Police investigating washed-up feet knew about an unidentified, footless body found off the shores of Orcas Island in Washington before media reports last week, RCMP Constable Annie Linteau said yesterday.
But she wouldn't say when they found out about the body or what actions they've taken to work with authorities in Washington to see if it is connected to the disembodied feet discovered on B.C.'s shores.
Five detached feet have washed up in the past 12 months, sparking a police and forensic investigation and heated speculation as to their origins. Two of the feet belong to the same person, and a third has been connected to a man who went missing from the Lower Mainland a few years ago.
"I was told that we knew about [the body] before the media uncovered this story and we're in the process of investigating that," Constable Linteau said.
"All I can say is we've been in contact with them, but the extent and all that, I can't comment on."
Hiker James Hahne found skeletal human remains missing both hands and feet on Orcas Island on March 21, 2007. Forensic investigators estimate the person was about 5'9" and more than 30 years old. Investigators think the body entered the water two to 12 months before being found.
San Juan County coroner Randall Gaylord said Canadian authorities didn't contact him to ask about the body until last Thursday. According to documents from the sheriff's office, U.S. authorities informed the Canadian Police Information Centre about the find in May, 2007. Sheriff office records don't show any contact by the RCMP regarding the detached feet until July 17 of this year.
Mr. Gaylord said his office received a request that day from B.C. Coroners Service for a DNA sample from the body found on Orcas Island.
"We're making arrangements to send a piece of the remains that we have to them so that they can do the DNA analysis on their own schedule," he said. "I think that they'll find a lab that's able to do it quicker than we are. We'll just get that up to them early this week and they'll be able to follow through."
Mr. Gaylord said it looks as though the hands and feet became detached from the body during a natural decomposition process. RCMP have said evidence indicates all five feet found in B.C. separated the same way.
Richard Thomson, a physical oceanographer with the Institute of Ocean Sciences, said if there is a connection between the B.C. feet and the Washington body, the body probably originated near the San Juan Islands and the feet became naturally detached after the body washed up on Orcas Island. That said, he doesn't think the DNA analysis will yield any leads.
"My guess is that they won't find a linkage between the body and the feet," he said. "Everything is probably heading out toward sea - [the feet] would have more likely headed out the Juan de Fuca Strait and out into the ocean."
Last week RCMP confirmed they had matched the foot found Aug. 20, 2007, on Jedediah Island to a man from the Lower Mainland who went missing within the last five years. Police confirmed the match through familial DNA. Constable Linteau said yesterday the man's family has asked that he not be identified. She couldn't comment on the man's age or the circumstances of his death. "All I can say is that this person was in some emotional distress when this person was last seen, and we obviously entered into a missing persons investigation ... when it was first reported to us," she said.
The foot was clad in a Campus brand running shoe - the only shoe of the five not sold in North America. Campus shoes are made by Delhi-based Action Shoes and are sold primarily in India.
Constable Linteau said it's hard to say whether the shoe's rarity made it easier for family members to identify.
RCMP have received 10 other tips regarding missing persons since they published information July 10 on the shoes that have been found. Constable Linteau said investigators have narrowed their search of missing-persons files to 57 men and 159 women, all of them lost in B.C.
