Human Foot in Shoe Mysteriously Washes Up on Beach in 'Gruesome' Incident
A human foot inside a shoe has washed up on a beach, prompting a police investigation.
The disembodied foot was discovered by a member of the public at a beach near Wellington, New Zealand on Saturday morning.
The individual was walking along Petone Beach—located in a bay at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island—when he came across the shoe with the foot inside at around 8 a.m. local time.
The member of the public notified police, who conducted a search of the surrounding area on land and sea. However, this search yielded no further information.
Police are trying to determine who the foot belongs to and are conducting pathology tests of the body part. They said more details will be announced as and when further information becomes available.
The owner of a local art gallery, Alfred Memelink, witnessed police conducting the search on Saturday.
"We usually go for a beach walk every day and for some reason, we didn't this morning," Memelink told local press.
"What went through my mind was that it easily could have been us who came across it, and it would have been pretty gruesome."
Local residents have expressed shock over the incident, with one saying she was "disturbed" by what happened.
"We bring our kids down here. You're not sure if you're going to find the other one," the resident, only identified as Julie, told RNZ.
Another local, identified as Renee, said she hoped that police would uncover more information soon.
"My heart goes out to whoever was involved," Renee said.
Police are not currently treating the incident as a potential homicide.
"The search is continuing today for any items that may be relevant to police inquiries in and around the area the shoe was found," a police spokesperson told 7news.com.au on Saturday.
A police boat with a diver could be seen in Petone Harbour on Saturday.
It is a rare occurrence for a disembodied human foot to be found washed up on a beach. But in one part of the world, several detached feet have been found along the same stretch of coastline.
At least 20 detached feet have been on the coast of the Salish Sea in British Columbia, Canada, and Washington state since August 2007. Many of these were found in shoes, just like the incident in New Zealand. The most recent foot to wash up in this region was found in January 2019.
The British Columbia Coroners Service has said that none of the Canadian cases so far have been linked to homicide and that the feet became detached during the normal process of decomposition.
Newsweek has contacted the New Zealand Police for comment.
