DNA testing has identified the person whose partial foot was seen floating in Yellowstone National Park’s Abyss Pool this summer.
Three months after the shoe-clad foot was spotted in the West Thumb Geyser Basin, National Park Service officials said the foot was that of 70-year-old Il Hun Ro, officials said Thursday in a news release.
His family has been notified.
“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,” NPS officials added. “Based on a lack of evidence, the circumstances surrounding the death of Ro remain unknown.”
The Abyss Pool is one of the park’s deepest and is about 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It was temporarily closed when Ro’s foot was found, though it has since reopened.
Injuries and deaths around hot springs typically occur when park visitors step off boardwalks and trails.
“The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface,” officials cautioned.
