Latest Yellowstone Tragedy: Guy Falls Into Hot Spring

A man in his 20s who wandered some 225 yards off the boardwalk and was spotted falling into the Norris Geyser Basin in the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming on Tuesday is still missing and presumed dead, park officials say. MTN News reports that a search is underway, but the recovery process is "very difficult because of the hazards of the environment," a park spokesperson says. The Great Falls Tribune reports that some hot springs in the park can reach 200 degrees Fahrenheit—enough to be instantly fatal.

The mishap comes on the heels of several other incidents at Yellowstone recently. Over the weekend, a 13-year-old boy slipped out of his father's arms and fell into a hot pool at the Upper Geyser Basin and had to be flown to a nearby hospital to be treated for burns, reports the Billings Gazette; his father also suffered burns in rescuing the boy. And in May, a bison calf had to be euthanized after tourists who were concerned it was cold loaded it into their SUV, a film crew was cited for leaving the boardwalk and going onto the Grand Prismatic Spring, and a woman was charged by a cow elk when she got too close. The park service asks visitors to remain at least 25 yards from all wildlife, and four times that from bears and wolves. (One park rep says people get over-zealous especially in selfie quests.)