# Foot found in Yellowstone hot pool ID'd as that of LA man **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150 "2022-11-18T16:12:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/1 "2022-11-18T16:12:09Z")
And then there’s [this](https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/foot-found-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-la-man-93492218)… I read about it a few months before they found the foot’s “owner.” “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 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.” So many questions. How could someone lose their foot in a National Park and not bother to report it to anyone or go to a local hospital? How could they figure out who this guy was from his DNA? Is there a national DNA database I’m not aware of? Should I assume he was a criminal at some point, and that’s why they happen to have his DNA? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/2 "2022-11-18T16:15:43Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > How could someone lose their foot in a National Park and not bother to report it to anyone or go to a local hospital? Not sure if you’re joking, but from the article: “Yellowstone spokesperson Morgan Warthin declined to provide more information about the incident, including what happened to the rest of Ro’s body or how investigators **believe he died**.” ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/3 "2022-11-18T16:18:03Z")
Yes, he died. But why was this a mystery for four months? If someone died and leaves their foot in a hot pool, wouldn’t somebody have said something about it? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/4 "2022-11-18T16:18:58Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > How could someone lose their foot in a National Park and not bother to report it to anyone or go to a local hospital? The rest of him is likely in that hot pool too, dissolved or melted or whatever happens to a body when it goes in one of those. (It’s not pretty.) ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/5 "2022-11-18T16:20:19Z")
I thought of that, but they haven’t found any other body parts. The foot was found in a shoe, so maybe that protected it somehow. I suppose he could have been by himself and either fell or jumped into the pool, but you think someone would have noticed he was missing. Nobody saw it happen. They notified the family, so he wasn’t a complete loner. They had no idea who the foot belonged to. How did they do a nationwide DNA search? Is that a thing? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/6 "2022-11-18T16:32:24Z")
Most loners have family. They just don’t stay in contact with them. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/7 "2022-11-18T16:38:55Z")
True enough. Maybe a family member reported him missing, and they did a DNA test to see if the foot’s DNA matched a sample of the missing person’s hair. Mystery solved! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/8 "2022-11-18T16:39:18Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I thought of that, but they haven’t found any other body parts. How much of his body would you expect to find? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/9 "2022-11-18T16:41:12Z")
I would think the larger bones might still be around. It would be hard to search for them if they were down there somewhere. The shoe was found floating I believe, which means the material the shoe was made of survived. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/10 "2022-11-18T16:42:25Z")
It’s pretty much a slim chance of _anything_ surviving. Usually if someone goes into one of those pools e just disappears altogether. The fact that a shoe and a foot came out is kind of remarkable. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/11 "2022-11-18T16:45:15Z")
According to my quick google search… " The take-home lesson is that reaction with rocks in the subsurface exerts a powerful control on the pH of the fluids, creating the alkaline-chloride fluids we commonly encounter in Yellowstone geysers and hot springs, which have **pH values generally from 6.7-9.5**." That’s not all that acidic, which would dissolve the bones, I assume. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/12 "2022-11-18T16:48:00Z")
It’s not uncommon to find only a foot in a shoe, while the rest of the body is undiscovered. The shoe (particularly running shoes) is very buoyant, and the rest of the body often sinks. This pool is fairly deep, and they are not sending anyone in to look for more parts. As I said, not that rare: > **[All but 1 'severed' foot case in B.C. have been solved: coroner | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-severed-foot-1.5903703)** > > Five years ago, a grisly discovery was made on Botanical Beach on Vancouver Island, B.C.: two blue and black New Balance sneakers with size 12 feet inside of them.  ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/13 "2022-11-18T16:49:31Z")
There’s definitely something rotten afoot. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/14 "2022-11-18T16:49:44Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > The rest of him is likely in that hot pool too, dissolved or melted or whatever happens to a body when it goes in one of those. (It’s not pretty.) I believe the word you’re looking for is _stew_. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/15 "2022-11-18T16:52:09Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > believe the word you’re looking for is _stew_ Yellowstone stew is _pee-paaal_! (and acid) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/16 "2022-11-18T17:06:35Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > According to my quick google search… > > " The take-home lesson is that reaction with rocks in the subsurface exerts a powerful control on the pH of the fluids, creating the alkaline-chloride fluids we commonly encounter in Yellowstone geysers and hot springs, which have **pH values generally from 6.7-9.5**." > > That’s not all that acidic, which would dissolve the bones, I assume. “… _alkaline-chloride fluids_ …” – not acidic, indeed. The upper end of that pH range is about as basic as **[toothpaste](https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-10/documents/1622624.pdf)**. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/17 "2022-11-18T17:11:12Z")
Maybe he was eaten by a bear. Some scavenger picked up his foot and flew off, some other scavenger attacked in mid-air, and the foot fell into the hot spring. Who knows. Yellowstone is big. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/18 "2022-11-18T17:16:37Z")
Bears rarely attack people unprovoked, but anything is possible. I live in an area with Grizzly and Black Bears all around. If you encounter one in the woods, you are unlikely to be attacked unless you startle one unexpectedly, or it’s a sow and her cubs, then all bets are off. I think it’s more likely he committed suicide. There are fences and warning signs everywhere. I think it would be hard to fall into a hot pool accidentally. I’ve been to these hot pools many times. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/19 "2022-11-18T17:20:01Z")
A buddy was involved in the case–part of his duties was “de-fatting” the pool. Apparently one of the hottest and deepest in the Park. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/20 "2022-11-18T17:23:34Z")
Is it possible to send down an underwater robot to search the moist area in question for body parts? I dont know how visible the water would be, so this is a question from ignorance. I agree with the other posters that mentions that a tennis shoe would keep the foot afloat, as opposed to the rest of his body (he only had one shoe, then, we can conclude?) Finding the other shoe might solve the mystery. Anyways i hope he gets better. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150.md?page=2)