THE CANADIAN PRESS
Vancouver–Another detached foot inside a running shoe has been found on a B.C. beach.
The remains of a right foot, confirmed as human, were found Tuesday 10-27-09 on a beach in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond inside a muddy size-8.5 Nike shoe.
The discovery was made by two men out for a walk.
Human remains inside shoes first began washing up on West Coast shores in 2007. But since the sixth foot was discovered last November, none had been found until this week.
Of the first six feet, two were female and four were male. It's not yet known if this seventh foot belonged to a male or female. Police are conducting DNA tests.
The B.C. Coroners' Service and the RCMP concluded in the earlier cases that the remains separated naturally from the bodies and were not detached using tools.
Of the first six feet, one has been identified as belonging to a man who may have committed suicide. Investigators have also determined there are two pairs among the remaining feet – the two female feet belong to the same person, and two of the male feet belong to one individual, although neither victim has been identified.
The mysterious appearances of feet in running shoes led to speculation that a serial killer was at large, that the remains were part of a human trafficking ring from Asia or that remnants of bodies were washing up from the 2004 tsunami.
Those theories were debunked after oceanographers concluded the bodies originated somewhere along the West Coast and forensic investigators found the remains had separated naturally.
The first foot was discovered in August 2007 on Jedidiah Island in the Strait of Georgia. A week later, another foot was found on Gabriola Island. The third foot was found in February 2008 on Valdes Island. The fourth was located in May 2008 on Kirkland Island in the Fraser River, followed by a fifth a few weeks later along the same river in Ladner. The sixth foot was found in Richmond along the Fraser River in November 2008.
