Yellowstone National Park

Los Angeles Man's Foot Found Floating in Yellowstone National Park Hot Spring

Circumstances surrounding the death of Il Hun Ro remain a mystery.

Abyss Pool is pictured in this undated photo.
NPS / Diane Renkin

A foot found floating in Yellowstone National Park's Abyss Pool in August is that of a 70-year-old Los Angeles man, park officials said Thursday.

The foot was found by a staff member Aug. 16 in a shoe in the hot spring located in the southern part of Yellowstone National Park. The positive identification based on DNA analysis indicates the remains belonged to Il Hun Ro, of Los Angeles, the park said in its statement.

Details about Ro's death were not immediately available. It remains unclear how he ended up in the hot spring.

"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," the park said in a statement. "Based on a lack of evidence, the circumstances surrounding the death of Ro remain unknown."

Family members have been notified, the park said.

The 50-foot deep Abyss Pool is one of Yellowstone National Park's deepest hot springs. The thermal feature's temperature is about 140 degrees. Visitors are warned of the scalding water and fragile thin ground.

More than 20 people have died from burns after they entered or fell into the park's hot springs.

Yellowstone spokesperson Morgan Warthin declined to provide more information about the incident to the Associated Press, including what happened to the rest of Ro's body or how investigators believe he died. She said a full report would be released in the coming weeks, the Associated Press reported.

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