Foot found floating in Yellowstone hot spring belonged to California man, rangers say
A human foot found inside a shoe floating in a Yellowstone National Park hot spring has been identified as belonging to a California man, rangers say.
The partial foot was found Aug. 16 in the Abyss Pool, one of the park’s deepest, McClatchy News reported.
DNA tests identified the remains as those of Il Hun Ro, 70, of Los Angeles, rangers said in a Thursday, Nov. 17, news release.
The test results came through in the past three weeks , and his family has been notified, the release said.
An investigation determined Ro fell into the pool in the West Thumb Geyser Basin on the morning of July 31, rangers said. No foul play is suspected, but rangers were unable to pinpoint the circumstances of his death.
The Abyss Pool is more than 50 feet deep and is about 140 degrees.
Several park visitors have been injured in Yellowstone’s thermal areas over the years.
In October, a 20-year-old Washington woman was badly burned after she ran into a hot spring after her dog. The dog died from its injuries.
A month earlier, a 19-year-old had second- and third-degree burns over 5% of her body while visiting the Old Faithful geyser. Park officials did not say if the woman walked on the geyser or left the boardwalks before she got burned.
In 2016, an Oregon man may have dissolved after trying to soak in a thermal area. Workers couldn’t find any remains, and park rangers believe he dissolved in the dangerously hot water, the Associated Press reported.
“The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface,” rangers said. “Everyone must remain on boardwalks and trails and exercise extreme caution around thermal features.”
Yellowstone National Park covers 2.2 million acres in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
Tourist visiting Grand Teton National Park from Australia dies in crash, rangers say
Hunters hear rustling in bushes and see grizzly charging them, Montana officials say
What scares a grizzly bear? Guide sees ‘unbelievably phenomenal’ sight in Grand Tetons
