The mystery has left investigators scratching their heads—or, perhaps more appropriately, their feet.
For almost two decades, more than 20 human feet—many still encased in sneakers—have washed ashore along the coastlines of Washington state and British Columbia, according to Parade and FOX 13.
The unusual discoveries initially fueled fears of a serial killer or shark attacks. In reality, however, the explanation is far less sinister.
The strange sequence began in 2007, when a 12-year-old girl discovered a men’s running shoe containing a foot on British Columbia’s Jedediah Island, according to Parade. The following week, a couple hiking on Gabriola Island found another foot.
The unsettling mystery continued to find its footing.
DNA testing identified most of the feet found in British Columbia, and some were determined to belong to the same person.
In one case, investigators were able to connect two discoveries after a pair of size 11 Nike sneakers washed up on separate British Columbia islands months apart in 2008. The shoes belonged to a 21-year-old man from Surrey who had been reported missing four years earlier, according to the BC Coroners Service press release.
By 2011, three feet had also been found on beaches in Washington state, the BC Coroners Service said.
Another foot was discovered in Vancouver’s False Creek that year, followed by two found at British Columbia’s Botanical Beach in 2016. The latter pair were wearing men’s New Balance sneakers. Based on when the shoes went on sale, officials estimated that their owner died sometime between March 2013 and December 2015.
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In 2018, another foot washed up in West Vancouver. One more appeared on Victoria’s Gonzales Beach in 2023. At that point, the coroner told CityNews Vancouver, “This is now an open investigation.”
Despite speculation that the discoveries pointed to a murderous spree, British Columbia investigators found no evidence of foul play in any of the deaths. Some were linked to accidents or suicide, and none showed signs of trauma.
BC Coroners Service spokesperson Barb McLintock also dismissed theories involving “strange serial killers” or “funny little aliens.”
“Which some people do think. Sad but true,” McLintock told The Canadian Press in 2016. “A lot of this is simply the quelling of the public imagination, to say, ‘No, this is unfortunate and they’re all very sad cases.’”
Why Did Human Feet Keep Washing Ashore in Washington and British Columbia?
So what is really afoot? The answer is considerably less gruesome than the circumstances suggest.
When a body remains underwater, natural decomposition breaks down the tissue around the joints. That process can eventually separate the foot from the leg, according to Parade.
And why do feet appear to wash ashore more often than hands? The answer may lie in the shoes themselves.
“Running shoes of today are more buoyant,” BC Coroners Service spokesperson Stephen Fonseca told ABC News in 2011. “And it’s a very rational explanation that when the feet do disarticulate, through marine scavenging and decomposition, the shoe will bring the foot back up to the surface and it will float there until it reaches shoreline.”
