Mystery surrounds Yellowstone National Park today as a park employee found a severed foot still on a shoe floating in one of the park's hot spring pools last week.
A report from IFL Science shares that it is still unclear to everybody in the national park how a human foot ended up in the boiling lakes. While many are still riddled with this startling news, it is reported that park officials have begun investigating.
Yellowstone National Park Employee Finds Severed Foot Floating on Boiling Pool
According to reports, a park employee first spotted the foot floating in one of the boiling pools in the national park called Abyss Pool. This particular pool is near the West Thumb Geyser Basin, which was recently closed because of the recent incident in the area.
The Abyss Pool is one of the deepest hot springs in the national park. Just like what the name suggests, the pool is 53-foot-deep. This measurement is comparable to three large SUVs put together in a straight line.
On the park's official website, it is stated that a total of 20 individuals have died because of injuries suffered from the geysers and boiling geothermal waters. With Yellowstone's tens of thousands of boiling pools, geysers, mud pots, steam vents, and hot springs, many visitors are always at the risk of death and injuries. However, recorded numbers note that it is rare.
It has been a common routine for authorities at the National Park to remind visitors about the dangers of geothermal waters. Yellowstone National Park Trips, a travel guide website, shares that The National Park Service issues warnings, place warning signs, and maintains boardwalks that allow visitors to go near well-known geyser areas. Nevertheless, park rangers have to save one or two people every year, typically young children, who slip and fall from boardwalks or stray from designated trails and plunge their feet through a thin layer of solidified earth and into hot water.
Latest Yellowstone Severed Foot Findings Suggest No 'Foul Play' Occurred
New information reported by East Idaho News tells us that the evidence suggests that an incident involving a single person happened early last July 31. This update came from a news release from Yellowstone National Park.
As of writing, authorities investigating the area claimed that there was no foul play that occurred. The investigation is still ongoing to determine more details about the tragic death of the foot's owner.
The recent release also mentioned that the previously closed West Thumb Geyser Basin will now be open to the public. This incident made Yellowstone authorities reiterate reminders for visitors to follow recommended precautions.
The Wyoming national park, bigger than two US states, was also in the headlines last month after a bison reportedly attacked a man. This incident is the second recorded bison attack in 2022.
Also, recently, Yellowstone officials declared a drop in the number of daily visitors after a flood washed up roads and neighboring towns.
