Foot found in Yellowstone hot pool ID'd as that of LA man
Yellowstone National Park officials say a foot found floating in a hot pool last summer belonged to a 70-year-old man from Los Angeles
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A foot found floating in a Yellowstone National Park hot pool last summer belonged to a 70-year-old man from Los Angeles, park officials said Thursday.
It still isn't clear how the man, Il Hun Ro, ended up in the spring, but that investigators don't suspect foul play, park officials said in a statement.
Park staff found Ro's partial foot inside of a shoe in Abyss Pool in the park's West Thumb Geyser Basin in August.
Investigators concluded that whatever happened to Ro occurred on the morning of July 31, but that nobody saw it. They identified Ro through a DNA analysis and notified his family, officials said.
Abyss Pool is 53 feet (16 meters) deep and about 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius). In such springs, hot water cools as it reaches the surface and then sinks as it is replaced by hotter water from below. The circulation prevents the water from reaching the temperature needed to set off an eruption like those that happen in the park's geysers.