A Lukachukai man suspected of flying a drone over the Pinyon Plain uranium mine near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon Wednesday has been arrested.
The Coconino County Sheriff's Office says Bobby Mason was booked into the county detention facility on multiple counts, including aggravated DUI, criminal damage, hit and run, reckless driving, harassment, unlawful operation of unmanned aircraft and several outstanding warrants. He's being held without bail.
The mine resumed trucking ore to a mill in southern Utah the same day.
Authorities say Mason crashed the drone into safety wires used to transport people in and out of the mine and then fled in a silver Ford 150.
The truck was reportedly seen driving recklessly towards Tusayan and was then involved in a hit-and-run on Highway 64 to Grand Canyon National Park and again within the park. Rangers found the car wrecked in the forest near the Desert View Entrance.
Energy Fuels, the company that owns the mine, said the man flew the drone at dangerously low altitudes and harassed employees.
"This was extremely dangerous behavior, and we will not tolerate the reckless actions of individuals that jeopardize the lives and wellbeing of our employees or the public," Curtis Moore, Energy Fuels’ senior vice president of marketing and corporate development, said in a statement.
Social media posts show Mason has shared content opposing the mine and has been associated with the advocacy group Haul No!