Severed Human Foot Found Afloat In Yellowstone National Park Hot Spring

An employee of Yellowstone National Park reportedly found a severed foot still inside a shoe in Abbys Pool, one of the Wyoming destination's deepest hot springs, on Tuesday, Aug. 16.

Investigators speculate that an incident involving at least one person possibly took place in the area in early hours of July 31. It remains unclear whether an individual was debilitated by vapors or the person fell into the pool and was killed by the water’s high temperature, according to a statement published on the park's website.

The alleged death is still being investigated and officials remain uncertain if there was foul play involved in the incident. The identity of the person who died has not been disclosed to the public.

Abyss Pool which is situated west of the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, is 53 feet deep and with temperatures that can reach up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 Celsius), park officials said.

“Geothermal attractions are one of the most dangerous natural features in Yellowstone, but I don’t sense that awareness in either visitors or employees,” said Hank Heasler, the park’s principal geologist.

A similar incident took place in June 2016 when a man from Portland, Oregon, left a boardwalk in the park's Norris Geyser Basin, slipped on the gravel, fell into a boiling acidic spring, and died. No significant human remains have been retrieved.

Yellowstone is the United State's first national park, drawing more than four million visitors over the past several years, except in 2020, when it was temporarily padlocked due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

According to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists, Yellowstone is getting hotter. Average temperatures today are as high or higher than they have been at any point in the past two decades.

Average temperatures have increased by 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit and could soar up to 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. If carbon pollution is not curbed, surrounding towns and cities will have 40 to 60 more days hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit annually, the scientists further said.