Beyond Rivalry

Now a sixth severed foot has washed up on the shores of British Columbia, encased in an athletic show like all the others.

It was a hoax!, an animal paw skeleton stuck in a shoe.  (Isn't that a bit obvious? I guess not.)

Anyway, the first five feet were real human dead feet, four of them right feet, the fifth foot, which washed up on Monday, the only left foot. The leading theory seems to be that the feet and shoes might belong to four of the five men who were killed in a float plane crash in the area in Feb. 2005 (the fifth man's remains were found and identified soon after the crash). Where are the rest of the bodies? Why would the feet all detach? 

I don't know if I would be taking more beach walks or fewer if I lived near the Campbell River in Vancouver, B.C. ...  Hello, CSI: Canada!

More facts and theorising ...  "The leg bone was still attached to the foot bone and there was no remaining muscle. The leg bone was 'cut on a straight line" just 3 to 4 inches above the ankle.' ... DNA profiles developed for the first three feet do not match any known missing-person cases. ... It's unlikely the feet are washing in from the Pacific Ocean. Rather, they're probably originating from B.C. waters. ... A disarticulated foot could float for up to 1,600 kilometers in a buoyant sneaker."

23 June 2008 update: More speculation, particularly as DNA testing has now concluded that three of the feet don't belong to any of the plane crash victims. Results are still pending for the remaining two feet.

10 July 2008 update: Two of the five feet belong to the same person, a male, and one of the feet belongs to a woman. As that article mentions at the end, another foot washed up on Tuesday in southern Sweden.  Photos of the 'Canadian'shoes at the National Post, plus more details.