With earth’s 5 oceans and 7 seas, we humans are surrounded by water; a powerful element that can either sustain us or destroy us. Since the beginning of time, these bodies of water have been used to both figuratively and literally wash away our sins, containing many secrets of life and death. But what happens when the water just can’t keep a secret any longer?
It was a beautiful day on Jedediah Island, British Columbia, Canada on Aug 20, 2007. A young girl and her family walked along the shoreline, admiring the views of massive pine trees and rock formations. A mild breeze toyed with the girl’s hair and as she pushed the strands away from her eyes, a glint of sunshine revealed something odd, but familiar near the water. She approached it slowly and as she got near she realized it was a shoe. A size 12 men’s right Adidas shoe with a sock inside to be precise. Peering at it, the sock looked to be full of something. Curious as to what could be inside, the girl opened it, revealing (to everyone’s horror) the most obvious of answers; a man’s right foot.
Six days later, a couple walked hand-in-hand on the beaches of Gabriola Island which was approximately 88 Km from Jedediah. As they talked and made their way along the sand, they too made a gruesome discovery. A size 12 shoe with a man’s foot still inside. Were there pieces of this man strewn around the Salish Sea? Though that was a possibility, the full answer was much worse. The foot this couple found was also another right and the brand of shoe was Reebok. This could only mean there were at least two dead men. Was there a serial killer on the lose?
With the public on high-alert and no other body parts found, the police struggled to identify the victims by their feet. The search for other human remains began, but would reveal nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true. Six months would pass before another body part turned up in the area. It just wasn’t the kind of lead the police were hoping for.
On February 8, 2008, a size 11 right Nike shoe with a man’s foot still inside was found on Valdes Island, just south of Gabriola Island. Police were working hard to identify the manufacturing date of each of the three shoes found; where they had been made, where they had been sold, and when they had been sold. Who were these victims? Were their cases related? What happened next baffled police and began to spark media attention around the world.
On May 22, 2008, a fourth right foot was found on a small island in the Fraser Delta in British Columbia. This time, the socked foot was from that of a female wearing a New Balance sneaker. Did this change in the pattern mean anything? Did this woman meet the same fate as the three men before her or was this a coincidence? The people demanded answers.
One month later, on June 16, 2008 on Westham Island, BC, just East of Valdes Island, two hikers came upon a man’s left foot floating in the Delta waters. Desperate for some of these puzzle pieces to start coming together, the police finally had a match to the right foot found in the Nike shoe in February at Valdes. The deceased was identified as a 21-year-old man from Surrey, BC who was reported missing in 2004. The authorities concluded that the cause of death must have been from misadventure or suicide, though no other remains could be found for analysis. This did not bring any comfort to the local inhabitants of the BC islands. The shocking discoveries just kept coming.
On August 1st, 2008, a camper near Pysht, Washington in the US came upon a strange looking object jutting out of a pile of seaweed on the beach. It was a size 11 black athletic shoe with a man’s right foot still inside. This was the first foot discovery that was outside of British Columbia. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) worked with the Calallam County Sheriff’s Department and came to an agreement that the foot had likely floated south from Canadian waters. Things were looking pretty grim, but the police were about to solve another case.
Three months had passed before a second matching foot was found. On November 11, 2008, a female New Balance left shoe containing a left foot was found floating in the Fraser river in Richmond, BC. A DNA test confirmed the match and the deceased was identified as a known woman who jumped from the Pattullo Bridge in New Westminster four years earlier.
The public and police enjoyed nearly one year of peace in the case of the mysterious disarticulated feet, but the water wasn’t done telling it’s tale. In 2009, four days before Halloween, a Vancouver man’s right foot washed ashore a beach in Richmond, wearing a size 8 1/2 Nike running shoe.
A 9th foot was found in August of 2010 and was said to have belonged to a child. It had washed up on Whidbey Island in Washington and was not wearing a shoe or a sock. Though DNA was collected for testing, no match could be found in the national database. Later that year in Tacoma, Washington, a 10th foot wearing a boy’s size 6 Ozark Trail hiking boot was found 225 Km south of Vancouver. The victim was never identified.
In 2011, three more feet were found. The first one was in August at False Creek, BC. It was a man’s size 9 running shoe floating next to a marina. The lower leg bones up to the knee were still attached. The second one was found in November and was discovered in a pool of fresh water by a group of friends who were camping at Sasamat Lake, BC. You can imagine that none of them were in the mood for ghost stories around the bonfire that night. The last foot to be found in 2011 was the most gruesome discovery of all. In December, at Lake Union, Seattle, Washington a human leg bone with the foot still attached was recovered from under a bridge. It was wrapped in a black, plastic bag. This could not be classified as death by misadventure or suicide. This had to be foul play.
Foot number 14 was found the following month in January, 2012. The discovery was made in Vancouver when a boot washed up on the sand at dog park. This would be the last find in 2012. Another period of reprieve from the seemingly endless menagerie of human foot discoveries would last about two years.
The stillness was broken on May 6th of 2014 in Seattle, Washington when another New Balance shoe, this time a men’s size 10 1/2, was found along the shoreline of Centennial Park.
Foot number 16 and 17 were found by hikers on Feb 7 and a separate party on Feb 12 in 2016 on Vancouver island on Botanical Beach. Coroners were able to confirm that these two feet were a match, but could not advise on the cause or identity of the deceased.
Foot number 18 washed up on Vancouver Island from the Jordan River on Dec 8, 2017.
At the time of this writing the last foot to be found was back on Gabriola Island on May 6, 2018 by a man walking along the shore. It was wearing a hiking boot.
Much of this phenomenon is still a mystery. Since no other body parts were found, it is extremely difficult for experts to advise or even suggest what has happened to each of these victims.
Why is it only the feet that wash up?
When a human body is left to decompose in open waters, it is subject to the elements and, shall we say ‘hungry’ marine life. As the water moves and the tissue is eaten away, joints (such as ankles) will break away from the rest of the body. Many of the feet that were discovered were preserved by the rubber shoes, a buoyant material that could be carried away with the current. This is why hands and wrist bones do not work the same way.
It doesn’t seem like we will ever truly solve the mystery of the feet in the Salish Sea. A secret partially told is still a secret. Are the islands of BC one of the most haunted places in Canada? I think so.