We reexamined the issue of continuous acceleration vs. trapping in the 1991 June 11 flare using a much broader data set than was available previously. We consider updated EGRET spark chamber data, high energy continuum and nuclear line data from EGRET/TASC, and 2.22 MeV line data from COMPTEL covering an extended time period. We find that the data indicate the existence of at least three distinct emission phases characterized by changes in the ion spectrum during transitions from phase to phase. By combining the 2.22 MeV and 4.44 MeV line fluxes with the pion decay emission flux in the first two phases, we show that ion spectrum hardened during the transition from the first to the second phase. We derive the ion spectrum in the third phase from a detailed spectral analysis of the EGRET spark chamber data and show that this spectrum is consistent with the 2.22 MeV line‐to‐pion decay flux ratio in this phase. The ion spectrum in the third phase is softer than that in the second phase. Concerning variability within the phases, we find that the ion spectrum probably remained constant during the second and third phases. This implies that the hitherto developed ion transport models are not appropriate for explaining the extended emission observed from the June 11 flare. We discuss a different scenario in which the ions are trapped in the low density coronal portions of loops but produce the gamma rays in the denser subcoronal interaction regions; this model of episodal acceleration and subsequent trapping could be consistent with the data. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.