Part of foot found in Yellowstone hot spring, linked to July death

A Yellowstone National Park employee found part of a foot inside a shoe floating in a hot spring in the southern portion of the park, officials announced on Thursday. 

The foot was found at the Abyss Pool, leading to the temporary closure of the West Thumb Geyser Basin and its parking lot. It has since been reopened.

After investigating the finding, officials believe that the body part is linked to the death of a person on July 31. 

In a statement, officials said they do not suspect foul play, but did not disclose further details of the death or how it happened. 

The Abyss Pool is a hot spring that runs about 53 feet (16 meters) deep and has a temperature of about 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 Celsius). It is on the south side of the southern loop through the park, west of the West Thumb of Yellowstone lake. 

Park visitors are urged to stay on the boardwalks placed around the thermal areas, to prevent any injuries from stepping on the breakable crust over the scalding water. 

From 1980 to this day, there are at least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in the national park. 

The most recent death took place in 2016 when a man from Oregon left the boardwalk path near the Norris Geyser Basin. He slipped on gravel and fell into the boiling, acid water—the pool was over 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 Celcius). His remains were never recovered. 

"Evidence suggests that the extreme heat and the acidity of the water quickly dissolved his body in the hot spring," according to a park report released at the time.