A macabre reminder signaled to Yellowstone National Park attendees that while the hot springs might be beautiful, they can be deadly. The Associated Press reported that a park employee spotted part of a foot in a shoe floating on top of a geyser in the West Thumb Geyser Basin.

On Aug. 16, a Yellowstone park employee saw the shoe and then alerted park officials. The area and its parking lot were closed temporarily as an investigation launched, but are now currently reopened. The investigation has yet to release anything conclusive, but investigators currently believe that the foot in the shoe is linked to a July 31 death. As of now, park officials do not believe that it was foul play and have not released details about how the death may have occurred.

The foot was found in Abyss Pool, one of the park’s hottest geysers. The Guardian reported that the temperature of the pool is 140 F and it plunges down 53 feet. Hank Heasler, Yellowstone’s primary geologist, said, “Geothermal attractions are one of the most dangerous natural features in Yellowstone, but I don’t sense that awareness in either visitors or employees.”

The boardwalk trail between Yellowstone Lake and the West Thumb Geyser Basin. | Nancy Hann, Unsplash

Has anyone died by falling into a hot spring in Yellowstone?

According to Outside magazine, more than 20 people have died from falling into a hot spring at Yellowstone.

One of the earliest recorded instances happened in 1970, when a 9-year-old boy named Andy Hecht slipped into Crested Pool right in front of his family. In 1981, David Allen Kirwin attempted to save his friend’s dog by jumping into a hot spring head first. He died as a result of having third-degree burns all over his body. By 1995, Yellowstone archivist Lee H. Whittlesey had recorded 19 instances of death by hot spring in the park.

But the numbers, especially of the injured, might be higher. Park officials believe that people are reluctant to report third-degree burns from the thermal springs.

More recently, The Guardian reported the death of Colin Scott. In 2016, Scott was searching with his sister for a place to hot pot. Hot potting refers to the illegal practice of swimming in one of the Yellowstone geothermal pools. Scott fell into a pool and his sister immediately went to the museum to find help because they did not have cell service.

By the time park officials reached Scott, he was presumed dead and part of his torso and head were visible. They were unable to safely recover the body at the time and by the next day, the remains had dissolved. The basin he had fallen into was acidic, but the temperature was also recorded at 212 F — the point of boiling.

Has anyone ever disposed of a body in a hot spring?

After Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell killed their children, some believed that they disposed of the bodies in Yellowstone. According to CBS News, the last known picture of one of the deceased children, Tylee, was taken at Yellowstone. She was never heard from or pictured again, they said.

Annie Southam, who followed the Daybell case closely, explained, “Online there’s a lot of speculation that possibly Lori and Alex killed Tylee in Yellowstone and disposed of her body in one of those hot pots. Because there are cases of people that have fallen into those and their bodies just completely dissolved.”

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That ended up not being the case — the Daybells buried their children in their backyard.

The Deseret News was unable to locate any accounts of a body being disposed in a hot spring, although several murders have occurred at the park.

What is the ‘Zone of Death’ at Yellowstone?

There is a 50-square mile section at Yellowstone where the Constitution does not apply. According to The Atlantic, this “Zone of Death” exists because of the Sixth Amendment. This amendment regulates the prosecution of a crime by a local jury and due to the zoning in this area, a local jury could not be procured to prosecute a person because nobody lives in the area.

The Idaho Capital Sun reported that Idaho legislators have asked in February 2022 to close Yellowstone’s “Zone of Death.”

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