Bones, flesh found in shoe on Wash. beach

PORT ANGELES — An athletic shoe containing bones and flesh has been found on a beach about 30 miles west of Port Angeles, and authorities are investigating whether it may be linked to a series of human feet found in shoes in nearby British Columbia waters.

A woman walking along the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the mouth of Jim Creek found the black high-top shoe on Friday. She reported it to Clallam County sheriff's officials on Saturday.

The discovery comes nearly a year after the first of five shoes containing feet were found washed ashore in British Columbia.

Detective Sgt. Lyman Moores said the shoe probably belonged to a man, but he couldn't identify the brand or size.

"What it was is, it was a sock inside the shoe that appeared to contain decomposed flesh," he said. "We don't know at this point whether that's animal, whether it's human, or what it is."

Five athletic shoes containing human feet have been found along the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland since August 2007. The Strait of Juan de Fuca separates Vancouver Island and Washington's Olympic Peninsula.

A sixth foot found in June in B.C. was determined to be an animal paw that had been shoved inside an athletic shoe as a hoax.

Tests should determine by the end of the week whether bones and flesh in this shoe are human, Moores said.

Seattle Times staff and news services