VANCOUVER — A human right foot in a running shoe has been found on a beach in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond — the seventh such discovery on B.C. shores since 2007.
Two men walking on the beach on Tuesday found what appeared to be a foot inside a size 8½ white Nike running shoe.
Members of the Richmond RCMP seized the shoe and its contents and turned them over to the B.C. Coroners Service, where a forensic autopsy confirmed the remains were human, police said.
Police say there has been no evidence to date of foul play in relation to these discoveries, and it appears that all remains separated from the body through a natural process.
Warm water, decomposition and marine life preying on remains can disarticulate a limb from a body.
Investigators are continuing with their efforts to identify the remains.
The first foot washed up on a B.C. shore on Aug. 20, 2007. A right foot, in a Campus running shoe, was found on Jedediah Island, between Lasqueti and Texada islands.
The remains were identified in July 2008, but the man’s name was not released. He had been reported missing from the Lower Mainland and was in “emotional distress” at the time of his disappearance.
On Aug. 26, 2007, a right foot in a size 12 Reebok running shoe and sock was found on Gabriola Island. It has not yet been identified.
Then on Feb. 8, 2008, a third foot was found on Valdes Island, south of Gabriola.
A few months later, on May 22, 2008, a size 7 female foot in a New Balance running shoe was found by a caretaker on Kirkland Island, off Richmond.
A foot was found on June 16, 2008, off Westham Island in Ladner.
It was matched in July 2008 to a foot found on Valdes, but the remains have not been identified.
Finally, on Nov. 12, 2008, a couple walking their dogs found a left foot encased in a blue-and-white New Balance sneaker along the dike near Finn Slough in Richmond.
The foot was matched in December 2008 to one found on Kirkland Island.
The feet have not been identified.
Canwest News Service
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