On March 21, 2020, 25-year-old Charles Gage Lorentz was shot and killed during a traffic stop by National Park Service Ranger Robert John Mitchell at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in the Rattlesnake Springs area. Lorentz had stopped to meet a friend after working in the oil industry in Texas. The encounter began when Mitchell stopped Lorentz for an alleged speeding violation and for knocking over a park sign.

Body camera footage shows Lorentz near a log fence, wearing a light camo jacket and interacting in a seemingly light-hearted way while music played from his vehicle. After Mitchell ordered Lorentz to turn around and spread his feet, Lorentz refused; Mitchell drew a Taser and later deployed it. The body camera abruptly cut out during the altercation and resumed 26 seconds later with footage of Mitchell on the ground holding his service pistol and Lorentz’s hand near the gun, followed by Mitchell firing once into Lorentz’s thigh and then a second, fatal shot to the chest. A subsequent toxicology report found no drugs or alcohol in Lorentz’s system.

If anyone knew Gage, his movements that day, or saw what happened at Rattlesnake Springs, please share what is known.