YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Bones found near the Yellowstone River have been positively identified as the remains of a young Yellowstone National Park employee who disappeared in 2015.
Officials say 21-year-old Feiyang "Isaac" Xiang was swept away in the river in a northern section of the park July 23, 2015.
According to Yellowstone, Xiang was on a backpacking trip with friends when he jumped into the river to swim near the confluence with Hellroaring Creek. His friends say the strong current pulled him away from the shore.
They tried to reach him to pull him back to land, but Xiang was sucked downstream over a long series of rapids, according to Yellowstone officials.
Search and rescue crews scoured the area for any sign of the 21-year-old, searching with dog teams, helicopters and teams of ground crews, but found no sign of the missing man.
Xiang, a native of China, had been working as a seasonal concessionaire employee in Yellowstone.
In February of 2018, Yellowstone staff found human bones in the area where Xiang was believed to have drowned. The remains were sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for DNA testing, and in June of this year, were confirmed to belong to Xiang.
Yellowstone National Park law enforcement had stayed in touch with Xiang's family in China, who traveled to the U.S. to retrieve his remains in July.
"Yellowstone National Park worked with many agencies and individuals during the search and investigation and would like to thank all of them," the park wrote in a release.
