Yellowstone Drowning Victim’s Remains Found and Identified
The remains of a man who was swept away in the Yellowstone River have been found and returned to his family, Yellowstone Park Officials announced Thursday morning.
Feiyang "Isaac" Xiang, a 21-year-old seasonal employee in the park, was last seen being swept down the Yellowstone River on July 23, 2015. An extensive search for Xiang followed but nothing turned up.
That changed in February 2018 when park employees discovered human bones near where Xiang was swept away. Law enforcement officers collected the remains and sent them to the University of North Texas for DNA testing, according to a press release.
In June, the remains were positively identified as Xiang. Park officials notified Xiang's family, who returned to Yellowstone last month to collect his remains. They have since returned to China.
Xiang was in the Yellowstone River with two of his friends at roughly 11:45 a.m. A member of his party found spotty cell reception and called 911 at 12:39 p.m.
An exhaustive search effort including ground teams, dogs and helicopter crews turned up nothing, was called off in early August, 2015.