The Severed Foot Mystery continues to deepen as a fifth partially-submerged foot was discovered yesterday on a British Columbia shoreline.
AP reports that the left foot was discovered by a couple of passersby on Westham Island. The island is located in the mouth of the Fraser River, roughly 10km south of Vancouver International Airport.
As with the previous discovery, the foot was still wearing the shoe. No word yet on the brand. [Update: it’s an Adidas, size 10!]
In spite of the similarities, police say it is too early to draw conclusions that link this foot to the other four that have washed ashore in previous months. While they are treating this as a criminal investigation, there is as yet no evidence that foul play is involved. The RCMP indicated that:
“there’s no evidence the feet were severed or removed from the victims’ legs by force.”
This could be just, you know, your random, run-of-the-mill floating foot. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer, explained that:
“the feet could have drifted from as far as 1,000 miles away. Ebbesmeyer said the feet could have been severed or detached from their bodies on their own.”
COULD have been detached from the bodies on their own is NOT the same as LIKELY.
If they could come from 1000 miles away, how is it that all five turned up within the same small region of Canada? THAT is not only improbable; it’s downright impossible. The ocean is not yet employed by UPS or FedEx. And if even one of them traveled that far, it’d have been gnawed on by a series of ocean predators, too. It would draw sharks like a moth to a flame. The bones would then be excreted and sink to the ocean floor. What are the odds that any piece of meat could travel, say, from Africa to Canada and still be recognizable? If it weren’t so gruesome, the idea would be hilarious.
Of course, it’s foul play, and local, at that. The reports don’t mention any knowledge of HOW the feet were detached – by a powerful blow, or by sawing, gnawing, etc. Maybe they’re too deteriorated to determine it, but I wish they’d have mentioned at least that much. I think they CAN tell, but aren’t talking about it publicly, so there may be a good reason for that.
It’s certainly quite a mystery, and the public naturally wants the explanation. Local people NEED an explanation, because it might bear directly on their personal safety. I know I wouldn’t want to live in a place where loose feet – or any random human body parts – simply “turn up” from time to time.
I’ve only just learned of this, but it doesn’t seem they’re telling us the genders of all these victims. Does anyone know? It could have great significance, of course.
But the conundrum is not in getting DNA samples, but finding the people to whom they might be a match. Looking into recent disappearances is probably the best shot. Of course, they can know the gender and probably the race of the people who once owned the feet, and a few other things, as well, like age, blood type and more. But not enough to identify the poor souls who are now footless or dead. For that, they’d have to suspect that the foot in question might belong to a certain person who isn’t around any more, or is recently footless without reasons given.
Since it IS foul play, one must also ask the question: WHY? For what reason, other than pure, psychopathic hate and sadism, would any criminal amputate someone’s feet and toss them in the sea?
Of course, in Islam, amputations are a common form of punishment under Shari’a, or Islamic Law. Is it possible that this is the work of Muslims in BC, who don’t feel bound in the least by Canadian laws? We already know, beyond ALL doubt, that there are many Muslims in Europe, most notably in England, who illegally practice such things as amputations, honor killings, stonings and forced marriages, not to mention everybody’s favorte: female “circumcision” – hey, hey.
I haven’t heard of such things happening in the Muslim communities of Canada or the U.S., but there’s always the possibility of a first time. Muslims on our side of the pond appear to be more willing to live by the law and comfortably accept the culture, without the fierce hatred we see elsewhere in the free world. I hope that’s not just an illusion.
It could, of course, be the work of a cult, most likely a lesser-known or newer one, that thinks foot-removal is fine as paint. Maybe they object to dancing or something – or walking…
Other than that, all that’s left to look into are routine reports of missing persons.
I have full confidence, though, that in time the pieces will certainly come together. They will probably identify the owners of the feet within a few months, and start looking for things that might tie them together somehow. From there, tying them together to try and determine a perp will take much more time, and might easily fail, too.
I hope they catch the bastards. And I hope – though it’s not bloody likely – that the owners of the feet turn up, at least alive, even if footless.
Hey, Canadians? You’re pretty cool folks. Just thought I’d add that here.
Holly,
I agree, this has got to be foul play. My guess would be organized crime. But of course, I’m being entirely speculative.
The oceanographer’s theory seems pretty implausible… but hey, he’s an expert on such things, or at least the AP holds him out to be one.
They are doing DNA tests, and, as you suggested, they are looking at missing persons first.
As for the Muslim connection, I see no basis for that. I’ve never heard of amputations being used as punishment in any Canadian muslim community. While there’s a first time for everything, I believe that it is much more common for the hand to be amputated (e.g. for theft), and not the foot.
Incidentally, “honour killings” do happen on both sides of the pond. See e.g. http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Honour-killing-case-judge-summing.4191080.jp and http://www.thestar.com/News/article/444667 . Both are articles from today; one is from the Yorkshire Star, the other from the Toronto Star.
p.s. I too hope they catch these bastards :)
Also note that honour killings have nothing to do with Islam, and that there has never been in the over 1400 years of history of Islam any enforcement of capital punishment of any form while living under non-Islamic rule.
Bernie Farber of the Canadian Jewish Congress was recently quoted in The Star,
Holly, thank you for a perfect demonstration of the hatred and xenophobia that characterizes our age.
That post about honour killings is interesting.
At first glance, I thought it rather shocking that Jordan (and other countries) have codified protection for the perpetrators of honour killings.
Then I looked back at our own Criminal Code, section 232 of which provides for a reduced penalty (i.e. murder is reduced to manslaughter) in the case of provocation.
This means that the potential sentence is effectively reduced from mandatory life in prison to a discretionary sentence with no minimum (unless a gun is used).
Section 232 covers instances where, for example, a husband kills his wife after walking into his bedroom to find her with another man.
Article 340 of the Jordanian Criminal Code, according to the post, reads: “A husband or a close blood relative who kills a woman caught in a situation highly suspicious of adultery will be totally exempt from sentence.”
While ultimately, the sentences may differ, the principles informing these two laws are probably the same.
Many (if not all) Common Law jurisdictions have similar provisions.
I agree it is almost certainly foul play. I doubt if is anything to do with Muslims. There is not a particularly large Muslim population in British Columbia, for one thing.
A sixth right foot, also from a male, was found today at Campbell River, and a witness who saw the foot said it looked like the bones had been cut off cleanly. Very gruesome. I’m guessing it’s something to do with organized crime. There is a lot of gang activity around Vancouver.
OK, I am not a scientist, but is it possible that the feet are protected in the shoe as no other part of the body would be, so would survive longer in the ocean. Almost mummified. Is it possible they are remains from the tsunami that were caught in a special current that passes this local? Or perhaps some other distant event? There could be literally thousands, eaten, sunk, etc and these are just a few that made it this far? “Far” fetched? Obviously feet in sandles or bare would not survive the ocean, thus the American made brands? I guess other items from that location would have washed up if this was the case? Did other items wash up?
I have seen many shoes in my life lying around beaches, roadsides, paths, and it never occured to me to examine them to see if they contained a foot!
um im sure thoughs are nike if the talking about that photo..