Fifth severed foot found on Canadian coast

[Dope Nose]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/17/...eet/index.html

(CNN) -- A severed human foot was found washed up on an island on the western coast of Canada this week, the fifth detached foot found in the area in the past 11 months, according to local police and media reports.

The foot was found Monday on the shore of Westham Island south of Vancouver, according to Constable Sharlene Brooks of the Delta Police Department in British Columbia.

The severed left foot, which was in a shoe, was taken to a coroner for DNA tests, she added.

The foot was one of five found in area recently, she said.

"Our first step is to establish identity," Brooks said. "It is a little mysterious, but we don't know if it is linked to others."

According to the Vancouver Sun newspaper, the other four feet found in the area since August were right feet.

The gruesome discoveries have garnered a lot of attention, Brooks said. But it may be some time before police determine why so many severed feet have been found.

"We suffer from the CSI effect -- people think this can happen very quickly," she said. "It could take weeks or months. And even if we get a DNA sample, we need a sample to match it with."

The mystery has caused a stir and given birth to many rumors, locals say. One newspaper has began investigating a rash of young men who have gone missing in the area.

Some have wondered if the feet could belong to a group of men who were in a plane that recently crashed in the waterway where the feet were found.

"But there has also been rumors about gangs and stuff," said Diane Selkirk, a freelance writer who lives near where one of the feet was found.

"At first, the talk about it was really humorous. But as more feet turned up, the talk became sinister," she said. "These are pristine islands, not the place where you would expect to find a bunch of severed feet."

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/na...4-c7e495137a9f

Fourth severed foot found on B.C. coast
Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, May 22, 2008

VANCOUVER - Police said Thursday another severed human foot has been found in British Columbia, the fourth such incident in a year.

This time, the foot was found on Kirkland Island near the mouth of the Fraser River in Richmond, just south of Vancouver.

Richmond RCMP said a passerby made the grisly discovery about noon Thursday and have confirmed that it too was found inside a shoe.

It is unclear if it is a right foot or a left foot.

Police have made no arrests in any of the cases, although there are various theories that organized crime is involved.

In February, a severed right foot was found on Valdes Island in the Strait of Georgia, in a location accessible only by boat or float plane.

And in August of 2007, two severed feet were found within a week of each other.

In one instance, a Vancouver couple taking a walk on Gabriola Island came across a single black-and-white size 12 Reebok shoe.

A closer look revealed a partially decomposed right foot that appeared to belong to a man.

In the other, a Washington state family visiting Jedidiah Island also uncovered a right foot that may have washed ashore. It, too, was in a size 12 shoe.