Human foot found inside shoe on sand

The shoe (now empty) that was discovered by kayakers. Anyone with in­formation about the case should contact the Sheriff’s Office. Photo courtesy of Sheriff's Office

No other re­mains were found, said sheriff’s Com­mander Tim Athey.

The right foot found Sunday did not appear to have been forcefully removed from the leg, he said.

Nearby kayakers noticed a shoe sticking up from the sand. They paddled to the shore to inspect the brown leather, mid-top lace-up shoe and discovered the foot inside.

Athey said authorities combed the surrounding area to see if they could locate any other body parts.

It was unknown whether the foot belonged to a male or a female.

The foot was sent to Oakland for DNA testing, and the results will be fed into a missing person database.

Athey said the deputy coroner made contact with the several police agencies to determine if they knew of a missing person the foot might have belonged to.

Since 2007, seven feet in running shoes have been located along shores in the Richmond area of British Columbia area, and so far only one body has been identified as being the origin of one of the feet, according to Associated Press articles.

When a human body is submerged in the ocean, feet and other extremities often detach naturally, experts said.