A partial foot still wearing a shoe was discovered floating in a hot spring in Yellowstone Park last week, but park officials do not believe any foul play was involved.
A park worker discovered the shoe on August 16 at Abyss Pool in the West Thumb Geyser Basin, according to park spokeswoman Morgan Warthin.
The West Thumb Geyser Basin and public parking area were temporarily closed due to the discovery but have since reopened, according to Warthin.
“At this time, the park has no additional details about this incident to share,” she said in a statement. “In the coming days, we will provide more information to the public.”
According to a park service update issued Friday morning, law enforcement officers are investigating the discovery and the circumstances surrounding the presumed death of its owner.
Evidence from the investigation so far indicates that an incident involving one individual likely occurred on the morning of July 31, 2022, at Abyss Pool, but park officials gave no further information.
After the discovery was made public, a man from Maryland contacted park services to report that his family had spotted a shoe floating in the hot spring on August 11. The man, Chris Quinn of Maryland, said he sent a photo of the shoe to authorities, but it is unknown if the shoe in the image is the same one found by the park worker the following week.
The Abyss Pool is located in Yellowstone’s southern section. It is one of the park’s deepest hot springs, with a temperature of 140 degrees and a depth of 50 feet.
At least 20 persons are known to have died from burns at Yellowstone’s hot thermal pools over the years.
Park officials reported that the last known thermal fatality in Yellowstone National Park occurred in August 2000, when a park visitor fell into a hot spring at the Lower Geyser Basin. In June of 2016, a young man in his 20s died after he wandered off the boardwalk and slipped and fell into a hot spring at Norris Geyser Basin.
Several park guests have experienced severe thermal injuries over the last several years.
A 20-year-old woman from Washington state suffered significant thermal burns while rescuing her dog from Maiden’s Grave Spring near Fountain Flat Drive south of Madison Junction in October 2021, according to park officials.
The woman was taken to the burn center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, where she was treated for third-degree burns over 90% of her body. The dog died from its injuries.
A 19-year-old woman from Rhode Island also suffered thermal burns in the Old Faithful area in September 2021, the park reported.
