Aug. 18, 2025

Terrifying & True | Severed Feet on the Shore: The Bizarre Mystery Haunting British Columbia

Terrifying & True | Severed Feet on the Shore: The Bizarre Mystery Haunting British Columbia
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Over 20 severed human feet have mysteriously washed ashore along the coastlines of British Columbia and Washington since 2007—each one inside a sneaker. With no matching bodies, and no clear foul play, the phenomenon captured global attention and ignited a firestorm of urban legends, hoaxes, and theories.

In this gripping true crime deep dive, we explore the eerie timeline of these chilling discoveries, uncover the forensic science that explains how feet can naturally disarticulate, and examine the media frenzy that turned a natural phenomenon into modern-day folklore.

Was it a serial killer? A string of tragic accidents? Or something even stranger?

We're telling that story tonight

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🎵 Music by Ray Mattis
Check out Ray’s work here!

👨‍💼 Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Mark Shields, Bobbletopia.com

🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder

For everything else check out WeeklySpooky.com
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Imagine walking a peaceful beach and finding a sneaker in

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the sand. You kick it over and realize there's a

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human foot in sah Now imagine it keeps happening. This

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is the true story of the severed feet of British Columbia,

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one of the strangest mysteries in modern history.

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Elia, what you were about to beat is burd to

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be you. Based on witness accounts, testimonies, and public record,

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this is terrifying and truth truth.

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On the quiet shores of British Columbia, a young girl

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made a disturbing discovery, one that would ignite headlines around

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the world. A single sneaker tangled in seaweep and inside

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a human foot. Over the next fifteen years, more would

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follow foot after foot, each one washing ashore like a

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message from the deep. No bodies, no suspects, just severed

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feet and unanswered questions. Was it a natural phenomenon or

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something far more sinister? Tonight we dive deep into a

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mystery that's been haunting the Pacific Northwest right after this,

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On a clear August afternoon in two thousand and seven,

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a twelve year old girl wandered along the secluded shore

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of Jebediah Island, a forested marine park off the coast

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of British Columbia. The summer air smelled of salt and

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seaweed as she clambered over driftwood and rocks. Then something

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unusual caught her eye, a lone shoe lying tangled in

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the kelp at the high tideline. It was a blue

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and white Adida's sneaker, a men's size twelve, caked with

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sand and barnacles. Curious and unsuspecting, the girl picked it

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up and tugged at the sock protruding from the inside.

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What she found made her scream. A decayed human foot

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was still in the shoe's dank interior. In that surreal moment,

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Jebediah Island's tranquil beauty was pierced by a grotesque discovery,

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the first of many in a bizarre mystery that would

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haunt the shores of the Salish Sea for years to come.

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The authorities were alerted immediately, as waves lapped at the

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isolated cove and seabirds cried overhead. Local police and coroners

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arrived by boat to retrieve the sneaker and its morbid contents.

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The foot was mail and right sided, cleanly detached at

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the ankle, as if torn free by nature. No other

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remains were found nearby. Investigators were baffled whose foot was

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this and how had it ended up alone on this

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remote beach. Little did they know, this chilling, cold open

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scene was only the beginning of a macabre phenomenon. In

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the months and years that followed, one severed foot after

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another would mysteriously wash ashore around British Columbia and the

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neighboring coasts of Washington State, capturing public imagination and spawning

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countless theories. The puzzle of the Salish Sea severed feet

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had just begun. In the wake of the Jebediah Island find.

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What should have been an isolated oddity soon turned into

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an eerie series of recurring desc discoveries. Five more human

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feet washed up in the region over the next year alone,

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each instance adding to the growing sense of alarm and intrigue.

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Police started keeping a tally, and locals developed a morbid superstition.

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Every time a shoe floated ashore, one dreaded what might

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be inside. What follows is a chronological chronicle of the

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key discoveries, including dates, locations, footwear, and identifying details. Painting

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a grim map of the mystery spread across coastal British

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Columbia and northwest Washington. August twentieth, two thousand and seven,

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Jebediah Island, British Columbia, the case's inaugural find. A right

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male foot in a size twelve Adida's running shoe, white

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with blue mesh, was discovered by the visiting girl. Forensic

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examination later identified the remains as belonging to a missing

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man from the mainland who had been suffering from depression.

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Authorities believe the foot disarticulated naturally while under water through decay,

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separating at the ankle joint. This detail would prove common

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to nearly all of the cases. August twenty sixth, two

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thousand and seven, Gabriola Island, British Columbia. Just six days

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after the first, a second right foot washed up, discovered

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by a couple strolling a beach. It was wearing a

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size twelve white reb box sneaker. This foot, also mail,

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was water logged and appeared to have been carried ashore

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by currents from the south. Investigators noted that an animal

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might have dragged it above the tideline. The Reboch model

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had been produced in two thousand and four and was

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sold primarily in North America, Though unidentified at the time

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its appearance. So soon after the Jebediah foot set the pattern,

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another right foot mail in a floating sneaker British Columbia's

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Gulf Islands or suddenly the epicenter of a mystery. February eighth,

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two thousand and eight, Valdess Island, British Columbia. After a

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quiet winter, the third foot emerged on a beach in

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the Strait of Georgia. This one was yet another right

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foot in a men's size eleven Nike running shoe. Through

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DNA analysis, the British Columbia Coroner's Service later identified it

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as belonging to a twenty one year old man from

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the suburb of SyRI who had been missing since two

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thousand and four. His death was deemed not suspicious, pointing

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to an accident or suicide. Notably months later, the matching

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left foot of this individual would also turn up. The

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Nike model was sold in early two thousand and three,

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offering a rough time frame for how long the remains

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might have been in the water. We are nowhere near

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the end of this list. A list of anomalies suddenly

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all in a line, raising more questions than answers. May

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twenty second, two thousand and eight. Kirkland Island on the

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Fraser River Delta, British Columbia. The fourth discovery broke the

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pattern in several ways. Found on a marshy island in

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the Fraser River mouth closer to Vancouver. This was a

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woman's foot, also right side. It was encased in a

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blue and white new balanced sneaker with a sock. The

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shoe had been manufactured in nineteen ninety nine. Because of

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the river location, investigators suspected it floated down the Fraser

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River rather than drifting among the islands. Years later, in

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two thousand eleven, this foot was identified via DNA to

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a woman who had jumped from the Pottulo Bridge, which

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spans the Fraser in two thousand four, confirming a suicide origin.

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This was a pivotal clue. It linked a severed foot

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to a known victim of self harm, not foul play,

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reinforcing a non homicidal explanation. June sixteen, two thousand eight.

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West Ham Island, British Columbia, two hikers in Delta, BC

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found a left foot floating in the estuary near west

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Ham Island. DNA tests later matched it to the right

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foot from Valdi's Island, found in February of two thousand eight,

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confirming they were a pair from the same young Surrey man.

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This pairing was a breakthrough for investigators. It showed that

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feet could separate from the same body and wash up

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months apart on entirely different islands, depending on where the

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currents carried them. By now, with five human feet discovered

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within a ten month span, the story had seized international

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media attention. Newspapers around the world ran headlines about Canada's

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mystery of the floating feet, and speculation ran rampant about

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a possible serial killer or other dark scenarios. August one,

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two thousand eight, near pist Washington, USA, the sixth find

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marked the first outside of Canadian waters. On a beach

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on the Olympic Peninsula just south of the British Columbia border,

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a camper stumbled upon a black size eleven Nike sneaker

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containing a right foot with bones and flesh still inside.

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It was covered in seaweed and had apparently floated down

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the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Royal Canadian Mounted

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Police and the Claylam County Sheriff noted that this foot

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had drifted from Canadian waters given the proximity. Indeed, many

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observers thought it likely given the cluster up north. This

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foot remained unidentified for years, in a testament to advances

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in forensics. Sixteen years later, in two than twenty five,

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investigators used genetic genealogy to finally idea it as belonging

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to a seventeen year old Canadian boy, Jeff Sirtel, who

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went missing from Mission British Columbia in April of two

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thousand and seven. Sir Tell's fate isn't fully detailed in

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any public records, but his identification so long after discovery

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underscored that these feet largely traced back to known missing persons.

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November eleventh, two thousand eight, Richmond, Fraser River, British Columbia,

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a left foot in a small, new balanced shoe was

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found floating in the Fraser River near Richmond. Forensic DNA

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later confirmed it was the mate to the Kirkland Island

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foot the woman who jumped off the bridge. This gave

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investigators their second confirmed pair. By the end of two

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thousand and eight, seven human feet had been found in

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the region's waterways. Of these, several were now matched into

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pairs or identified as individuals with no evidence of foul play.

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The pattern was becoming clear to officials even as public

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theories grew wild. The discoveries continued sporadically over the next decade.

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October twenty seven, two thousand nine, Richmond, British Columbia. A

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right foot in a a white Nike sneaker men size

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eight and a half washed up on a Richmond beach.

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It was soon identified as a local Vancouver area man

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who had been missing since January of two thousand and eight.

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August twenty seventh, two thousand and ten, Whidbay Island, Washington.

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A foot, likely a woman or child's right foot, without

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a shoe or sock was found on Whidbay Island in

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Puget Sound. It had been in the water and estimated

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two months. DNA was extracted, but no matching profile was

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found in any database, leaving this case unresolved to this day.

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December fifth, two thousand and ten, Tacoma, Washington, a boy's

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size six hiking boot containing a juvenile's right foot washed

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up on tidal flats near Tacoma. This suggested not all

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victims or adults, perhaps a younger person drowned or died

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and their foot surfaced. Seattle area authorities, like spokesman Mark Fulgum,

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noted the find was about two hundred and twenty five

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kilometers or roughly one hundred and forty miles south of Vancouver,

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proving the phenomenon was indeed not limited to Canada. August thirtieth,

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two thousand eleven, False Creek, Vancouver, British Columbia, a men's

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size nine running shoe with a foot inside was found

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floating near a downtown marina. The sex could not be

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determined from the remains, but notably the leg bones were

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attached up to the knee. It had disarticulated at the

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knee naturally in the water, a process forensic experts pointed

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out occurs over time. This was foot number eleven, and

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we're nowhere near done. November fourth, two thousand and eleven,

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Sassamat Lake, British Columbia. In an inland twist, campers discovered

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a right foot in a size twelve hiking boot floating

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in sassamat Lake a freshwater lake near Port Moody. In

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January of twenty twelve, the British Columbia Coroner's Service identified

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it as belonging to Stephan von Zohoruko, a local fisherman

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who had gone missing way back in nineteen eighty seven.

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After twenty four years submerged, his remains finally surfaced. The

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police concluded the foot separated naturally and that there was

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no foul play. This was an outlier in time. Most

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other feet were from more recent deaths, but it reinforced

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that even decades old drownings could send a foot to

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shore under the right circumstances. December tenth, two thousand eleven,

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Lake Union, Seattle, Washington a somewhat different scenario. A human

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leg bone with a foot attached was found in a

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black plastic bag under a bridge in Lake Union. The

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fact that it was bagged suggested a possible crime, but

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as of early two thousand and twelve, Seattle authorities haven't

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determined cause or identity. This case stands apart from the others,

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which were all in open water and unbagged, and often

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isn't counted in the Shoe Found series. January twenty sixth

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two thousand and twelve, Vancouver, British Columbia. A passerby's dog

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uncovered what appeared to be human bones inside a boot

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along the sand at a beach in Vancouver's Kitsilano area.

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Little information was ever released on identification. After two thousand

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and twelve, the pace of discovery slowed, but did not halt.

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May sixth two thousand and fourteen, Seattle, Washington. A left

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foot in a new balanced white with blue trim men

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size ten and a half washed up at Seattle's Centennial

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Park on Elliott Bay. The shoe model was one first

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sold in April of two thousand and eight, hinting that

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the foot likely belonged to someone who died after that date.

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Seattle police, however, did not immediately match it to a

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missing person in any local files. February seventh, two thousand

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and sixteen, Botanical Beach, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Hikers on

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the wild West Coast of Vancouver Island found a foot

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in a sock and running shoe among the rocks. February twelfth,

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two thousand and sixteen. Just five days later, another foot

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washed up in the same area near Port Renfrew. The

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British Columbia Coroner's Service confirmed these were a matching pair

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left and right from one individual. They have not been

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publicly identified as of this writing, remaining two of the

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few unmatched feet in the mystery. December eighth, two thousand

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and seventeen, Jordan River, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the remains

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of a leg with a shoe attached were found near

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the tiny settlement of Jordan River. DNA testing linked it

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to Stanley ka Okumoto, a seventy nine year old man

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from Washington State who had gone missing a few months

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earlier in September of twenty seventeen. How Okumoto died hasn't

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been detailed in any press reports, but his age and

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the location suggested a possible accidental fall or drowning. This

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identification demon's strated international drift, a Washington man's remains ending

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up in British Columbian waters. May sixth, two thoy eighteen,

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Gabriola Island, British Columbia. A man walking along Gabriola Islands shore,

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the same island where the second foot was found in

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two thousand and seven, discovered a hiking boot with a

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human foot wedged in a log jam along the High Tideline.

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This became the fifteenth foot found in British Columbia since

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two thousand and seven. It was later identified and linked

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to a male missing person, though details were scarce in

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public reports. September two thousand eighteen, West Vancouver, British Columbia,

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a light gray Nike free RN shoe with a foot

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inside washed up near the thirtieth Street beach access in

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West Vancouver. This shoe, men size nine and a half,

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had been manufactured in early two thousand and seventeen. Forensic

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examiners determined the foot likely belonged to a male under fifty.

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Despite DNA analysis, it wasn't matched to any known person

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at the time. The British Columbia Coroner's Service made a

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public appeal for help in identifying this foot, showing a

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photo of the sneaker and noting the blue sock it contained.

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January one, two thousand and nineteen, Everett, Washington. On New

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Year's Day, beachgoers on Jetty Island in Puget Sound came

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upon a boot with a human foot inside. US authorities

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used DNA to identify it as belonging to Antonio O'Neill,

249
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a young man who had been missing from Everett since

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December of two thousand and sixteen. Neil's death is believed

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to have been an accident or misadventure. With the recovery

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of his foot, at least his family gained a sliver

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of closure. Late two thousand and twenty one Washington State,

254
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two more feet surfaced in Washington. In November of two

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thousand and twenty one, a work boot containing a right

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foot mail via bone analysis, washed up on Locust Beach

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in Bellingham. The next month, in December of twenty twenty one,

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a size eight new balanced sneaker with human remains was

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found at the mouth of the Elwa River near Port Angelis.

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Using advanced DNA techniques in collect aberration with forensic genealogy,

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investigators identified that foot as belonging to Jerrelyn L. Smith,

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a woman from Sequim, Washington, who had been missing since

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January of two thy eighteen. Only one more foot has

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been found, at least as of the recording of this show,

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but the story goes much deeper from there. July twenty third,

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two thousand and twenty three, Victoria, British Columbia. Most recently,

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a foot washed up on Gonzales Beach in Victoria. This

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occurred after a relative lull of a couple of years.

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As of the time of this recording, few details have

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been released, and the British Columbia corpsar Inner's Service investigation

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is ongoing. This case shows that even over fifteen years later,

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the Salish Sea's strange trend continues to sporadically appear, reminding

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locals that the mystery isn't over. In total, at least

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twenty one discrete feet have been found on beaches around

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the Salish Sea since that fateful day in two thousand

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and seven. The exact count varies slightly by source as

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definitions differ, but over twenty is most certain. They turned

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up on rocky islands and quiet coves in major cities

279
00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:53.039
and remote inlets from Vancouver Island's outer coast to inner

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Puget Sound. The majority were in British Columbia's waters, especially

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around the Strait of Georgia east of Vancouver Island, but

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00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:10.480
a significant few were in Washington's Puget Sound as well. Crucially,

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00:27:11.079 --> 00:27:15.000
many came in matching pairs left and right from the

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same person, and by the late twenty tens, a large

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00:27:19.400 --> 00:27:25.039
number had been identified via DNA as missing persons. Through

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00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:29.359
it all, no signs of tool marks or deliberate severing

287
00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:35.039
were found, only the handiwork of Mother Nature in disarticulating

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00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:39.240
these limbs. But back in the early years of the saga,

289
00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:43.839
the public and press didn't have the benefit of hindsight

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00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:50.799
or forensic clarity. The severed feet sparked rampant speculation and

291
00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:55.920
urban legends of the most chilling kind. From the start,

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forensic experts and oceanographers or into the case to answer

293
00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:06.720
two pressing questions, how do feet come off a body

294
00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:12.039
on their own? And why were so many washing ashore

295
00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:18.200
in this particular region. The answers, it turns out, lie

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in the grisly realities of decomposition, the construction of modern sneakers,

297
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and the vagaries of ocean currents. Over years of investigation,

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scientists methodically pieced together in explanation that while morbid is

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thoroughly rooted in natural processes, one that officials say fully

300
00:28:44.759 --> 00:28:51.480
demystifies the severed feet mystery, even if public fascination persists.

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One key early observation came from the British Columbia Coroner's Service,

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00:28:58.359 --> 00:29:03.039
which by two thousand, AXIS seventeen had a growing database

303
00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:07.079
of these cases. They reported that in none of the

304
00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:13.240
documented cases was foul play suspected. Eight of the first

305
00:29:13.319 --> 00:29:19.759
twelve feet had been identified, correlating to six individuals, some

306
00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:24.400
with both feet found, and all appeared to have died

307
00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:32.599
via accidents or suicide, not homicide. Quote. In none of

308
00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:37.400
the cases was any foul play involved. The Coroner's service

309
00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:43.519
emphasized this official stance was based on multiple forensic indicators

310
00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:47.839
no cut marks on bones, no trauma on the feet

311
00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:53.160
themselves apart from natural wear and tear, and known histories

312
00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:59.599
of depression or accidents for identified persons. Former British Columbia

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00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:06.880
core Barb McLintock explained in twenty sixteen, quote, we pretty

314
00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:11.039
well think we know what happened in every case. It's

315
00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:17.079
not strange serial killers or funny little aliens. Instead, she said,

316
00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:22.039
there's none that have any suggestion of homicide. In every

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00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:28.759
case there is an alternative, very reasonable explanation. Those reasonable

318
00:30:28.839 --> 00:30:33.960
explanations largely boiled down to people who went missing either

319
00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:38.279
by misadventure such as boating accidents or falls into the water,

320
00:30:39.160 --> 00:30:43.400
or by suicide whose bodies ended up in the sea.

321
00:30:45.119 --> 00:30:50.440
But how exactly do feat detach from those bodies? The

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00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:56.680
idea of feet severing naturally can seem bizarre without understanding

323
00:30:56.759 --> 00:31:04.160
the science of decomposition In water, Pathologists and forensic anthropologists

324
00:31:04.279 --> 00:31:08.640
clarify that a submerged corpse will eventually come apart at

325
00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:14.920
the joints due to normal decay and scavenging. Gail Anderson,

326
00:31:15.079 --> 00:31:19.440
a criminal professor and co director of the SFU's Center

327
00:31:19.559 --> 00:31:25.920
for Forensic Research, put it succinctly. Quote feet easily disarticulate,

328
00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:29.400
and when they are attached to a flotation device such

329
00:31:29.720 --> 00:31:34.079
as a running shoe, they are easily washed ashore. In

330
00:31:34.160 --> 00:31:38.480
other words, the ankle is a relatively weak link. As

331
00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:42.599
soft tissues decay, the foot can separate from the leg

332
00:31:43.079 --> 00:31:49.920
without any tool. Marine creatures accelerate this quote. Anthropods will

333
00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:56.359
skeletonize and disarticulate a body quite quickly, depending on oceanic conditions.

334
00:31:56.920 --> 00:32:01.960
Andersen noted her research in included a telling two thousand

335
00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:07.960
and sixteen experiment in which she submerged pig carcasses in

336
00:32:08.039 --> 00:32:13.400
the Salash Sea to study decomposition. The results were ghoulish

337
00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:20.200
but informative. In the oxygen rich coastal waters, scavengers like crabs,

338
00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:25.039
fish and other invertebrates can strip a body to bones

339
00:32:25.240 --> 00:32:29.480
in less than four days. Extremities like hands and feet

340
00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:33.400
are often the first to detach, as ligaments and tendons

341
00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:47.720
rot away. Crucially, modern sneakers played an unexpected but critical role.

342
00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:53.119
Around the nineteen nineties and two thousands, athletic shoe design

343
00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:59.559
had shifted toward lighter, more buoyant materials lots of foam padding,

344
00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:04.880
air pockets and soles, and buoyant rubber. This means a

345
00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:09.640
foot encased in such a sneaker has its own personal

346
00:33:09.720 --> 00:33:13.680
life jacket. It floats to the surface instead of sinking

347
00:33:13.799 --> 00:33:18.200
to the seabed. Quote, You'll notice nobody's washing up with

348
00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:22.519
a stiletto or a flip flop. Andersen pointed out Riley.

349
00:33:23.480 --> 00:33:27.359
The footwear in all the cases was sturdy and floatable

350
00:33:28.039 --> 00:33:33.519
running shoes, hiking boots, never high heels or flimsy sandals.

351
00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:38.720
In fact, the British Columbia Coroner's Service credited the shoes

352
00:33:38.759 --> 00:33:44.000
with both preserving the feet and carrying them ashore. The

353
00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:48.359
tough shoe soles and fabric shielded the flesh from being

354
00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:54.759
completely eaten or degraded. Leaving the foot nicely packaged inside,

355
00:33:55.400 --> 00:33:59.759
while the air filled components provided enough lift for ocean

356
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:06.200
currents to carry them great distances. One veteran investigator mused

357
00:34:06.440 --> 00:34:10.280
that if the same drownings had happened a few decades earlier,

358
00:34:10.760 --> 00:34:14.599
when shoes were heavier, the feet might have stayed sunk

359
00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:19.679
and none of this would have made the news. In fact, McLintock,

360
00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:24.199
the coroner, noted that sneaker technology improvements around the two

361
00:34:24.280 --> 00:34:30.079
thousands likely explain why feet suddenly began appearing after two

362
00:34:30.119 --> 00:34:35.400
thousand and seven and not before. Quote. Now they float,

363
00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:39.320
whereas before they just kind of stayed down there at

364
00:34:39.320 --> 00:34:42.960
the bottom of the ocean, she said, referring to the

365
00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:47.519
proliferation of ultra buoyant souls in the twenty first century.

366
00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:54.079
Oceanographic patterns further explain why the Salish Sea in particular,

367
00:34:54.639 --> 00:34:59.320
became the stage for this drama. The Salish Sea, which

368
00:34:59.320 --> 00:35:03.639
includes the Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound and Strait of

369
00:35:03.719 --> 00:35:09.840
Wandi Fuka, is a complex, semi enclosed network of waterways

370
00:35:09.880 --> 00:35:14.039
with strong tidal currents and winds that tend to funnel

371
00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:19.320
floating debris into certain areas. Surface currents can carry a

372
00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:24.239
floating object like a sneaker bound foot for miles and

373
00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:29.920
often converge on shorelines of islands and narrow inlets. Once

374
00:35:29.960 --> 00:35:34.599
a floating foot hits the shore, it stays waiting to

375
00:35:34.639 --> 00:35:39.480
be discovered. The cluster of finds around the Gulf Islands

376
00:35:39.480 --> 00:35:43.199
and Fraser River Delta suggests the outflow of the Fraser,

377
00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:47.159
the region's largest river, and the tidal geyers in the

378
00:35:47.199 --> 00:35:53.280
straits help deposit objects in those areas. Indeed, as investigators

379
00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:57.559
later noted, body parts routinely wash up in other parts

380
00:35:57.559 --> 00:36:02.199
of the world too, wherever the gaology causes floating flotsam

381
00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:08.719
to accumulate. The Pacific Northwest's population and cold sea mean

382
00:36:08.840 --> 00:36:15.400
many drownings and also good preservation for remains. Kathy Taylor,

383
00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:20.480
a forensic anthropologist in Washington, pointed out that the Salish

384
00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:24.719
Sea is bounded by a metro region of over eight

385
00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:30.360
million people, so statistically there are many cases of people

386
00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:35.960
going missing in the water. Combine that with the coastal dynamics,

387
00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:40.760
and it's not so implausible that occasionally a sneaker clad

388
00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:46.360
foot will drift to a beach. Forensic teams work to

389
00:36:46.440 --> 00:36:52.480
identify the feat whenever possible. DNA was the primary tool,

390
00:36:52.639 --> 00:36:57.239
though it was often degraded by saltwater. In cases where

391
00:36:57.360 --> 00:37:01.440
DNA was too damaged or had no match on file,

392
00:37:02.119 --> 00:37:08.840
they used footwear information and anthropology. Shoe size, brand, and

393
00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:15.000
manufacturing date helped narrow possibilities. For instance, knowing a shoe

394
00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:19.760
model year told investigators the person likely went missing after

395
00:37:19.880 --> 00:37:25.400
that year. They cross referenced missing persons reports by including

396
00:37:25.480 --> 00:37:30.719
shoe descriptions in those reports, something tailor advocates as standard

397
00:37:30.760 --> 00:37:35.480
practice assisting in matches being made when a foot surfaced.

398
00:37:36.039 --> 00:37:40.639
By late twenty twenty one, the British Columbia Coroner's Service

399
00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:45.519
announced that fifteen feet found in British Columbia between two

400
00:37:45.559 --> 00:37:50.800
thousand and seven and twenty eighteen had been positively identified,

401
00:37:51.360 --> 00:37:56.159
all belonging to individuals who went missing prior. Most were men,

402
00:37:56.840 --> 00:38:00.880
some were women. Many were known or prison zoomed to

403
00:38:00.960 --> 00:38:05.239
have died by suicide, off of bridges or shorelines or

404
00:38:05.320 --> 00:38:10.519
in accidents. In the US cases, too, several identifications were

405
00:38:10.559 --> 00:38:15.800
made a missing fisherman, a depressed man feared to have jumped, etc.

406
00:38:17.079 --> 00:38:22.239
With each id police quietly closed another chapter, satisfied that

407
00:38:22.320 --> 00:38:27.559
no murderer was on the loose. One veteran Canadian officer

408
00:38:27.679 --> 00:38:33.320
noted somewhat poignantly that behind each foot was a personal tragedy,

409
00:38:34.119 --> 00:38:39.159
a life lost in sad circumstances, rather than a crime scene.

410
00:38:40.119 --> 00:38:44.960
Quote it's very sad, but it's not a big mystery,

411
00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:50.760
said Gail Anderson in a recent interview, underscoring the consensus

412
00:38:50.880 --> 00:38:56.679
view among experts. However, in the early years before DNA

413
00:38:56.800 --> 00:39:01.480
results came in, the public had no such clarity. The

414
00:39:01.519 --> 00:39:06.320
bizarre nature of these discoveries disembodied feet appearing out of

415
00:39:06.400 --> 00:39:11.559
nowhere led to a flurry of urban legends, wild theories,

416
00:39:12.039 --> 00:39:16.599
and even hoaxes, all of which the scientists and police

417
00:39:17.159 --> 00:39:21.159
had to contend with. The factual answer may have been

418
00:39:21.519 --> 00:39:28.440
scientifically innocent, but that did not stop imaginations from running rampant.

419
00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:33.079
In two thousand and eight, as one foot after another

420
00:39:33.280 --> 00:39:36.679
kept turning up, the who done it aspect of the

421
00:39:36.719 --> 00:39:42.679
mystery captivated people worldwide. If no one was certain yet

422
00:39:43.039 --> 00:39:48.679
that these were accidents, anything seemed possible. The atmosphere was

423
00:39:48.800 --> 00:39:56.880
ripe for conspiracy theories. Tipster's flooded police lines with outlandish suggestions. Quote,

424
00:39:57.480 --> 00:40:03.559
we get some very interesting ti serial killers or containers

425
00:40:03.599 --> 00:40:06.320
full of migrants sitting at the bottom of the ocean.

426
00:40:07.159 --> 00:40:12.239
Aliens had that one as well, said Laura Yazigen, a

427
00:40:12.360 --> 00:40:18.280
human identification specialist with the British Columbia Coroner's Service. Every

428
00:40:18.400 --> 00:40:22.719
time a new foot was found, she added, quote pretty

429
00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:27.000
much every single time, a psychic will call an offer

430
00:40:27.079 --> 00:40:31.800
to help. Some of the more prominent theories and legends

431
00:40:31.800 --> 00:40:36.559
that swirled around the severed feet mystery were far more

432
00:40:36.639 --> 00:40:49.800
sensational and deadly. Starting off the theories and legends a

433
00:40:49.880 --> 00:40:54.199
serial killer with a foot fetish, The notion of a

434
00:40:54.239 --> 00:40:59.480
deranged murderer chopping off victim's feet and tossing them into

435
00:40:59.519 --> 00:41:04.960
the ocean gained quick traction in the popular imagination. It

436
00:41:05.039 --> 00:41:08.920
has all the lurid appeal of a crime thriller, a

437
00:41:09.440 --> 00:41:13.800
sloppy serial killer at work. As one media outlet equipped

438
00:41:14.559 --> 00:41:20.599
online forums and YouTube videos, posited that some unknown psychopath

439
00:41:20.719 --> 00:41:25.559
might be roaming the Pacific Northwest, disposing of bodies, but

440
00:41:26.320 --> 00:41:31.760
oddly keeping only the feet to be found. However, as

441
00:41:32.039 --> 00:41:38.880
forensic evidence accumulated, this theory lost credibility. No signs of

442
00:41:38.960 --> 00:41:43.719
knife or saw marks were found on any bones. In fact,

443
00:41:44.280 --> 00:41:50.039
pathologists explicitly ruled out cutting quote, these were not severed

444
00:41:50.079 --> 00:41:56.480
feet andersen stressed meaning not manually severed. They were quote

445
00:41:56.840 --> 00:42:04.440
disarticulated or separated by natural forces. Moreover, the identified feet

446
00:42:04.599 --> 00:42:09.280
corresponded to unrelated missing persons over a span of years,

447
00:42:10.119 --> 00:42:14.239
not a single common thread one would expect if a

448
00:42:14.280 --> 00:42:20.760
single serial killer were responsible. By now, officials have thoroughly

449
00:42:20.840 --> 00:42:27.199
debunked the serial killer idea as almost certainly not the cause.

450
00:42:28.760 --> 00:42:34.320
Another theory is victims of human trafficking or organized crime.

451
00:42:35.559 --> 00:42:40.239
Some speculated the feat could belong to victims of gang violence,

452
00:42:40.920 --> 00:42:46.360
perhaps bodies dumped at sea by drug cartels or human traffickers.

453
00:42:47.360 --> 00:42:52.760
There were whispers of the mafia's handiwork e g. Executing

454
00:42:52.840 --> 00:42:57.480
people and waiting their bodies under water, only to have

455
00:42:57.599 --> 00:43:03.599
feet break loose. One imaginative version had local gangs cutting

456
00:43:03.679 --> 00:43:09.400
off feet to avoid identification of corpses, but this runs

457
00:43:09.440 --> 00:43:14.320
into the same problem no tool marks, no evidence of

458
00:43:14.400 --> 00:43:19.800
deliberate dismemberment. Law enforcement also found no pattern of crime

459
00:43:19.880 --> 00:43:26.199
victims among the identifications. No ties to trafficking rings emerged.

460
00:43:27.000 --> 00:43:32.199
It appears this theory was fueled more by general anxieties

461
00:43:32.280 --> 00:43:38.199
than any factual basis. The Royal Canadian Mounted police stated

462
00:43:38.320 --> 00:43:42.800
flatly that none of the Canadian cases were linked to

463
00:43:42.960 --> 00:43:48.199
any criminal act. Another concept passed around was the idea

464
00:43:48.360 --> 00:43:52.679
of a missing plane or boating accident that was unreported

465
00:43:53.440 --> 00:43:59.800
early on before identifications. A more plausible but ultimately coincidental

466
00:44:00.079 --> 00:44:06.079
theory emerged. Perhaps all these feet came from a single

467
00:44:06.280 --> 00:44:12.679
catastrophic event in the water. Attention turned to a two

468
00:44:12.719 --> 00:44:17.679
thousand and five plane crash near Quadra Island, not far

469
00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:21.480
north of where some of the feet were found. In

470
00:44:21.559 --> 00:44:26.840
that incident, a small twin Otter seaplane carrying five men

471
00:44:27.039 --> 00:44:31.920
went down. Four of the men's bodies were never recovered.

472
00:44:33.280 --> 00:44:37.840
Families of those victims, desperate for closure, wondered if the

473
00:44:37.920 --> 00:44:42.400
sea was finally giving up their loved ones remains. In

474
00:44:42.519 --> 00:44:47.320
June of two thousand and eight, Kirsten Stephens, sister of

475
00:44:47.400 --> 00:44:50.920
one of the plane crash victims, rushed to the scene

476
00:44:51.039 --> 00:44:56.320
when afoot was found at Campbell River, thinking it could

477
00:44:56.360 --> 00:45:01.719
be her brothers. Quote. We are so frustrated. It's a

478
00:45:01.760 --> 00:45:06.599
constant reminder of the lack of closure, she told reporters.

479
00:45:07.719 --> 00:45:13.639
For a time, investigators did consider this possibility, However, as

480
00:45:13.800 --> 00:45:19.079
DNA identifications came in, none of the feat matched the

481
00:45:19.119 --> 00:45:24.400
profiles of the crash victims nor the timing of their disappearance,

482
00:45:25.159 --> 00:45:30.559
except perhaps one older one from nineteen eighty seven unrelated

483
00:45:30.840 --> 00:45:36.400
to the crash. Similarly, theories that a single large faery

484
00:45:36.599 --> 00:45:42.239
sinking or boating accident had cast multiple victims adrift did

485
00:45:42.280 --> 00:45:46.360
not pan out. The feet were determined to come from

486
00:45:46.559 --> 00:45:53.320
different individuals, not one event. Nonetheless, this theory speaks to

487
00:45:53.360 --> 00:45:58.199
a truth bodies lost at sea, whether from a crash

488
00:45:58.400 --> 00:46:03.400
or a shipwreck, in surface years later, peace by peace,

489
00:46:04.519 --> 00:46:10.920
just not in one neat cluster as imagined. Some hypothesized

490
00:46:11.199 --> 00:46:15.639
that the feet might not even be local, could they

491
00:46:15.679 --> 00:46:21.000
have drifted across the Pacific from far off tragedies. One

492
00:46:21.079 --> 00:46:24.599
idea was that they were victims of the two thousand

493
00:46:24.679 --> 00:46:30.840
and four Asian tsunami, carried over oceans by currents. Another

494
00:46:31.039 --> 00:46:37.239
suggested an earthquake driven mass drowning somewhere. These were quickly

495
00:46:37.280 --> 00:46:43.079
deemed unlikely. Oceanographers pointed out that human remains would not

496
00:46:43.239 --> 00:46:49.119
stay intact over such vast distances and time. Plus, the

497
00:46:49.199 --> 00:46:54.880
shoe brands and types were mostly North American. Indeed, analysis

498
00:46:54.920 --> 00:46:58.519
of the shoes showed they were sold in local markets

499
00:46:59.239 --> 00:47:03.400
in Canada. And the US within the last couple of decades,

500
00:47:04.039 --> 00:47:11.199
not old enough or geographically appropriate for tsunami victims from Asia. Thus,

501
00:47:11.239 --> 00:47:16.280
while flotsam like fishing debris can cross the Pacific, human

502
00:47:16.360 --> 00:47:20.199
feet and recent model sneakers were far more likely to

503
00:47:20.320 --> 00:47:27.400
originate from regional incidents. Inevitably, an eerie mystery will attract

504
00:47:27.599 --> 00:47:33.920
supernatural stories. Jokes about sea monsters or lake creatures biding

505
00:47:33.960 --> 00:47:40.840
off feet circulated, though humorously. Some invoked legends of vengeful

506
00:47:40.960 --> 00:47:45.320
spirits of the sea taking body parts. A few creative

507
00:47:45.400 --> 00:47:50.159
minds posited quote, maybe it's a sasquatch who doesn't like feet.

508
00:47:51.239 --> 00:47:55.679
These were never taken seriously, but they became part of

509
00:47:55.719 --> 00:48:02.519
the cultural chatter, reflecting how uncommeftable the public was with

510
00:48:02.639 --> 00:48:10.559
the mundane truth. Even officials like McLintock humorously referenced aliens

511
00:48:10.599 --> 00:48:16.679
in dismissing absurd theories. In short, the paranormal had no

512
00:48:16.880 --> 00:48:32.639
real foothold beyond adding color to an already unusually strange tale.

513
00:48:33.119 --> 00:48:38.880
Amid all this speculation, hoaxes and pranks unfortunately made an

514
00:48:38.920 --> 00:48:45.360
appearance as well, further muddying the waters. In June two

515
00:48:45.400 --> 00:48:49.039
thousand and eight, at the height of the media frenzy.

516
00:48:49.639 --> 00:48:54.039
When a sixth foot had just been reported, Police were

517
00:48:54.079 --> 00:49:00.000
embarrassed and locals horrified to discover that one supposed foot

518
00:49:01.159 --> 00:49:06.239
was actually a hoax. On June eighteenth, two thousand eight,

519
00:49:06.880 --> 00:49:11.679
someone planted a skeletonized animal paw, likely from a dog

520
00:49:11.840 --> 00:49:16.639
or bear, inside a sock and shoe on a Vancouver

521
00:49:16.800 --> 00:49:21.440
Island beach. It had been stuffed with dried seaweed to

522
00:49:21.519 --> 00:49:27.639
appear convincing. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched an investigation

523
00:49:28.280 --> 00:49:33.480
to find the prankster, and Inspector Brendan Fitzpatrick vented his

524
00:49:33.639 --> 00:49:39.159
anger publicly quote whoever is responsible for this took the

525
00:49:39.280 --> 00:49:42.840
time to ensure the remains were set up to closely

526
00:49:42.920 --> 00:49:48.239
resemble human remains. The insensitivity shown to the families and

527
00:49:48.360 --> 00:49:55.559
the victims involved is unbelievable. Indeed, many families with missing

528
00:49:55.639 --> 00:50:00.800
loved ones were following the news anxiously wondering if one

529
00:50:00.840 --> 00:50:05.920
of the found feet might be their relative. This hoax

530
00:50:06.119 --> 00:50:12.119
cruelly toyed with those emotions. Another prank occurred after the

531
00:50:12.199 --> 00:50:16.639
eleventh foot was found in August of two thousand and eleven.

532
00:50:17.920 --> 00:50:22.119
Someone left several running shoes filled with raw meat on

533
00:50:22.199 --> 00:50:28.679
a beach in British Columbia mimicking the discoveries. Police quickly

534
00:50:28.760 --> 00:50:33.079
determined those were not human and likely a sick joke.

535
00:50:34.639 --> 00:50:40.000
Such incidents, while isolated, ad confusion and showed how the

536
00:50:40.079 --> 00:50:46.519
mystery had captured the dark side of public fascination. Throughout

537
00:50:46.599 --> 00:50:50.320
two thousand eight and two thousand and nine, the media

538
00:50:50.440 --> 00:50:55.440
sensationalism around the severed feet was running at full tilt,

539
00:50:55.960 --> 00:51:02.159
which only encouraged more wild theories and occasional copycats. It

540
00:51:02.239 --> 00:51:07.519
took consistent messaging from scientists and law enforcement over the

541
00:51:07.599 --> 00:51:13.360
years to finally quell the conspiracies, but for a time,

542
00:51:14.159 --> 00:51:18.119
the Salish Sea foot mystery felt like a real life

543
00:51:18.280 --> 00:51:23.440
crime thriller, unfolding in slow motion on the nightly news.

544
00:51:24.400 --> 00:51:30.079
From local newscasts to international headlines, the media played a

545
00:51:30.159 --> 00:51:34.719
pivotal role in shaping the severed feet saga. In the

546
00:51:34.760 --> 00:51:40.760
initial months, reporting was straightforward, a strange find on a beach,

547
00:51:41.199 --> 00:51:46.920
an investigation under way, But as the count of feet climbed,

548
00:51:47.599 --> 00:51:53.639
journalists and their audiences leaned into the macabre curiosity of

549
00:51:53.719 --> 00:51:59.679
the story. Sensational monikers like the mystery of the Floating

550
00:51:59.719 --> 00:52:05.760
Feet and British Columbia's six foot of separation blared from

551
00:52:05.880 --> 00:52:11.039
newspaper front pages. Each new discovery was greeted with a

552
00:52:11.159 --> 00:52:17.519
mix of alarm, morbid humor, and ghoulish excitement. In the press,

553
00:52:18.920 --> 00:52:22.719
Canadian outlets wrestled with how to cover such a grisly

554
00:52:22.840 --> 00:52:28.960
topic without veering into tastelessness. The Vancouver's Sun treated it

555
00:52:29.039 --> 00:52:33.599
as a serious mystery, their headline being Mystery of the feet,

556
00:52:34.400 --> 00:52:39.599
whereas the more tabloid Province newspaper ran the optimistic, if

557
00:52:39.679 --> 00:52:46.039
bizarre headline sixth foot Raises Hope, implying that finding a

558
00:52:46.119 --> 00:52:52.119
matching foot might solve the case. The breathless coverage fed

559
00:52:52.239 --> 00:52:57.840
public intrigue. As one scientist observed, there is a morbid

560
00:52:57.960 --> 00:53:04.000
fascination with such subjects, and the media knows it. The

561
00:53:04.039 --> 00:53:08.280
story soon leapt across borders. The Guardian in the UK

562
00:53:08.559 --> 00:53:13.760
ran an incredulous piece about the baffling feet on Canada's coast,

563
00:53:14.559 --> 00:53:18.239
joking that even on a sunny day, a place named

564
00:53:18.320 --> 00:53:24.239
Savage Road yielded a severed foot. Newspapers in Australia and

565
00:53:24.440 --> 00:53:29.199
South Africa picked it up too. The alliterations and wordplay

566
00:53:29.239 --> 00:53:35.519
were often irresistible. One headline asked, why is it always feet?

567
00:53:36.760 --> 00:53:41.039
Late Night TV took notice as well. David Letterman quizzed

568
00:53:41.079 --> 00:53:45.159
Canadian audience members about the phenomenon in a tongue in

569
00:53:45.239 --> 00:53:52.199
cheek segment, bringing the mystery into popular culture. This intense

570
00:53:52.360 --> 00:53:57.159
media spotlight had a feedback effect on the public, as

571
00:53:57.239 --> 00:54:03.519
forensic anthropologist Kathy Taylor noted, quote the reason it's becoming

572
00:54:03.559 --> 00:54:07.880
a phenomenon is it's gotten a lot of press. Now

573
00:54:07.960 --> 00:54:13.719
people are checking. Beach combers started paying extra attention to

574
00:54:13.840 --> 00:54:17.599
any shoe on the shore where previously they might not

575
00:54:17.719 --> 00:54:22.840
have been bothered. Indeed, after so many news stories, an

576
00:54:22.920 --> 00:54:28.719
unattached sneaker now prompted a call to police, resulting in

577
00:54:28.800 --> 00:54:34.639
more reports, including false alarms. In this way, media coverage

578
00:54:34.719 --> 00:54:39.079
may have actually increased the number of feet found, simply

579
00:54:39.159 --> 00:54:45.159
because citizens were on high alert. Taylor dryly remarked that

580
00:54:45.199 --> 00:54:48.960
the feat showing up had partly become a self fulfilling

581
00:54:49.039 --> 00:54:56.519
prophecy of awareness. Quote, now people are checking inside every shoe.

582
00:54:56.639 --> 00:55:03.519
The media also, at times sensation and even mischaracterized the discoveries.

583
00:55:04.239 --> 00:55:10.440
The term severed feet itself, while catchy, is somewhat misleading.

584
00:55:11.119 --> 00:55:17.440
It implies cutting or a violent act. Authorities repeatedly clarified

585
00:55:17.480 --> 00:55:24.000
that the feet were not severed by tools, but detached naturally,

586
00:55:24.840 --> 00:55:31.400
and some outlets eventually adjusted language to disarticulated feat or

587
00:55:31.519 --> 00:55:39.840
simply mysterious feet instead. Still, severed feet remained the popular

588
00:55:39.920 --> 00:55:44.800
phrase that stuck in public discourse. Even we are using

589
00:55:44.840 --> 00:55:50.960
it as the commonly known description. Documentaries and podcasts later

590
00:55:51.119 --> 00:55:55.360
delved into the story. When it comes to documentaries, and

591
00:55:55.840 --> 00:56:00.559
of course podcasts that have delved into the story, they

592
00:56:00.639 --> 00:56:06.199
often use spooky narration and eerie music, playing up the

593
00:56:06.239 --> 00:56:14.280
creepiness before delivering the by comparison, mundane truth. In twoenty

594
00:56:14.559 --> 00:56:20.519
twenty three, the Netflix docuseries Files of the Unexplained featured

595
00:56:20.559 --> 00:56:25.159
the case, with the episode title surely designed to hook

596
00:56:25.280 --> 00:56:30.480
viewers on the weirdness before explaining it away, calling it

597
00:56:30.599 --> 00:56:42.039
the floating Feet of Salish Sea. One can argue the

598
00:56:42.159 --> 00:56:48.119
media initially inflamed fears some locals truly worried at killer

599
00:56:48.679 --> 00:56:54.239
might be at large, or that something fundamentally sinister was happening.

600
00:56:55.119 --> 00:56:59.760
Only after police and coroners held press conferences with clear

601
00:56:59.800 --> 00:57:05.480
findings no foul play, likely accident victims, etc. Did the

602
00:57:05.519 --> 00:57:12.280
coverage shift toward explaining the science. By December twenty seventeen,

603
00:57:12.440 --> 00:57:17.000
for example, when yet another foot was found on Gonzales Beach,

604
00:57:17.760 --> 00:57:22.119
news stories were quick to include the official line that quote,

605
00:57:22.679 --> 00:57:28.280
there is nothing sinister and all cases so far were accidents.

606
00:57:29.119 --> 00:57:35.719
Outlets like vaux and National Geographic published detailed explainers to

607
00:57:36.000 --> 00:57:40.159
educate the public that this was more of an oceanographic

608
00:57:40.280 --> 00:57:45.760
oddity than an unsolved crime. In a way, the media

609
00:57:45.880 --> 00:57:50.440
had helped solve the public mystery by disseminating the scientific

610
00:57:50.559 --> 00:57:55.639
evidence as it emerged. At the same time, the severed

611
00:57:55.679 --> 00:58:00.159
feet acquired a cultural residence thanks to the media attention.

612
00:58:00.960 --> 00:58:04.159
They showed up in trivia lists where the subject of

613
00:58:04.280 --> 00:58:09.320
late night jokes and inspired crime fiction. One crime novel

614
00:58:09.360 --> 00:58:14.079
in Norway was reportedly influenced by the story. The phrase

615
00:58:14.599 --> 00:58:19.400
severed feet in Vancouver became a byword for a creepy,

616
00:58:19.559 --> 00:58:24.559
unsolved mystery, even long after it had been largely solved

617
00:58:24.679 --> 00:58:30.400
by science. The media's role was thus double edged. They

618
00:58:30.440 --> 00:58:36.559
amplified the intrigue with puns, speculation, and global attention, but

619
00:58:36.719 --> 00:58:43.079
also eventually amplified the resolution by broadcasting the expert's conclusions.

620
00:58:44.079 --> 00:58:47.639
It's a textbook case of how modern mysteries can go

621
00:58:47.840 --> 00:58:50.679
viral and take on a life of their own in

622
00:58:50.719 --> 00:58:56.360
the press, sometimes outpacing the facts on the ground. By

623
00:58:56.400 --> 00:59:00.719
the late twenty tens, the official conclusion from lawlaw enforcement,

624
00:59:00.840 --> 00:59:07.239
and scientists was unified and firm no crime occurred. The

625
00:59:07.360 --> 00:59:12.599
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the British Columbia Coroner's Service, and

626
00:59:13.000 --> 00:59:17.880
Washington State authorities all concurred that the severed feet were

627
00:59:17.920 --> 00:59:23.239
the results of suicide's accidents and natural decomposition. Foul play

628
00:59:23.360 --> 00:59:27.400
was ruled out in every case examined. As Sergeant Pierre

629
00:59:27.480 --> 00:59:31.280
Chopra of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police summarized in one

630
00:59:31.360 --> 00:59:37.880
briefing quote, it's simply a matter of unfortunate coincidences compounded

631
00:59:37.920 --> 00:59:43.760
by ocean currents. We have no evidence pointing to any homicide.

632
00:59:43.800 --> 00:59:48.239
This encapsulates numerous statements made by officials over the years.

633
00:59:49.239 --> 00:59:54.599
The scientific rationale backing them up included all the elements discussed,

634
00:59:55.199 --> 00:59:59.800
the tendency of feet to disarticulate, the buoyancy of modern shoes,

635
01:00:00.360 --> 01:00:05.079
the identification of the individuals and their likely causes of death,

636
01:00:05.639 --> 01:00:10.159
and the lack of any forensic evidence of cutting or bondage.

637
01:00:11.199 --> 01:00:14.519
In essence, the authorities came to view the severed Feet

638
01:00:14.639 --> 01:00:19.639
Mystery as not a mystery at all, but a collection

639
01:00:20.320 --> 01:00:26.559
of unrelated personal tragedies that only appeared mysterious because of

640
01:00:26.599 --> 01:00:33.199
the quirky way the remains surfaced. Many independent journalists and

641
01:00:33.360 --> 01:00:39.079
investigators who studied the case have accepted this conclusion. The

642
01:00:39.159 --> 01:00:44.039
Vice newspiece tellingly titled Floating Feet Mystery is more boring

643
01:00:44.159 --> 01:00:47.840
than you think. Put it bluntly, ten out of the

644
01:00:47.880 --> 01:00:52.320
first fifteen feet were linked to people who died accidentally

645
01:00:52.880 --> 01:00:56.280
or by suicide, and the remaining ones were paired up

646
01:00:56.360 --> 01:01:00.800
to just a couple of other individuals. Former coroner mclintox

647
01:01:01.039 --> 01:01:05.320
quote to Canadian Press, in every case there is an alternative.

648
01:01:05.800 --> 01:01:10.239
Very reasonable explanation has been borne out by the evidence.

649
01:01:11.280 --> 01:01:15.000
No cover up or nefarious cover story seems to be

650
01:01:15.159 --> 01:01:20.199
at play. The transparency of releasing identifications and causes when

651
01:01:20.280 --> 01:01:25.599
known has bolstered public confidence that this really was a

652
01:01:25.639 --> 01:01:33.599
freak natural phenomenon. That said, are all questions fully settled?

653
01:01:34.960 --> 01:01:40.880
Not entirely. Some independent observers point to a few lingering

654
01:01:41.000 --> 01:01:46.960
mysteries that keep the story intriguing. For one, a handful

655
01:01:47.000 --> 01:01:52.480
of the found feet remain unidentified to this day, including

656
01:01:52.639 --> 01:01:56.960
as of this recording the second Botanical beach foot of

657
01:01:57.000 --> 01:02:01.719
twenty sixteen and the Gunza tell Us beachfoot of twenty

658
01:02:01.800 --> 01:02:08.239
twenty three, among possibly one or two others without identities.

659
01:02:08.760 --> 01:02:13.480
We don't know those individuals stories. It's presumed they too

660
01:02:13.679 --> 01:02:18.599
were lost at sea in accidents or suicides, but families

661
01:02:18.719 --> 01:02:24.280
haven't come forward, or perhaps the persons were never reported missing.

662
01:02:25.519 --> 01:02:31.079
This leaves small gaps where conspiracy minded folks can still wonder,

663
01:02:32.079 --> 01:02:36.239
what if could one of them have been foul play

664
01:02:37.079 --> 01:02:44.159
after all, just cleverly disguised by the ocean. Investigators say

665
01:02:44.280 --> 01:02:49.599
there's no evidence of that, but absence of evidence can't

666
01:02:49.840 --> 01:02:57.400
entirely quash speculation. Another subtle point. While science answered the

667
01:02:57.599 --> 01:03:03.280
how feet detach and float and who many identified as

668
01:03:03.800 --> 01:03:09.679
missing persons, it doesn't always answer the why those people

669
01:03:09.920 --> 01:03:20.360
ended up in the water in the first place. For

670
01:03:20.599 --> 01:03:26.280
confirmed suicides, we have an answer. For some it's an accident,

671
01:03:26.519 --> 01:03:30.440
like a fisherman who fell overboard in a storm, or

672
01:03:30.920 --> 01:03:35.679
the elderly Stanley Akumoto who may have slipped, but a

673
01:03:35.719 --> 01:03:41.039
few cases might forever lack context. Only a foot was found,

674
01:03:41.840 --> 01:03:47.000
nothing of the rest, leaving cause of death technically undetermined.

675
01:03:48.400 --> 01:03:54.039
This uncertainty However, Slim leaves room for narratives beyond the

676
01:03:54.119 --> 01:04:00.239
official line, though none with any hard proof. Perhaps that's

677
01:04:00.320 --> 01:04:05.800
the biggest reason the story remains so unsettling and captivating.

678
01:04:06.559 --> 01:04:13.000
Is psychological and visceral. Even with a perfectly logical explanation,

679
01:04:13.840 --> 01:04:18.400
The imagery of random human feet washing up on idyllic

680
01:04:18.480 --> 01:04:25.000
beaches is deeply disturbing. It confronts us with mortality in

681
01:04:25.039 --> 01:04:30.599
a dismembered form, literally parts of people appearing without warning.

682
01:04:31.679 --> 01:04:37.639
That's not something easily forgotten or rationalized away. The cultural

683
01:04:37.719 --> 01:04:42.719
resonance of the Severed Feet comes from this jarring contrast,

684
01:04:43.679 --> 01:04:48.039
the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest versus the horror

685
01:04:48.480 --> 01:04:53.519
of human remains. The ordinary, everyday object of a shoe

686
01:04:54.320 --> 01:05:00.760
versus the extraordinary sight of a foot inside it strikes

687
01:05:00.800 --> 01:05:05.920
a cord of morbid fascination, a reminder of the ocean's

688
01:05:06.039 --> 01:05:11.519
power both to conceal and reveal. As one read its

689
01:05:11.559 --> 01:05:15.400
summary neatly put it, the Severed Feet serve as a

690
01:05:15.440 --> 01:05:19.760
haunting reminder of how the sea can erase whole persons

691
01:05:20.519 --> 01:05:26.559
yet return a piece to shore, Hinting at many untold

692
01:05:26.679 --> 01:05:32.840
stories in British Columbia and Washington, The saga of the

693
01:05:32.840 --> 01:05:37.960
floating feet has even entered local folklore in a modern sense.

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Beach goers swapping stories might recall where they were when

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they heard about the fifth foot, or joke darkly when

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they see an old shoe washed up, better check if

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it's occupied. It's the kind of communal ghost story that

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lingers because it actually happened even now. Every few years,

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when another lonely foot bobbles ashore, the headlines briefly return,

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and so do the shivers. Officials will patiently reiterate the

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01:06:17.320 --> 01:06:22.440
likely truth, and the public will nod. But then we'll

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01:06:22.440 --> 01:06:26.719
share the news article with a friend, marveling that it's

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01:06:26.800 --> 01:06:31.480
happened again. The severed feet mystery, solved or not, has

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cemented itself as a piece of Pacific Northwest lore. In

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the end, what began as a gruesome puzzle turned into

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01:06:41.400 --> 01:06:48.360
a testament to the power of science to illuminate the unknown. Oceanography,

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01:06:48.760 --> 01:06:54.320
forensic pathology, and DNA analysis collectively unraveled the enigma that

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had spooked so many. The severed feet washing up in

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01:06:58.599 --> 01:07:02.440
British Columbia were not the work of a hidden serial

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01:07:02.519 --> 01:07:09.159
killer or supernatural curse, but rather the coincidental outcome of

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tragic deaths and natural forces. This official explanation is thorough

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01:07:15.639 --> 01:07:20.719
and satisfying to experts, and yet to the public, the

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01:07:20.760 --> 01:07:25.480
sense of mystery endures, perhaps because it speaks to our

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01:07:25.519 --> 01:07:31.599
deeper fears of disappearing without a trace of nature's indifference,

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01:07:32.079 --> 01:07:36.119
of loved ones lost to the deep. Each foot that

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01:07:36.400 --> 01:07:41.599
washed ashore carried a tale of life ended, but also

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01:07:41.840 --> 01:07:47.679
offered a chance for closure, a paradox that is both

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sad and strangely compelling. As of today, most of those

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01:07:55.519 --> 01:08:00.639
once anonymous feet have a name attached and a story known.

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But should you ever find yourself walking a misty beach

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in the Gulf Islands and spot a lone sneaker in

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the racked line, you'll likely feel a hesitation, a flutter

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of morbid curiosity, and recall the legend of the severed feet.

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You might poke it with a stick, just to be sure,

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your mind racing with possibilities in that unsettled moment, science

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01:08:36.560 --> 01:08:42.000
and legend meet, and the chilling mystery of the Salish

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01:08:42.039 --> 01:08:51.439
Sea lives on, lapping at the shoreline, with each incoming tied,

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01:08:53.399 --> 01:08:57.319
terrifying and true. Is narrated by Enrique Kuto. It's executive

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01:08:57.359 --> 01:09:01.399
produced by Rob Fields and Bobotopia dot com and produced

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01:09:01.439 --> 01:09:04.720
by Dan Wilder with original theme music by Ray Mattis.

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01:09:05.000 --> 01:09:07.159
If you have a story you think we should cover

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01:09:07.239 --> 01:09:10.199
on Terrifying and True, send us an email at Weekly

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01:09:10.399 --> 01:09:13.239
Spooky at gmail dot com, and if you want to

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01:09:13.239 --> 01:09:15.079
support us for as little as one dollar a month,

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as little as one dollar a month keeps the show going.

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01:09:21.399 --> 01:09:23.479
And speaking of I want to say an extra special

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01:09:23.520 --> 01:09:26.600
thank you to our Patreon podcast boosters, folks who pay

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01:09:26.600 --> 01:09:28.199
a little bit more to hear their name at the

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01:09:28.279 --> 01:09:31.000
end of the show, and they are Johnny Nix, Kate

741
01:09:31.079 --> 01:09:35.720
and Lulu, Jessica Fuller, Mike Escuey, Jenny Green, Amber Hansburg,

742
01:09:35.800 --> 01:09:38.800
Karen Wee, Met Jack Ker, and Craig Cohen. Thank you

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01:09:38.880 --> 01:09:41.359
all so much and thank you for listening. We'll see

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01:09:41.399 --> 01:09:45.720
you all right here next time on Terrifying and True