Yellowstone opens investigation into partial foot found in pool
Law enforcement officers at Yellowstone National Park have launched an investigation after an employee there found part of a foot floating in a shoe in the park's Abyss Pool on Tuesday, according to a news release on the Yellowstone National Park Service website.
Investigators are hoping to determine the circumstances surrounding the death of the individual, who was not identified. Foul play is currently not suspected, the release said.
Investigators believe that an incident involving one individual likely occurred on the morning of July 31 at Abyss Pool, one of Yellowstone's deepest hot springs. The pool is more than 50 feet deep.
The water in Abyss Pool, which is located in the West Thumb Geyser Basin in the southern part of Yellowstone, is exceedingly hot, reaching temperatures of approximately 140 degrees.
The West Thumb Geyser Basin and its parking lot were temporarily closed to visitors after the employee made the gruesome discovery, but both have since been reopened, according to the park.
Yellowstone is reminding visitors to stay on boardwalks and trails in the park's thermal areas and to "exercise extreme caution" around thermal features.
"The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface," the release stated.
In recent years, several visitors have been severely burned after coming into contact with the park's thermal springs.
In October 2021, a 20-year-old Washington woman suffered serious burns after rescuing her dog from Maiden’s Grave Spring. The woman's dog did not survive the incident.
The previous month, a 19-year-old woman from Rhode Island suffered thermal burns in the park's Old Faithful area.
In 2000, a visitor to Yellowstone died after falling into a hot spring in the park’s Lower Geyser Basin.
Related:
