6th mysterious human foot washes up in Canada

VANCOUVER - FOR the sixth time in less than a year, a human foot encased in a running shoe has washed ashore in Canada's Pacific coast province, a witness and police said on Wednesday.

A woman on a beach near Campbell River, a fishing town on Vancouver Island, discovered a right foot inside a black Adidas men's running shoe, witness Sandra Malone told AFP.

'You could see the two bones coming up out of the shoe,' said Ms Malone, who manages a tourist campground 220km northwest of Vancouver.

'It's just the bone and a lot of seaweed around the ankle,' she said.

Since August five right feet and one left foot have been found along the rugged south coast of the province of British Columbia, sparking international speculation about a possible murder mystery, or that they are remains of airplane or boat accident victims.

Scientists say the feet could have drifted dozens or thousands of kilometres because human body parts can remain intact in water for years when protected by shoes or sturdy clothing.

Ms Malone said the woman who found the foot came to her office to call the police, then accompanied her to the beach to look at the foot.

Police Sergeant Mike Tresoor told local media the foot was a man's size 10.

Local media speculated that the feet may belong to four men whose bodies vanished after their float-plane crash on Quadra Island, near Campbell River, in February 2005.

But the British Columbia Coroner's Service said DNA tests have not yet matched the profiles of missing people.

Adding to the mystery is that the sixth foot was found hundreds of kilometres north from the site the first five feet were found.

Ms Annie Linteau of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the force's major crime unit is coordinating the investigation with local police. -- AFP

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What happened to the five left feet and one right foot?