VANCOUVER — A British Columbia coroner says vivid imaginations, rather than undetected serial killers, are likely to blame for fears arising from disembodied feet washing ashore on the West Coast.
The recent discovery of two human feet encased in running shoes on a beach in Port Renfrew, B.C., brings to 14 the number of feet found in similar circumstances since 2007.
The BC Coroners Service says 10 of the previous feet found were identified as belonging to seven different people, but no deaths were attributed to foul play.
Coroner Barb McLintock says there are plausible, scientific explanations for the tragic findings — and the service wants to quell the myth that something nefarious is going on.
She says suicide and accidents have been determined as the cause of death for the people whose feet washed up, which naturally separated after a lengthy period in the ocean.
She says it's wonderful fodder for TV show scriptwriters, but the stories don't match reality.