Yellowstone National Park officials recently released the final report on the accident involving a man from Portland, Oregon, who died in June 2016 after falling into a scalding hot spring. Reportedly, the victim, Nathaniel Scott, and his sister, Sable Scott, were looking for a spot at Yellowstone National Park to "hot-pot."
KLUR8 revealed that Colin, 23, and Sable were at Yellowstone National Park looking for a place that they can potentially get into and soak, referred to as "hot-potting." They reportedly left the boardwalk near Pork Chop Geyser and walked several hundred feet up a hill. The accident allegedly happened in Norris Geyser basin in the afternoon of June 7, 2016.
According to the official incident report release by the Yellowstone National Park Service, Sable used her phone to record the journey to the hot spring. She managed to record the tragic accident, although the park officials refused to release the footage or describe it.
TIME wrote that Scott was in Yellowstone National Park for a college graduation trip with his sister at the time of the accident. A day before, six park visitors were called out for walking off the trail at the Grand Prismatic Spring.
The Yellowstone National Park report quoted Sable in saying that her brother was reaching down to check the temperature of a hot spring when he accidentally slipped and fell into the pool. Search and rescue rangers arrived at the scene later, who found Colin's body and his belongings.
However, a lightning storm prevented their recovery attempts, so they had to return the next day. Yellowstone National Park Deputy Chief Ranger Lorant Veress said that due to the boiling and acidic nature of the spring water, as well as the delay in recovering the victim's body, a significant amount of dissolving happened.
This resulted in the remains completely disappearing. Veress added that Yellowstone National Park provides warning signs for important reasons.
The park has dangers because it has not been significantly altered by humans to preserve its natural state. Yellowstone National Park features incredible geothermal resources that pose its own share of threats. More updates and details on Yellowstone National Park are expected soon.
