Fifth human foot washes up on B.C. shore

Another severed foot has washed ashore - this time in Ladner. Const Sharlene Brooks, of the Delta Police Department, said the human left foot was spotted floating in the water off Westham Island on Monday morning by two walkers.

"The (left) foot was encased in a shoe and was partly submerged in the water," Brooks said.

Police arrived at 10:30 a.m. and recovered the foot. The area of beach near the bottom of Savage Road was sealed off.

"This is a crime scene and we are liaising with the coroner and other agencies to determine its identity," she said.

There have been five human feet found in the waters off B.C. since last August. None have been identified.

On May 22, a human foot encased in a shoe was found on Kirkland Island by a boater. Kirkland Island is within a kilometre of Westham Island.

At the time, Cpl. Nycki Basra, of the Richmond RCMP, would not confirm whether it was a left or right foot.

Members of the Richmond RCMP Serious Crime Unit and the B.C. Coroners Office are still investigating that discovery.

The other three feet washed up in the Gulf Islands.

The first foot appeared last Aug. 20 on Jedediah Island, near Nanoose Bay.

A week later, a second foot was found on nearby Gabriola Island.

On Feb. 8, a third foot washed up on the eastern shore of Valdez Island, off the shore of Nanaimo, which is accessible only by floatplane or private boat.

All three were right feet and all were found in sneakers. The first two feet were found in size 12 men's sneakers.

The Richmond foot was found on the north side of uninhabited Kirkland Island, west of the George Massey Tunnel at the south end of No. 5 Road.

The discoveries have created an international media stir, but have puzzled local authorities and forensic experts.

Determining the length of time the feet have been in the water could be difficult, said forensic entomologists when commenting on the earlier cases.

Water temperature, depth, contact with rocks and aquatic scavengers all contribute to the rate of decomposition.

As well, pinpointing the origin of the feet present a challenge, especially since the currents in the Strait of Georgia and the Gulf Islands can be unpredictable.

Speculation has swirled around the origins of the feet, with some saying they are the result of criminal activities and other theorists pointing to plane crash and drowning victims whose bodies have not yet been recovered.

The three previously discovered feet have been sent to the B.C. Coroners Service for further testing and DNA analysis.