A Powell area teenager died over the weekend, after he reportedly climbed on top of and fell from a piece of oil field equipment in Elk Basin. He was 17 years old.

In a news release, the Park County Sheriff’s Office said it was told that the teen died in a fall from “a moving pumpjack” in the Silvertip Oil Field north of Powell. The incident is believed to have occurred very early Saturday morning, said Park County Coroner Cody Gortmaker.

The sheriff’s office said a friend of the teen’s — who was present at the time of the accident — reported the death around 9:45 a.m. Saturday at the Powell Police Department.

The friend wasn’t sure of the teen’s exact location, the release said, so deputies, Park County Search and Rescue ground teams and an airplane were deployed to the area. The juvenile’s body was found shortly after 1 p.m. 

The Park County Coroner’s office responded to Elk Basin to retrieve the body and conduct a death investigation with the sheriff’s office. While an official cause of death remained pending on Monday, preliminary indications are that the juvenile died from blunt force trauma suffered in the fall.

Powell High School Principal Tim Wormald said Monday that the school was “deeply saddened” to hear of the teen’s death.

“Though he was not enrolled at Powell High School for the past couple years, he was a student for many years in our school district. No doubt, his loss will be very difficult for some of our students and staff,” Wormald said in an email to Tribune.

He said the school’s counselors and administrative team were fully prepared to support any students or staff who needed it.

In Monday’s news release, Park County Sheriff Darrell Steward asked the community to “please keep the family in your thoughts during this difficult time.”

The sheriff’s office added that it’s continuing to investigate the incident.

(Tribune staffers CJ Baker and Zac Taylor contributed to this story.)