An investigation continues into how a North Carolina man fell into a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park/NPS

Details into how a North Carolina man fell into a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park last month remain secretive, as the matter has led to discussions with the U.S. Attorney regarding possible charges, according to park officials.

Gervais Dylan Gatete, 21, from Raleigh, North Carolina, was with seven others when he fell into the hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin off Fountain Flat Drive, north of the Old Faithful area early on June 13. The man was working in the park this summer for Xanterra Parks and Resorts. He was taken to a Salt Lake City hospital with burns up to his waist.

Yellowstone officials have declined to discuss what an investigation into the matter has turned up. What the eight were doing in the middle of the night in the geyser basin has not been explained, nor has it been revealed exactly how Mr. Gatete fell into the unnamed hot spring.

On Friday, park spokeswoman Morgan Warthin said the matter has been turned over to law enforcement.

"The investigation is no longer focused on the accident; rather, it has become a law enforcement investigation," she told the Traveler in an email. "To that end, the park is currently in discussions with the U.S. Attorney's Office. It is an ongoing investigation."

Water temperatures in Yellowstone's hot springs vary greatly, with some exceeding the boiling point. The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface.

This is the first serious injury in a thermal area this year. Last June, a man left the boardwalk and died after slipping into a hot spring in Norris Geyser Basin. Back in August 2000, a young woman died and two young men received severe burns from falling into a 178-degree Cavern Spring in the Lower Geyser Basin.

The three in the August 2000 incident, all concession employees, "were seriously burned after falling into a thermal pool in the Lower Geyser Basin. Sara Hulphers received third-degree burns over her entire body. Tyler Montague received second- and third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body and Lancee Buchi received third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body," said Ms. Warthin.

Ms. Hulphers, 22, of Oroville, Washington, died within hours from her burns. While one of the two others sued the National Park Service, claiming it didn't adequately protect people from falling into hot springs or warn them about the dangers of the hot waters, a federal judge in 2004 tossed out the lawsuit.