Seven is now the number of severed feet (as of Nov 12, 2008) found in shoes on the shores of the west coast and some islands off the Lower Mainland of Canada. These bizarre finds have been made from Georgia Strait to Washington State's northwest tip since August 2007. The last one has to be confirmed to be human by DNA testing, but this one was made by a couple walking their dogs beside the Fraser River this fall.
Const. Annie Linteau of the RCMP said the remains were found inside a left-foot New Balance running shoe. It was spotted by one Ken Johnson, a former MLA in B.C., and his wife. They saw the shoe sitting on a rock offshore a couple of metres. He waited awhile until the tide dropped and his wife walked over a jumble of logs to get the shoe. He was quoted in the media, saying, "I flipped it over and it looked suspicious to me, in terms of it seemed to have a sock," and was a New Balance shoe, which, "sort of stuck in our head."
Johnson said it hearkened to the stories circulating about other feet washing up in running shoes on B.C. shorelines. "My first reaction was this was a small size, maybe a woman's shoe. It's kind of blurry now, but . . . my gut reaction, was it looks like a woman's shoe, a left shoe." The couple phoned the police and reported the find.
The only other woman's foot was found on Jedidiah Island in the Georgia Strait on Aug. 20, 2007. Another New Balance running shoe was found May 22, 2008 on Kirkland Island in the Fraser River, quite close to the most recent discovery. The problem for the RCMP is finding the source of these feet because they realize the remains could originate anywhere within the length of the Fraser River , "as far as northern B.C.," Linteau said.
"So we are exploring the possibility that they could be missing fishermen, missing people that may have fallen into the water." She said in a news release, "We want to proceed cautiously until we know what exactly we are dealing with." All the feet washed up at different sites around the Georgia Strait between 2007 and Aug. 4, 2008. Human remains also apparently washed ashore in the U.S. San Juan Islands beside the Washington State coastline.
Police have determined with DNA forensics that two of the running shoes out of the seven were a match; those two were found separately on Feb. 8, 2008 on Valdez Island and June 16 near Richmond. Police forensics determined these remains belonged to an unwell man who went missing in 2007. None of the other remains have been identified. None of the feet were cut from the body, as it appears the remains were "naturally disarticulated."
According to forensic experts when a human body is left in the ocean, extremities like hands, feet, and heads usually separate naturally from the body. The fact is that the rubber-based shoes being runners and tightly fastened to the foot make the feet floating to shore a practical certainty. Even so the continuous appearance of dismembered feet is terribly disconcerting to the public, and oxygen to the media around the world.
The problem for the experts is how to explain all these feet showing up in the same proximity.
At this point the police are ruling out foul play in any of the previous cases. Adding to the confusion there have been several hoaxes involving shoes stuffed with body parts. One hoax was perpetrated June 18, in Campbell River, on the Inside Passage, Vancouver Island side. The body parts inside the shoe were an animal's foot put inside a sock and stuffed in a sneaker along with seaweed.
Somebody left a fake foot in a sneaker on East Vancouver beach last September, therefore, "Obviously, due to the fact that a hoax was perpetrated previously," said Officer Linteau, "we want to proceed cautiously until we know what exactly we are dealing with."
The first two discoveries contained right feet and were discovered within a week of each other in late August 2007. Those washed up on islands in the Strait of Georgia, first Gabriola and then Jedediah. The third case, a right foot as well, washed up in Feb 2008 on Valdes Island also in the Georgia Strait. Two more shoes, these containing left feet, washed ashore on islands in the giant Fraser River; these appeared May 22 and June 16.
The west coast Canada is not alone with the business of feet in shoes washing ashore. Other reports of such finds have emanated from various countries, and even eastern Canada, especially from the Great Lakes. But even experts agree that the number of feet in the Lower Mainland is suggestive of something sinister. In fact they are at a loss to explain why so many different feet have washed ashore in B.C. since last August.
Const. Annie Linteau of the RCMP said the remains were found inside a left-foot New Balance running shoe. It was spotted by one Ken Johnson, a former MLA in B.C., and his wife. They saw the shoe sitting on a rock offshore a couple of metres. He waited awhile until the tide dropped and his wife walked over a jumble of logs to get the shoe. He was quoted in the media, saying, "I flipped it over and it looked suspicious to me, in terms of it seemed to have a sock," and was a New Balance shoe, which, "sort of stuck in our head."
Johnson said it hearkened to the stories circulating about other feet washing up in running shoes on B.C. shorelines. "My first reaction was this was a small size, maybe a woman's shoe. It's kind of blurry now, but . . . my gut reaction, was it looks like a woman's shoe, a left shoe." The couple phoned the police and reported the find.
The only other woman's foot was found on Jedidiah Island in the Georgia Strait on Aug. 20, 2007. Another New Balance running shoe was found May 22, 2008 on Kirkland Island in the Fraser River, quite close to the most recent discovery. The problem for the RCMP is finding the source of these feet because they realize the remains could originate anywhere within the length of the Fraser River , "as far as northern B.C.," Linteau said.
"So we are exploring the possibility that they could be missing fishermen, missing people that may have fallen into the water." She said in a news release, "We want to proceed cautiously until we know what exactly we are dealing with." All the feet washed up at different sites around the Georgia Strait between 2007 and Aug. 4, 2008. Human remains also apparently washed ashore in the U.S. San Juan Islands beside the Washington State coastline.
Police have determined with DNA forensics that two of the running shoes out of the seven were a match; those two were found separately on Feb. 8, 2008 on Valdez Island and June 16 near Richmond. Police forensics determined these remains belonged to an unwell man who went missing in 2007. None of the other remains have been identified. None of the feet were cut from the body, as it appears the remains were "naturally disarticulated."
According to forensic experts when a human body is left in the ocean, extremities like hands, feet, and heads usually separate naturally from the body. The fact is that the rubber-based shoes being runners and tightly fastened to the foot make the feet floating to shore a practical certainty. Even so the continuous appearance of dismembered feet is terribly disconcerting to the public, and oxygen to the media around the world.
The problem for the experts is how to explain all these feet showing up in the same proximity.
At this point the police are ruling out foul play in any of the previous cases. Adding to the confusion there have been several hoaxes involving shoes stuffed with body parts. One hoax was perpetrated June 18, in Campbell River, on the Inside Passage, Vancouver Island side. The body parts inside the shoe were an animal's foot put inside a sock and stuffed in a sneaker along with seaweed.
Somebody left a fake foot in a sneaker on East Vancouver beach last September, therefore, "Obviously, due to the fact that a hoax was perpetrated previously," said Officer Linteau, "we want to proceed cautiously until we know what exactly we are dealing with."
The first two discoveries contained right feet and were discovered within a week of each other in late August 2007. Those washed up on islands in the Strait of Georgia, first Gabriola and then Jedediah. The third case, a right foot as well, washed up in Feb 2008 on Valdes Island also in the Georgia Strait. Two more shoes, these containing left feet, washed ashore on islands in the giant Fraser River; these appeared May 22 and June 16.
The west coast Canada is not alone with the business of feet in shoes washing ashore. Other reports of such finds have emanated from various countries, and even eastern Canada, especially from the Great Lakes. But even experts agree that the number of feet in the Lower Mainland is suggestive of something sinister. In fact they are at a loss to explain why so many different feet have washed ashore in B.C. since last August.
It's hard to refrain from speculation that organized crime is involved, and other possibilities have been 'floated,' like perhaps the feet belong to stowaways who were thrown overboard at sea. Nevertheless the speculation of experts suggests that these feet are probably originating from B.C. waters. "It's extremely unlikely that they're coming from the outside," said one.
