Yellowstone: Probably No Foul Play in Found-Foot Thermal Pool Incident
Yellowstone National Park investigators believe no criminal action happened to the person whose partial foot was found in a thermal pool earlier this week, according to a news release on Friday.
On Tuesday, a Yellowstone employee found part of a foot -- in a shoe -- floating in the Abyss Pool located in the West Thumb Geyser Basin in the southern part of the park.
Park law enforcement officers continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and so far believe it involved one person on the morning of July 31.
"Currently, the park believes there was no foul play," according to the news release.
The West Thumb Geyser Basin and parking lot were temporarily closed to visitors due to the discovery but have since reopened.
Abyss Pool, at more than 50 feet, is one of the deepest hot springs in the park, and its temperature is approximately 140 degrees F or 60 degrees C.
Once again, the park reminds visitors stay on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas and exercise extreme caution because ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin. Scalding water exists just below the surface.
Learn more about safety in thermal areas at go.nps.gov/yellsafety.
The park has no additional information to share at this time.
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The following are several recent incidents reported by Yellowstone National Park and K2Radio.com News in which people were either injured or died at thermal hot springs:
- In October, A 20-year-old woman from Washington suffered significant thermal burns when rescuing her dog from Maiden’s Grave Spring in the vicinity of Fountain Flat Drive south of Madison Junction. The dog passed away, and the woman was transported to the burn center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
- In September, a 19-year-old woman from Rhode Island suffered thermal burns in the Old Faithful area.
- In 2016, a man in his early 20’s walked off the designated boardwalk, slipped, and fell into a hot spring at the Norris Geyser Basin.
- August 2000: One person died from falling into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin.