A gruesome mystery surrounding dismembered feet that keep washing ashore in British Columbia added another limb to its tally, bringing the total number of the unexplained body parts to an unsettling fourteen. The latest 'mystery foot' was discovered by a man walking down the beach of BC's Gabriola Island over the weekend. This particular entry into the macabre catalog was a foot clad in a work boot and found stuck in a logjam by the aghast man who stumbled upon it.
According to a media report out of Canada, authorities have since taken possession of the foot and are attempting to determine who it may have once belong to and, presumably, what unfortunate turn of events may have led to them becoming separated. However, it's unlikely to be an open and shut case, based on the previous thirteen dismembered feet which have been found on various shores of British Columbia since 2007. Of those, around seven were linked via DNA to missing persons, while the owners of the other feet remain a mystery.
As to why these dismembered feet keep washing ashore in the region, there are a handful of theories which stand out among the rest. Perhaps the most unnerving hypothesis is that they are the handiwork of a serial killer, although authorities insist that the condition of the feet suggests that is not the case. Other possibilities put forward by researchers is that the feet belonged to victims of the 2004 tsunami, which seems like a stretch considering how long ago it occurred, or that they are from people who perished in accidents on the high seas.
This past Sunday's find follows a previous discovery of a dismembered foot which took place in December. Considering that happened only a few months ago, one hopes that this is not the start of a wave of body parts set to wash ashore in the area or else authorities in Canada will have a serious foot problem on their hands.