Found Feet Flummox Fuzz

What appears to be a separated human foot-- still wearing a shoe--has been found on a riverbank, according to Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It is the sixth in a series of severed feet found washed ashore in British Columbia, stumping Canadian authorities.

The latest foot -- still wearing a left New Balance running shoe -- was found on the south arm of the Fraser River by a Richmond, British Columbia, couple, police said. It was turned over to the British Columbia Coroners Service for examination and DNA testing, authorities said.

Before Tuesday, five feet -- all wearing running shoes -- had washed ashore in southern British Columbia since August 2007. One of them, a right New Balance shoe, was found May 22 on Kirkland Island. That foot was determined to belong to a female, authorities said.

The provincial coroners' office said in July that DNA tests determined that two of the five feet -- a right foot found February 8 and a left foot found June 16 -- were from the same male, but they said they didn't know to whom any of the feet belonged.

The provincial coroners' service said in July that the five sets of remains found to that point appeared "to have naturally separated (disarticulated) from the body." There was no forensic evidence, such as tool or trauma marks, on the remains to suggest that they had separated in any way other than decomposition, the service said.

Authorities are investigating multiple possibilities on the origin of the feet, including foul play and the chance they could belong to victims of a plane crash. The RCMP has released photos of the shoes hoping someone can help identify the remains. "We are asking anyone who may have had their loved one last seen wearing [these] shoes to contact us immediately," Linteau said.