LA Man's Foot Found In Famous Yellowstone Hot Spring

LOS ANGELES, CA - A human foot found in August at Yellowstone National Park's Abyss Pool belonged to Il Hun Ro, a 70-year-old man from Los Angeles, rangers announced Thursday.

The identification was made within the last three weeks thanks to DNA analysis, according to a news release from the National Park Service.

In August, park staff discovered part of a foot in a shoe floating in the famous hot spring, located inside the Wyoming park in the West Thumb Geyser Basin, according to park officials.

As Yellowstone law enforcement officers looked into how the foot ended up in the water, they found "no foul play," the NPS said.

"The investigation determined, to the best of our knowledge, that an unwitnessed incident involving one individual happened on the morning of July 31, 2022, at Abyss Pool, and no foul play occurred," the NPS news release said. "Based on a lack of evidence, the circumstances surrounding the death of Ro remain unknown."

Abyss Pool has a depth of more than 50 feet and is one of the deepest hot springs in the park. Its temperature is approximately 140 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Park Service.

To prevent injury and death, the National Park Service warns visitors to stay on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas and exercise extreme caution around thermal features, adding that the ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin and there is scalding water just below the surface.