A grisly discovery that was made last week in one of Yellowstone National Park’s hot springs may be connected to a death that occurred on July 31, Fox News reports, citing park officials.
According to the media outlet, a park employee found a foot inside a shoe floating in the Abyss Pool, a hot spring at the West Thumb Geyser Basin, last Tuesday.
"Visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas and exercise extreme caution around thermal features," the National Park Service said following the discovery. "The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface."
The authorities are continuing to look into the incident, even though investigators apparently do not suspect foul play was involved, the media outlet notes, adding that the July death became the first fatal incident involving a Yellowstone hot spring in about six years.
Located west of the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, the Abyss Pool is about 53 feet (around 16.1 meters) deep and its temperature is about 140 degrees Fahrenheit (around 60 degrees Celsius).