Police say two of five feet washed up on B.C. shores belonged to same person
By Terri Theodore, The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER - Part of the mystery surrounding five disembodied feet that have washed up on the shores of British Columbia has been solved, but investigators still haven't connected the remains to any missing people.
Investigators said Thursday that DNA testing has determined two of the five feet belonged to one man, another foot is from a female and the remaining two right feet are from males.
They say they're reviewing almost 300 missing persons files and haven't yet been able to match the DNA from the feet to any missing people.
B.C. coroner Jeff Dolan said there was no evidence the feet were severed.
"In all cases, these remains appear to have naturally separated, or disarticulated, from the body," he said. "There are no tool marks or trauma on any of these remains."
A team of investigators has been working on the bizarre case since the first foot washed up last August on Jedidiah Island in the Strait of Georgia.
But RCMP Const. Annie Linteau said because investigators don't know who these people are, they can't say how they died.
"We have to be aware that these could be homicide victims," she told a crush of media.
Police said a foot found on Valdez Island Feb. 8 and another foot found June 16 on Westham Island, more than 40 kilometres away and across the strait, belong to the same man.
Last Aug. 26, a right foot was found inside a man's size 12 Reebok sneaker on Gabriola Island, in the strait.
And another foot laced inside a New Balance runner, and the only one belonging to a woman, was found May 22 on Kirkland Island in the Fraser River.
A sixth discovery last month turned out to be a hoax, with an animal paw stuffed inside a shoe, but that didn't deter public interest in the case.
The disembodied feet have been the subject of watercooler speculation and wild conspiracy theories.
Linteau said police aren't ruling anything out but they have no reason to believe the incidents are related in any way.
"Until all of those remains have been identified we are going to explore all possibilities," Linteau said.
Investigators, who include RCMP and Delta police officers and the coroner's office, released details of the size, brand and production date of each shoe.
Pictures of the shoes were displayed at the news conference in hope someone might recognize a running shoe belonging to a missing loved one.
Investigators have reviewed all missing persons cases in B.C. and some in Alberta in an effort to identify the victims but Dean Hillderbrand, a forensic scientist working on the case, said DNA alone provides limited information.
The testing confirms the sex but not the race, age or the date of death.
"These were obviously very challenging samples. Being in water is the worst-case scenario," Hillderbrand said.
He said the DNA samples are yielding useful information but "the DNA doesn't give any information about how long these samples have been in the water."
Family members of five men who died in a float plane crash near Campbell River three years ago were hoping for a DNA match for brothers Doug and Trever DeCock.
Only one of the five bodies was recovered and the wreckage was never found.
Two of the men who disappeared with the plane have been ruled out, but Linteau said investigators are still working on a possible DNA connection to the brothers.
Pathologist Dr. John Butt said shortly after the fifth foot was found that the reason the feet were discovered at all is because they were tightly laced in buoyant running shoes.
He said feet would simply be separated from the body by the forces of the ocean current as the bodies decomposed and the shoe, along with the foot, would float to the surface.
Linteau said Thursday police are consulting with forensic anthropologists, oceanographers and a forensic entomologist to help in the investigation.
"We have received many tips from the public," she said. "Many of those tips include theories as to the origin of the recovered feet."
Earlier this week police in Sweden say a human foot was found inside a shoe on a beach near a popular tourist community
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