13th sneaker-clad human foot washes ashore in British Columbia

Canadian officials are investigating after a human foot washed up on the shores of British Columbia – marking the 13th time in the past decade that tides have carried a sneaker-clad foot on to its coastline.

The grisly find was made earlier this month by Mike Johns as he walked his dog along the scenic southern coast of Vancouver Island, near Jordan River. After a large object tangled in sea kelp captured the dog’s attention, Johns leaned in for a closer look.

What he saw was a fibula and tibia attached to a left foot, all of it encased in a white sock and black Velcro shoe. “By the looks of it, the foot was totally intact. The ankle bone still worked and the bones were attached at the base of the knee,” Johns told CTV News.

After calling police, Johns carried the foot home for safekeeping, worried that high tides might wash the foot back into the ocean or that it would attract the attention of wildlife in the area.

The find was the latest in a series that has sparked speculation around the world. Since 2007, another dozen feet have washed up in British Columbia, each of them clad in running shoes.

Some point to natural disasters, such as the 2004 tsunami, or plane or boat accidents at sea. Others theorise that the feet might be the work of a serial killer or organised crime.

At times pranksters have also sought to add fuel to the fire. “We’ve had people put dog foot skeletons in runners and leave them on the beach,” Barb McLintock of the BC coroner’s office said the last time a foot washed up in February 2016. “And somebody even used old chicken bones.”