Maybe Pierce Brosnan should have read about 23-year-old Colin Scott before he allegedly decided to walk out of bounds in a dangerous thermal area in Yellowstone National Park in November.
In 2016, the Portland, Oregon man slipped and fell to his death in a hot spring near one of Yellowstone’s famous geysers, Outside magazine reported. He and his sister allegedly left the boardwalk trail and walked more than 200 yards into the off-limits Norris Geyser Basin when the accident happened.
The water in the spring is some of the hottest in the park, Outside said. At around 199 degrees, the water probably killed Scott in a matter of minutes. Rangers were unable to recover his body.
It was learned this week that Brosnan, 70, pleaded not guilty to two federal charges of leaving a designated trail and walking in an off-limit area in Mammoth Terraces on Nov. 1. Mammoth Terraces, part of the iconic federal park, are known for their visually striking rock formations and terraces, as well as containing pools and springs that happen to be filled with extremely hot, noxious water.
Children enjoy the view of the Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone National Park on May 12, 2016.(Photo credit should read MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images)
As Outside magazine reported, leaving designated trails in the Mammoth Terraces area “could spell certain danger and possible death.” People might unknowingly walk on ground that’s thin and fragile, where their feet can punch through to the groundwater underneath. With temperatures reaching 250 degrees, the groundwater can easily melt the soles of shoes and scald feet with third-degree burns.
It remains to be seen whether Brosnan’s not-guilty plea at this early stage of the court case is just procedural and he’ll eventually strike a deal with prosecutors to enter a guilty plea. While the charges are basically citations and listed as “petty offenses,” they also carry a potential penalty of jail time, fines or Brosnan being permanently banned from the park, the New York Post reported.
A view of the Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone National Park on May 12, 2016.Yellowstone, the first National Park in the US and widely held to be the first national park in the world, is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features. / AFP / MLADEN ANTONOV (Photo credit should read MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Brosnan’s alleged choice to walk in an off-limits area has left many puzzled. It’s hard to know if he somehow failed to see clearly posted warning signs about not leaving designated trails and boardwalks. People also have joked that the Irish actor, famous for once playing James Bond, somehow thought he would be immune to the risks of falling into a pool or hot spring, roiling with near-boiling water.
Then again, park officials say that many Yellowstone visitors don’t fully understand the great danger posed by these thermal features. Sometimes people, like Brosnan, “lose awareness of their surroundings and come too close to geysers and hot springs, solely for the sake of getting a photo,” according to a 2021 park publication. A photo of Brosnan, triumphantly standing in a protected area, made the rounds on social media in December. .
As Outside reported in 2016, the park sits atop a large super volcano with a magma reserve so gigantic that its eruption could wreak havoc across the whole continent. As a result, the park is home to more than 10,000 geothermal pools, geysers, mudpots, steam vents and hot springs. Some are filled with water “that’s so astringent that a dip in one would be like a swim in battery acid,” the park’s spokesperson told Outside.
Fortunately, dying in or near one of Yellowstone’s thermal attractions is an extremely rare event: A little more than 20 people have died in these areas since the park was established in 1872. However, every year rangers must rescue one or two visitors, frequently small children, who fall from boardwalks or wander off designated paths, Outside said.
A tourist enjoys a view of a hot spring at the Upper Geyser Basin at Yellowstone National Park on May 11, 2016.Yellowstone, the first National Park in the US and widely held to be the first national park in the world, is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features. / AFP / MLADEN ANTONOV (Photo credit should read MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images)
And even if the deaths are rare, their circumstances should be enough to make people cautious. A more recent fatality involved a man who is Brosnan’s age, according to Outside. But because no one witnessed the man’s fall, no one knew the 70-year-old died until more than two weeks later when a shoe and part of a foot were found floating in the140-degree, 53-foot deep hot spring. The man needed to be identified by DNA.
Other horrific deaths are described in the book, “Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park,” by park historian Lee Whittlesey.
The first person known to have died by falling into a hot spring was a 7-year-old boy from Montana in 1890, Outside said, citing Whittlesey’s book. In 1905, a 40-year-old woman from Washington D.C. fell into a hot spring near Old Faithful. She didn’t die right away but suffered for another month before succumbing to burns.
According to Outside, the “most unfortunate of any of these deaths may be the 1981 case of David Kirwan, a 24-year-old from California. During a visit to the Celestine Pool, Kirwan’s friend’s dog, Moosie, jumped into the hot spring, whose water if very blue but also very hot.
Kirwan was dismayed to see the dog suffering in the near-boiling water, Outside said. As he prepared to dive in, someone yelled at him to not do it. Kirwan replied, “Like hell I won’t!” He dove head first into the water and died the next morning of his burns.
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