Eighth severed foot washes up on Canada's Pacific coast

Another severed foot inside a dirty athletic shoe has washed up on Canada's Pacific shore, following seven similar gruesome discoveries since August 2007, police said yesterday.

The foot in a white Nike running shoe, size 8.5, was discovered Tuesday by two men walking on a beach in a suburb of Vancouver, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

The British Columbia coroners office is conducting a forensic autopsy and other tests to try to match it to missing persons, police said.

Seven feet were previously found along the rugged coast of British Columbia province and the neighbouring US state of Washington, including one later determined to have belonged to a missing man who was depressed.

DNA testing has not yet determined the identities of the others, said police.

Scientists say the feet could have drifted dozens or thousands of kilometres because human body parts can remain intact in water for years when protected by shoes or sturdy clothing.

"There has been no evidence to date to support foul play in relation to these discoveries and it appears that all remains separated from the body, disarticulated, through a natural process," police said.