After a year's gap, the mystery of B.C.'s floating feet is back.
On Tuesday, two men out walking on a beach in Richmond found a human foot washed up on shore. The right foot was encased in a white Nike running shoe, size 8.5, and was discovered at No. 6 Road and Triangle Road alongside the Fraser River.
This is the seventh human foot found on B.C. shores, and the eighth found along the Pacific coast since 2007.
The B.C. Coroners Service confirmed that the foot is human, but says it is too early to tell its origin. Coroners will conduct further examinations, including a DNA analysis.
RCMP Corporal Annie Linteau said forensic examination and the DNA tests will be used to build a profile in an attempt to discover to whom it belonged.
Cpl. Linteau said there is no evidence of foul play, nor any sign the foot was forcibly severed. That's also the case with the other six feet that have washed up on B.C. shores.
She said feet keep showing up on B.C.'s shores because the shoes protect the feet of a body in the water.
"It's possible that other body parts may be decomposing much more quickly," she said.
RCMP, local police and the coroners' service have been investigating the six other feet that washed up at several sites along the Fraser River and the Georgia Strait.
The first foot was identified as belonging to a depressed man who went missing that year and is assumed to be dead.
Two sets of matching feet have also been found; one belonged to an unidentified man and another belonged to an unidentified woman.
On Feb. 8, 2008, a foot also was discovered near Port Angeles, Wash.