Every few months or so, a foot washes ashore in British Columbia, and while that is awful creepy, authorities want you to know there doesn’t seem to be anything nefarious going on.
A foot found inside a new Nike running shoe in September is the 15th discovered in the area since 2007. The coroners service in the Canadian province has not been able to identify who it belongs to yet and on Monday asked for the public’s help.
“We don’t see any indication that there is any suspicion of foul play,” said Andy Watson, a spokesman with the British Columbia Coroners Service. “Sometimes they are natural deaths, or suicides, or accidental deaths (like a fall).”
Why are only feet washing ashore? Authorities have said it is because of the way humans decompose. They note that feet are protected by shoes from the elements and marine creatures.
Ten previous feet have been matched to missing people, the coroners service said on its website. Watson said several were linked as pairs.
This 15th foot was found and DNA tests were unable to tie the remains to a missing person. Authorities released a photo of a light gray Nike Free RN shoe with white laces, a white sole and a blue sock. It was a left shoe, men’s size 9.5.
The bone structure indicates the person was younger than 50, the coroner’s office said.