WHIDBEY ISLAND — Someone taking a nice walk along the beach near Greenbank got a strange surprise this morning.
Around 11:30, a beach walker found a human right foot washed up on the shore, said Ed Wallace, a detective with the Island County Sheriff’s Office.
The foot is small, and appears to belong to a female or a child, officials said. They believe the foot was in the water less than two months. It wasn’t wearing a shoe.
Greenbank is on the east side of the island, facing Saratoga Passage.
Island County investigators are asking police at nearby agencies to check missing persons lists. There are no known suicides off Deception Pass Bridge that would match the foot, especially in the last two months. DNA testing is planned.
In recent years numerous feet have washed up near Vancouver, B.C. Officials don’t believe this case is related.
“We’ve never had a foot wash up (here) before,” Wallace said.
For now, the foot is at the Island County Coroner’s Office. A forensic pathologist will come take samples and send them to the state crime lab.
When a human body is submerged in the ocean, it’s common for the arms, legs, hands, feet and head to detach, the Associated Press reports.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com
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