Sixth foot found to be a fake!
Vancouver
Published: Thursday, June 19, 2008
The “sixth foot” is a fake.
The remains found in a shoe near Campbell River on Wednesday — the “sixth foot” that garnered international attention and speculation — are in fact not human.
Someone inserted a “skeletonized animal paw … into the shoe with a sock and packed [it] with dried seaweed,” the B.C. Coroners Service (BCCS) confirmed on Thursday.
The discovery on Wednesday marked the sixth “foot” found washed ashore in the area since last August. All were encased in a sneakers. Only the latest one has been ascertained a fake.
“It is the position of BCCS that this type of hoax is reprehensible and very disrespectful to the families of missing persons.
“It fuels inappropriate speculation and creates undue anxiety for families and communities while wasting valuable investigative time and resources that could be spent on the main investigations,” the service said in a media release.
The coroner’s investigation into this incident has been called off.
But RCMP investigators are looking to begin a new investigation into the hoax.
“Time was taken to ensure that the remains were set up to closely resemble human remains,” explains Insp. Brendan FitzPatrick, operations officer for B.C.’s major crimes section.
The RCMP is recommending Campbell River detachment pursue public mischief and potentially cruelty-to-animal charges agains the person or persons involved.
“While it is a relief that there was a not a human victim involved, the fact somebody would perpetrate a hoax such as this is disturbing,” says FitzPatrick.
“Due to the nature of these incidents over the past year, many families with missing loved ones are closely watching and wondering if it is their loved one who has been found. The insensitivity shown to the families and the victims involved is unbelievable.”
Perpetrating hoaxes that require a police response is a criminal act and not harmless entertainment, the RCMP wants everyone to remember.
“While we always encourage people to err on the side of caution and call the police if they find something suspicious, we won’t tolerate people who are simply doing something for a laugh or for attention,” FitzPatrick said.
Due to the latest developments, RCMP will be releasing “certain facts regarding the overall investigation” in the coming days.
The coroner’s service will continue to investigate the other five cases in which human feet turned up in shoes along the coast. No further information was available about any of the incidents.
DNA taken from the first three feet hasn’t been matched to any samples that identify them.
The first foot was found in a size-12 sneaker last Aug. 20 on Jedediah Island, between Lasqueti and Texada islands.
The second foot, in a size-12 Reebok, was found on Gabriola Island, off Nanaimo, six days later.
The third foot was found on Valdes Island, south of Gabriola, on Feb. 8.
The fourth was found on May 22 on Kirkland Island, off Richmond.
The fifth was found off Westham Island in Ladner on Monday.
Anyone with information regarding the Campbell River shoe hoax is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or Campbell River RCMP detachment at 250-286-6221.
Anyone with information with respect to the previous legitimate discoveries of the five shoes containing human remains is also asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
-with files from Katie Mercer and Cassidy Olivier
Severed foot found in B.C. Waters 