"Very cruel joke": 6th foot found on B.C. shore a hoax

CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. — The media calls from Paris, New York and Australia were just starting to ebb Thursday for Sandra Malone when a new frenzy started: the mysterious sixth human foot that had apparently washed ashore in front of the campground she manages was nothing but a hoax.

It was the latest twist in a story that has many people on Vancouver Island and the mainland riveted. In less than a year, four right feet and one left foot — all encased in buoyant sneakers — have washed ashore in the Strait of Georgia. The latest was found Monday in Ladner, just south of Vancouver.

On Wednesday, everybody thought the number of feet had risen to six after a woman who was collecting rocks for an art project at Campbell River spotted a black Adidas running shoe with two bones sticking out of it. The woman rushed to tell Malone, who ran to the beach and then called police.

"This is ridiculous," Malone said Thursday afternoon at the Thunderbird RV Park and Campground. "I can't believe someone would go to such lengths ... It's not a game."

When news of the discovery first hit Campbell River, a town of about 35,000 that claims to be the salmon capital of the world, people had their theories: It was the work of a psycho. It was sailors falling overboard. The bodies were drifting in from Asia.

But there were new theories Thursday after officials said the latest find was the remains of an animal's paw put into a sock and then stuffed with seaweed into the shoe: It was the work of kids. Or somebody craving attention.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed they would pursue public-mischief charges against the perpetrators.

"Whoever is responsible for this took the time to ensure that the remains were set up to closely resemble human remains," said RCMP Inspector Brendan FitzPatrick in a news release.

"Due to the nature of these incidents over the past year, many families with missing loved ones are closely watching and wondering if it is their loved one who has been found. The insensitivity shown to the families and the victims involved is unbelievable."

One of those affected is Sally Feast, a Campbell River resident whose brother, along with four other men, died in a 2005 plane crash just a few miles from where the hoax shoe was found. She and other victims' relatives have been seeking answers since the crash.

"I think it's the most disgusting thing. It's a very cruel joke," Feast said of the hoax. "Everybody in town has been supportive of the families and the quest. This just sucks."

Malone was equally upset. She said that when she first went to look at the shoe, she hadn't wanted to get closer than three feet, let alone poke around. The bones appeared to have been severed cleanly about three or four inches above the shoe, making her suspect foul play.

Wednesday night, she had trouble sleeping. And then the media calls began again at 7 a.m. Thursday.

"This has put a lot of fear into people," she said.

But not everybody. Gary Donaldson, who comes up to the RV camp from Victoria a few months each year to fish and relax, had been watching all the television folks and local "looky-loos" come and go and wasn't much impressed. Even less so when it turned out the sixth foot was a hoax.

He just wanted it all to die down so he could walk his dog, Willow, along the beach.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com