Canadian officials say 6th foot a hoax

VANCOUVER, Canada -- British Columbia’s coroner’s office is calling the discovery of a sixth floating human foot a hoax, saying it was really an animal paw stuffed inside a running shoe.

At first, the discovery Wednesday deepened the mystery surrounding the feet, which have been found floating along island shorelines in the Strait of Georgia, which lies to the south and west of the provincial capital of Vancouver.

But the coroner’s office today called the latest find a hoax, saying an animal’s foot had been inserted inside the shoe.

Authorities say they haven’t reached any conclusions about the origin of the five human feet found since last summer.

Authorities say they haven’t reached any conclusions about the origin of the feet but are trying to determine whether there are any links to any other partial remains recovered in the province.

Terry Smith, the chief coroner of British Columbia, said this week that DNA profiles from the first three feet have not helped to determine identities because they have not matched any existing samples.

Smith and others have suggested that the feet didn’t sink but floated to shore because they were encased in buoyant running shoes.

The first three feet washed ashore on islands about 40 miles southwest of Vancouver. The first foot was discovered last summer by beachcombers. Days later, a foot was found inside a man’s Reebok sneaker. The remains of a third right foot were found Feb 8.

The fourth foot was found May 22 on Kirkland Island in the Fraser River, about 15 miles south of Vancouver. About a mile away, the fifth foot -- the only left foot -- was discovered Monday morning floating off Westham Island.