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Mystery of the Disembodied Feet

Ratings: 6.70/10 from 30 users.

Mystery of the Disembodied FeetThe real world of forensic science is rapidly expanding. Researches are finding new ways to extract clues from the dead.

But one bizarre case is pushing forensics to its limits. In Western Canada something grisly is washing the shore. Human feet. Investigators have little to go on. How do you complete a puzzle with just one piece?

In 2007, on Jedediah Island in British Columbia, a 12 year old girl walks along the beach. She stumbles upon a man's sneaker. Curiosity compels her to look inside. She finds the remains of a human foot.

Six days later and 30 miles away, on Gabriola Island, a couple discovers another foot. The two do not match. They're both right feet.

Five months later, on near by Valdes Island, forest workers find a third shoe. It's also a man's right foot. Nine months after the first foot was found the caretaker of Kirkland Island finds a woman's right shoe. Inside is a decomposing foot.

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32 Comments / User Reviews

  1. Amy

    Has anyone stopped to question why only right feet?

  2. Lana

    They have already explained this. They are the feet of suicides (and possibly drunkards) who jumped (or fell) from high places (usually bridges) into the water. They often hit feet first and the traumatic impact often detaches the feet from the body.

  3. Blackgriffin

    This has happened in Washington state, too. The authorities have never identified whose feet they were. Some of them were still in shoes.

  4. jimmyjackcorn

    first thing i think of is bodies from a tsunami, tons of people get washed to sea, and the sea creatures probably ate the bodies and would leave the shoes...

  5. ross rossiter

    bless my sole that was grim

  6. Judith Iscariot

    If it wasn't intentional, "baby steps" was a pretty amazing pun for use when talking about disembodied feet.

  7. kroper113k

    So why they can't link the approximate times of death with the product release dates? Trainer (sneaker) designs change every six months or so, why can't they get a rough idea from isolating the product lines of shoes themselves ?

    1. Running Man

      Some people wear sneakers for years.

      I have a pair of sneakers that I have used occasionally which are about 7 years old.

  8. kimsta

    Canada has some bad a** people believe it or not (I AM CANADIAN) . its probably some sort of people involved in drugs who cut off the feet of people who f--k around and then they throw them in the water.. these people are so caught up in the lifestyle they cant go to the cops to to say what actually happened, they lie about what happend to the foot at the hospital and it never is reported. CASE CLOSED

  9. Db

    I wish they would date these documentaries. Seems only logical to me.

  10. PatronOfTheDay

    Fascinating. One can only hope that the strides currently being taken in forensic science will one day solve this mystery. Peter Coyote is the best narrator, by the way.

    1. Charlie Miller

      strides... wink wink. good one my friend, good one

  11. megatron_mcdaniels

    foul play is afoot!

  12. southab403

    As Imightberiding said:
    "They still don't know all the results or the why of these discoveries but several pairs have been matched & a few missing persons cases closed. They believe several came down the Fraser river, not from the ocean & may have been bridge suicides."

    Modern running shoes, with air filled soles, float very well and can travel long distances. None of the feet had been amputated (all had naturally decomposed from the body). Boating accidents, suicides, air crashes and general missing persons claims have been linked to the DNA found in the feet.

    River currents and ocean tides help explain why so many of them have been found washed up on the shore.

  13. pwndecaf

    I thought Canada used the metric system.

  14. Iain Nicoll

    I lived in Victoria while this was going on. I think I came up with a good city motto:

    "Beautiful Victoria...just feet from the ocean!"

  15. Imightberiding

    This doc is a few years old & more feet have been found on the shores along the coast in the last 3 years since this film was made. All feet have separated naturally from the legs & have been fairly well preserved as a function of modern athletic shoe design as most if not all were discovered in running shoes of some sort. They still don't know all the results or the why of these discoveries but several pairs have been matched & a few missing persons cases closed. They believe several came down the Fraser river, not from the ocean & may have been bridge suicides.

    As for the comment about the Japanese tsunami, this has been going on for several years prior to the earthquake & resulting tsunami. We are finding other debris washing up on the west coast of Vancouver Is. from Japan.

    I live on Vancouver Island & can't help but see all the new & recent discoveries & theories in the local news. This was fairly well done & even knowing most of the details already, it was worth watching. The story certainly could use an update as it has not ended... yet.

    1. Deborah Macaiodh Selim

      Could these have been regurgitated or left alone because they were indigestible? I think we can all agree that we didn't really understand how sturdy these plastics were going to be until recently (and by this I refer to the general public and probably law enforcement, too). I bet it's a solvable mystery with the right amount of money. It's just not a priority right now and probably shouldn't be. Imagine all the things that could be explained if we had unlimited resources. There would have to be "profit" involved to get that kind of attention these days, a fact that I find to be just gross.

  16. chard01

    folks let me tell you this is medical pranksters.the finding of two left feet on a beach washing up, have you any idea the chances of that with the coastline of b.c. As for the feet, well feet are'nt given the same respect (medically)termed appendages unlike the head or torso.medical students can get access. Feet get no respect.i feel confident it is medical pranksters as they are a shower of insurance thieving turds.

  17. pjle

    These are Tsunami Victims Obvious when the crabs and shrimp were consuming and the preservation of the feet.If a fridge can float from Japan let me know.

    1. beansighe

      it started happening before the tsunami

  18. You Tube

    well isnt it obvious ? bodie parts/organs being sold on the black market , no bone marrow in feet so thrown away. most of the rest of the body is usefull.

  19. Glen Hale

    Suicide jumping of a tall bridge feet first, hitting the water is like landing on concrete.

  20. Bruun-olsen Ken

    I would guess that maybe they could have all come from a downed aircraft? I'm thinking that in a few cases anyway the bodies of victims ARE NOT recovered, or that it might simply have been an aircraft that was flying off the grid or whose flight manifest has not been considered. The forensics were really interesting and I would love to hear the/a conclusion to this mystery. Great documentary, Cheers.

  21. christophers

    The link is there,but wont be stated in the mass media....Listen to Sheriff Paulides and Rense interview on youtube. "GONE MISSING" ....there are bizarre cases documented through North America in the wilderness areas....and it is not a human suspect...

  22. wald0

    Weird but interesting- I can't believe it is simply a coincidence but I have no real guesses as to what happened. Serial killers who keep trophies do just that, they keep them. They don't throw them in the river or ocean. I didn't catch whether the feet were cut off while these people were alive or not. If so it could be someone torturing and taunting before they kill. Really I will have to re-watch this to have a valid opinion, I kept falling asleep. Not that it was boring, I just had a long night.

    1. Gerald Smith

      The feet were not cut off. They separated naturally.

  23. Christinne

    1. Ritual sacrifice
    2. some CIA/military escapees, finally found and killed
    3. simply a smart killer