Authorities await DNA results on floating foot

CASPER (WNE) — The investigation into a foot found floating in a Yellowstone National Park thermal pool is waiting on DNA confirmation of the person’s identity, park and local officials said this week. 
In mid-August, a worker found part of a person’s foot inside a shoe floating in Abyss Pool, one of the park’s deepest thermal features. 
A few days later, park officials said they suspected the foot was linked to an incident that occurred at Abyss Pool involving one person on July 31. Officials did not explain what that incident entailed, but did say there was no indication of foul play. 
The park has not released additional information about the event since then. 
In an email to the Star-Tribune, a park spokeswoman said more information would be released after law enforcement makes a final identification of the person from July 31. 
Teton County Coroner Brent Blue said his office was waiting on DNA confirmation of the person’s identity. That information will come from the state’s crime lab, which is in Cheyenne. 
Blue said he anticipated that information possibly arriving in the next couple of weeks. 
A Maryland man told the Associated Press that he and his family spotted the shot floating in the hot spring on the morning of Aug. 11. He reported that information to park officials after news of the foot became public about a week later. 
Abyss Pool is located in the southern part of the park. It has a temperature of 140 degrees and a depth of 50 feet. 
People have been seriously injured or killed in the park’s pools and thermal features before. 
 
This story was published on Oct. 22, 2022.