6th severed foot surfaces off Canadian coast
Pastor Dale Morgan
Sixth severed foot surfaces off Canadian coast*
* Story Highlights
* At least five other feet since August that have surfaced off
Canadian shores
* The latest foot showed up in a shoe, authorities say
* It could takes weeks or months to use DNA science to identify the
body parts
* Mystery has garnered attention around the world
(CNN) -- A severed foot -- the sixth this year -- washed up on the shore
of a Canadian island on Wednesday, police said.
Severed feet have washed up on Westham Island, south of Vancouver,
British Columbia.
Severed feet have washed up on Westham Island, south of Vancouver,
British Columbia.
The right foot was found by a local woman walking on the beach, said
Sgt. Mike Tresoor of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the town of
Campbell River on Vancouver Island, British Colombia.
Authorities were planning an afternoon news conference to release more
details.
The foot was the sixth discovered on shorelines in the area since
August, according to local police and media reports. Another foot -- a
severed left foot still clad in a shoe -- was found Monday on the shore
of Westham Island, south of Vancouver. Police said it was taken to a
coroner for DNA testing.
The severed left foot, which was in a shoe, was taken to a coroner for
DNA tests, she added.
"Our first step is to establish identity," said Constable Sharlene
Brooks of the Delta Police Department in British Columbia. "It is a
little mysterious, but we don't know if it is linked to others."
The Vancouver Sun newspaper said the first four feet found in the area
were all right feet, making the foot found Monday the only left foot.
Although the gruesome finds have drawn international attention, police
said it may take some time to unravel the mystery.
"We suffer from the 'CSI' effect; people think this can happen very
quickly," Brooks said. "It could take weeks or months. And even if we
get a DNA sample, we need a sample to match it with."
The mystery has caused a stir and given birth to many rumors, locals
say. One newspaper has began investigating a rash of young men who have
gone missing in the area.
Some have wondered if the feet could belong to a group of men who were
in a plane that recently crashed in the waterway where the feet were found.