An Oregon man was killed after trying to "hot pot," or soak in a hot spring, at Yellowstone National Park in June. NBC News station KULR in Montana reports that 23-year-old Colin Nathaniel Scott was visiting Yellowstone with his sister Sable Scott when the two walked into a restricted part of the park where Colin attempted to bathe in a hot spring. He reportedly slipped and fell into an acidic pool of water while reaching down to test the temperature of it.
KULR reports that the station filed a Freedom of Information Act to learn the events that lead to Scott's death on June 7, an event which his sister recorded on her cell phone. According to the official report obtained by KULR, Colin was "was reaching down to check the temperature of a hot spring when he slipped and fell into the pool," as his sister recorded him doing it. The incident occurred in the Norris Geyser basin of the park, an area that features boiling acidic waters according to Deputy Chief Ranger Lorant Veress. Hot potting is forbidden in the park precisely because of dangers such as acidic waters.
"There’s a closure in place to keep people from doing that for their own safety and also to protect the resources because they are very fragile," Veress told KULR. "But most importantly for the safety of people because it’s a very unforgiving environment."
KULR reports that when search and rescue workers arrived to the scene, Scott's body, wallet, and flip flops were visible, but a thunderstorm prevented them from retrieving his body. By the time they returned the next day, Scott's body had been completely dissolved in the churning, acidic waters. "In a very short order, there was a significant amount of dissolving," Veress said.
