Sources of the Feet

The Vancouver waterways provide a prime location for this particular phenomenon. With three major waterways running through Vancouver alone, the Fraser River, False Creek and the Burrard Inlet, theres plenty of entry points for human remains to be pushed out to sea only to resurface (BCPassport). While some of the feet haven’t been identified, those that have were found to belong to people who went missing due to likely attempts on their own lives. The feet almost certainly came from the waterways as they emptied in to the ocean due to the natural barrier that Vancouver Island and the accompanying land masses create. The Puget Sound creates a “net surface water flow… outward into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and [the] Pacific Ocean” (Pacific Standard). This water current prevents such foreign and fragile objects from coming in from the ocean but explains how the abundance of body parts may be turning up on Canada’s shores. Body parts wash out in to sound between the islands and are trapped where they then decompose and come back ashore as flotsam.

Map of the Vancouver area showing its rivers, streams and other bodies of water

Locations where all of the feet have been discovered

Aug 20th 2007, identified mentally ill man

Aug. 26th 2007, size 12 Reebok

Feb. 8th 2008, man identified, other foot also found months later

May 22 2008, Reebok of woman who jumped off bridge in 2004

May 22 2008, New Balance belonging to woman who committed suicide in 2004

June 16th 2008, matching foot found to man from February 8th incident

Aug. 1st 2008, black size 11 washes up just south of Canadian waters

Oct. 27th 2009, remains of local man discovered

Aug. 27th 2010, woman or child's shoe disvovered

Dec. 5th 2010, boys size 6 hiking boot

Stefan Zahorujko's foot found on November 4th 2011

Dec. 10th 2011

January 26th 2012, human foot found near Arbutus St in Vancouver

February 7th 2016, Hikers discover foot washed ashore near Vancouver

February 12th 2016, matching foot found to the one from five days earlier

Switch to satellite view or zoom out to view all points, click on or hold the mouse over a point to get a brief description.