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About 35,000 Elvis Presley fans and spectators braved a formidable rainfall Thursday night and early Friday for the vigil honoring the 25th anniversary of Presley’s death, but some visitors complained that they were turned away at the gate Friday morning.

The crowd estimate more than doubles the previous mark set at the 20th anniversary vigil, said Graceland spokesman David Beckwith, who said Memphis police provided the figure.

But not all at the vigil Friday morning were allowed inside the gate to visit Elvis’s gravesite.

At 7:30 a.m., security personnel ended the visitation for those not there with an Elvis Presley fan club. Two reporters for The Commercial Appeal also were turned back.

“We’re from out of town, and we didn’t want to stand in the rain last night, so we went back to our room,” said Bill Hromek, huddling under an umbrella with his wife, Teri, after being turned away by Graceland security just after 7 a.m.

“We came back this morning because we heard that they would let people in until they were through,” he said, referring to Graceland’s customary practice of admitting everyone at the vigil to view the grave, which in past years has gone into the following morning hours.

Hromek and his wife, who drove from Dorchester, Neb., for the anniversary, said they hadn’t seen the grave yet, but planned to attend an afternoon tour.

However, Beckwith said no one in line for the vigil was turned back. “I think that there’s some confusion, because we were not going to stop letting people up to the gravesite until the line was finished.” Beckwith said the last vigil visitor went through at 8:35 a.m.

After conferring with Graceland officials, Beckwith added, “there must have been some confusion with whoever wasn’t letting you go up.”

Keith and Marsha Alverson, who drove from Atlanta for the anniversary, stood next to Graceland’s gates with George Hill, who drove from Panama City, Fla., unsure what to do after getting turned away at about 7:20 a.m.

“We were out here last night until about 12:30 (a.m.),” said Keith, a plastic poncho wrapped around him.

“We mainly wanted to see the ceremony last night,” Marsha noted, “and came back this morning to see the grave.”

Ginger Sanders was among the smattering of fans still holding vigil after dawn Friday. “I was only 3 years old when he died,” said Sanders.

Standing under an umbrella across the street from the gates of Graceland, she was trying to shield her flickering candle from the early morning rain while waiting for her ride back to Edwardsville, Ill.

“My dad, he’s the really big Elvis fan,” said Sanders, whose dad, Sonny, bought every Elvis coffee mug available in the nearby souvenir shops.

Sanders made the last leg of her trip to Memphis just after 6 a.m., when her turn finally came to view Presley’s grave.

- Donnie Snow: 529-2556