Sneakers with dismembered feet inside keep turning up in Seattle

May 9, 2014 5:36 AM By Andy Brooks

King County Medical Examiner’s Office picture of the sneaker and foot that washed ashore
A human foot in a white sneaker washed up on the shore at a Seattle park Tuesday.

The Seattle Times reported that volunteers cleaning the park found the shoe and foot. The port turned it over to the Medical Examiner’s Office and police.

This foot is the thirteenth found in a sneaker since 2007 in the region, which includes Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia.

In a couple of cases, investigators were able to connect the feet to men who had been reported missing. Experts speculate that the sneakers preserve the feet, which can come apart from a body as it decomposes. Then, once the foot is loose, the sneaker’s buoyancy means that the foot may rise to the surface and wash to shore.