Another detached foot has surfaced in the waters surrounding Metro Vancouver.
A group of young people at an outdoors centre near Port Moody discovered the men's size-12 Cougar brand black hiking boot when it washed ashore in Sasamat Lake on Saturday. When they pulled out the sock nestled inside the shoe, they found what appeared to be human remains.
Stephen Fonseca of the BC Coroners service said that an autopsy has been performed on the detached foot, confirming that it is human. He added that the foot appears to have separated naturally from the rest of the body.
"We have no reason to believe that this foot has been mechanically removed," Fonseca told reporters.
He added that the shoe appears to have been in the water for a long time, and could belong to someone who died more than a decade ago.
A DNA sample has been taken from the foot and Port Moody RCMP are now leafing through missing persons reports.
The discovery marks the 12th human foot to wash up in the coastal region from B.C. to northwestern Washington State since August 2007. Coroners have confirmed the identities of six of the nine feet discovered in B.C.
Fonseca said that foul play isn't suspected in connection with any of the feet, and coroners have not located any tool marks suggesting they were intentionally severed. Investigators believe the feet have detached naturally over a length of time in the water.
