18 Severed Feet Have Washed Up On This Beach And No-One Knows Why

A severed foot encased in a running shoe has washed up on a stretch of beach, making it the 18th in 10 years.

The truly bizarre case of the Salish Sea has been thrust back into the spotlight after the latest gruesome find, which was reported to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on December 8.

According to authorities, a man was walking his dog on a beach in Jordan River, a piece of the coastline between Canada and the US, when the animal came across the dismembered limb.

The foot, which had part of the leg attached, was still inside a trainer and has been confirmed to be human.

British Columbia Coroners Services spokesperson Andy Watson said that a search for the rest of the body had been unsuccessful and that experts were working to identify the remains and determine how the victim died.

It has been almost exactly 10 years since the first severed foot washed up along the coast of the Salish Sea; on August 20, 2007, a size 12, right foot wearing a shoe made in India was found and later linked to a man who had suffered depression and most likely died from suicide.

A running shoe containing a human foot discovered on February 7, 2016, at Botanical Beach was matched to a second running shoe found five days later by a beachcomber, although the deceased's identity is still not known.

Of the 18 feet that have floated ashore, they're the only two that belong to the same person.

Five other victims have been identified and, while authorities don't believe that foul play occurred in any of the 18 cases, popular theories of serial killers roaming the beaches and chopping up bodies are once again doing the rounds.

"[These stories are what] some people do think," coroner Barbara McLintock told Buzzfeed Canada last year. "Sad but true.

"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'."

So why are they all wearing the same type of shoes? Air pockets, says forensic expert Gail Anderson.

"[Trainers are] basically a flotation device, so it's going to hold it all together and get it washed ashore," she explained.