Park officials at Yellowstone National Park found part of a human foot floating in a shoe in a hot spring in the park. They believe it is a clue in an investigation of a person who died last month. 

The death, which occurred on July 31, is not a murder investigation. 

The shoe was found in Abyss Pool in the park and was spotted by an employee, according to officials who announced the finding on Friday. 

After the announcement, a man in Maryland contacted the National Park Service and said that while visiting the hot spring on August 11, he had seen a shoe floating in the water and he had sent a photo of the finding to the park service. 

A park spokesperson would not confirm whether the shoe that was found was the same one in the Maryland man’s photo.

The Abyss Pool in Yellowstone Lake is 53 feet deep and the temperature is about 140 degree Fahrenheit. Thermal areas are dangerous and visitors are warned to stay away from the hot waters which are sometimes also acidic. 

Since 1890, according to park officials, at least 22 people have died from injuries in the hot springs in the national park.

In June 2016, a Portland, Oregon man walked away from the boardwalk in the Norris Geyser Basin, slipped and fell into a boiling, acidic spring. A horrible tragedy and no “significant” human remains were found.

Four million people visit the park annually. In 2020 it was closed for a while due to the pandemic. In June flooding caused the entire park to be closed and some entrances are still closed to vehicle traffic.