Jun 14, 2022 03:12 PM
https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/canada-severed-feet/
EXCERPTS: Over the past decade and a half, 21 feet have washed up on the shores of the Salish Sea, the body of water that straddles the U.S.-Canada border on the Pacific coast. That’s just one foot short of an entire soccer team.
Is this the work of a sloppy serial killer with a foot fetish? Well… no. Perhaps the weirdest thing about the Case of the Severed Feet is that foul play has been ruled out — but not before the mystery had gone viral...
[...] Bodies don’t just decompose; when they sink, they are picked apart by scavenging creatures of the deep. Those bottom-feeders prefer parts of the body with softer tissues — around the orifices, but also including the ankles. ... While what remains of the body stays put on the sea floor, the gnawed-off feet float to the surface — at least, if they’re buoyed by recent-generation sneakers...
[...] DNA analysis allowed the RCMP to link most of the feet to persons that had been reported missing and were presumed dead due to accident or suicide. The New Balance sneakers belonged to a woman who had jumped off a bridge; the first foot from Jedediah Island was linked to a man known to be suffering from depression who had been missing since 2004. The foot found in November 2011 was matched to a local fisherman who had gone missing in 1987. In all, three pairs of feet were “matched” to each other.
As mentioned, the latest sneakered foot turned up in 2019, and given footwear trends, it is unlikely to be the last. However, the phenomenon of severed feet was known locally long before modern sneaker technology made its occurrence more likely... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: Over the past decade and a half, 21 feet have washed up on the shores of the Salish Sea, the body of water that straddles the U.S.-Canada border on the Pacific coast. That’s just one foot short of an entire soccer team.
Is this the work of a sloppy serial killer with a foot fetish? Well… no. Perhaps the weirdest thing about the Case of the Severed Feet is that foul play has been ruled out — but not before the mystery had gone viral...
[...] Bodies don’t just decompose; when they sink, they are picked apart by scavenging creatures of the deep. Those bottom-feeders prefer parts of the body with softer tissues — around the orifices, but also including the ankles. ... While what remains of the body stays put on the sea floor, the gnawed-off feet float to the surface — at least, if they’re buoyed by recent-generation sneakers...
[...] DNA analysis allowed the RCMP to link most of the feet to persons that had been reported missing and were presumed dead due to accident or suicide. The New Balance sneakers belonged to a woman who had jumped off a bridge; the first foot from Jedediah Island was linked to a man known to be suffering from depression who had been missing since 2004. The foot found in November 2011 was matched to a local fisherman who had gone missing in 1987. In all, three pairs of feet were “matched” to each other.
As mentioned, the latest sneakered foot turned up in 2019, and given footwear trends, it is unlikely to be the last. However, the phenomenon of severed feet was known locally long before modern sneaker technology made its occurrence more likely... (MORE - missing details)