2 of 5 washed-up feet belong to same person

July 10, 2008
FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Two of the five feet that have washed up on the shores of British Columbia over the past year belonged to the same person, but no identities have been determined in any of the cases, police said Thursday.

A spokeswoman said DNA testing determined that a left foot found in June came from the same male as a right foot found in February. She said police are reviewing missing persons files and have eliminated 130 so far.

Authorities have said they have no reason to believe the cases were related or involved wrongdoing, although they aren’t ruling out any possibilities.

‘‘There is no evidence that these feet have been severed. There were no tool marks and no visible signs of trauma,’’ Constable Annie Linteau said at a news conference.

Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer, said that when a body decomposes in water, it is not unusual for its parts to separate after prolonged submersion.

The first three feet washed ashore about 40 miles southwest of Vancouver on islands in the Strait of Georgia. The first was discovered last summer by beachcombers. Days later, a foot was found inside a man’s Reebok sneaker. The remains of a third foot were found Feb 8.

The fourth foot was found May 22 on Kirkland Island in the Fraser River, about 15 miles south of Vancouver. The fifth — and the only left food found — washed up about a mile away and was discovered June 16.

A sixth find last month turned out to be a hoax, with an animal paw stuffed inside a shoe.
‘‘Until all of those remains have been identified we are going to explore all possibilities,’’ Linteau said.

Dean Hilderbrand, a forensic scientist working on the case, said officials have not yet contacted Swedish police about a similar foot found near Stockholm two days ago.