What began as an ordinary evening of fun rapidly descended into one of the most harrowing accidents in Yellowstone National Park's history. 20-year-old Sara Hulpers was employed as a seasonal worker at the park during the summer of 2000, and was walking back home with friends after swimming in the Firehole River.
As she travelled along the well-known route beside two friends, 18-year-olds Lance Buchi and Tyler Montague, cutting through the Lower Geyser Basin and following an unofficial path regularly used by locals, they constantly jumped into the small streams known to be safe.
Misjudgment leads to tragedy
That was until the three of them fatally misjudged one of the bodies of water. The friends believed they were jumping into a shallow stream, but instead plunged into the crust surrounding Cavern Springs, a prohibited feature known to reach temperatures as high as 87 degrees Celsius.
Lance and Tyler managed to keep their heads above water following the fall and crawled out unassisted, while Sara had to be helped by the group of friends walking ahead, who had all rushed back upon hearing the trio's agonising screams, reports the Daily Star.
Severe burns and fatalities
In subsequent reports, Lance's family revealed he thought the ground beneath them was solid before he fell a second time while attempting to escape the scalding water.
The consequences were catastrophic - the young woman had sustained third-degree burns across her entire body, and tragically passed away the following day in a Salt Lake City burns unit. The two surviving friends were airlifted to Idaho Falls and subsequently to the University of Utah's burns unit, both suffering burns covering 95% of their bodies.
Their chances of survival were slim, though not entirely hopeless, according to medical staff, who calculated they faced a 30-40% probability of surviving treatment, considering the infection risks given the minimal uninjured skin remaining for grafting procedures.
Recovery and mourning
Tyler's grandfather and former local weather forecaster, Bob Welti, visited the hospital during the initial treatment phase and described the circumstances as the "saddest" he'd ever encountered.
Both young men underwent months of surgical procedures and skin grafting operations before being released, Tyler in November and Lance in December - the latter having shed 51 pounds throughout his hospital stay.
Hundreds assembled in Oroville, Washington, to grieve the death of Sara - an outstanding student at Western Washington University, who was just weeks away from receiving a new scholarship honour. Friends who were with her during her final days recalled her commitment while she was living. Yuvia Storm, 21, one of her close peers from her period at Yellowstone, said: "She was so happy. She told me I had to be the one to spread the word that she was excited about death. Tell them I had a wonderful life - no regrets".
Throughout the funeral ceremony, her father performed songs he'd composed about her, while friends and relatives adorned the auditorium with sunflowers.
Investigation and subsequent incidents
Subsequent investigations uncovered no evidence that alcohol played a role in the tragedy, with officials confirming it was the first fatal incident involving a Yellowstone hot spring since 1988.
However, since this particular accident, two further tragedies have claimed lives - a 23-year-old in 2016 and a 70-year-old in 2022.
