Rescue Mission

The two men who died via drowning in Northeast Wyoming last week have been identified and one was a volunteer firefighter and army veteran.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 68-year old training officer Bruce Lang, and 48-year old Pine Haven resident Jason Otto, were 2 of the 3 men on the 2nd UTV, that went through the ice at Keyhole Reservoir on Thursday, December 15th.

The incident started when a man on his own UTV, went through the ice, got out of the water and called 911.

Lang, Otto and a 3rd person were part of the responding team.

The third person was able to get out of the water.

Both he and the person from the first UTV survived and were treated at Campbell County Memorial Hospital.

Search and rescue workers did not find Lang and Otto’s bodies until Sunday afternoon, and by that time, they had been underwater for more than 2 days.

According to on-line obituaries, Lang was in the US Army from 1973-1976, and moved to Pine Haven sometime afterwards.

He worked as a mechanic for 30 years at the Cordero Rojo coal mine, which is southeast of Gillette, and was a Wyoming EMT for more than 30 years.

Lang was also part of the first town council of Pine Haven, when it became incorporated in 1986.