Photo: (Getty)
The next time you take a long walk on the beach, bring gloves. You could come across a human foot, at least if you’re in the Pacific northwest.
It appears that human feet wash ashore there regularly, and people really aren’t that worried about it.
Coroners in British Columbia, Canada are trying to identify the owner of a newly found foot that was located on Vancouver Island. It was a lower leg with the tibia and fibula still attached AND it’s the 13th foot found in BC in the last decade. In fact, they have already identified six owners of 12 previously discovered feet.
Even more alarming? The trend isn’t uncommon in Washington State either. But at least in all known cases out of BC, no foul play is suspected.
People in the area are shrugging their shoulders at the feet, including Mike Johns, who found the most recent foot while walking his dogs. He told reporters that he picked up the foot and took it home before calling police.
But why, WHY does this keep happening? Here’s some insight from NPR:
There are likely hundreds of dead human bodies in the waters of the Northwest at any given time. …
When you think about it, of course, that makes some sense. There are 3.4 million or so people in the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area. To the north, 2 million people live in or around Vancouver, B.C. Those are sizable populations. Sad as it is to think about, that means bodies are going to end up in the water for one reason or another (accidents, suicides and perhaps murders come to mind).
According to Jake’s reporting, the Northwest’s cold waters can help preserve human remains for long periods — sometimes years. But eventually, bodies do break apart. And then, if a foot happens to be in a type of shoe that floats, it can end up getting carried ashore.
So there’s likely no killer on the loose. Simply people who have likely died of natural causes and the extremely cold water preserves their remains until they wash ashore.
Note — authorities have said that if you do find a foot on the shore, call authorities first and they’ll pick it up. Don’t carry it home.
And sometimes this is found: So A Dog Found An Intact Penis And Testicles On The Beach
Josh Helmuth is a contributor for Mandatory and Crave Sports.
