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Salish Sea human foot discoveries

Discoveries of detached human feet near on the coasts of the Salish Sea

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 20, 2026
Entity authorityQ2261030 ↗
Source-derived summary

Since August 20, 2007, at least 20 detached human feet have been found on the coasts of the Salish Sea in British Columbia, Canada, and Washington, United States of America. The first discovery, on August 20, 2007, was on Jedediah Island in British Columbia. Feet have been discovered on the coasts of islands in British Columbia and in the U.S. cities of Tacoma and Seattle.

In Canada, the British Columbia Coroners Service said in December 2017 that foul play had been ruled out by authorities in all previous cases. The feet were usually found in sneakers, which the coroner thought were responsible for both keeping the feet buoyant enough to eventually wash ashore, and for giving the feet enough protection from decomposition to be found relatively intact.

Prior to the recent rush of feet washing ashore, there have been earlier instances going back more than a century, such as a leg in a boot that was found on a Vancouver beach in 1887.

Discoveries

These foot discoveries are not the first on British Columbia's coast. One was found in Vancouver in 1887, leading to the place of discovery being called Leg-In-Boot Square. On July 30, 1914, The Vancouver Sun reported that recent arrivals from Kimsquit reported a human leg encased in a high boot was found on a beach near the mouth of the Salmon River (a previous name for the Dean River near Kimsquit, near the headwaters of Dean Channel). It was thought the remains were from a man who had drowned on the river the previous summer.

Editorial summary

“Salish Sea human foot discoveries” enters the record as discoveries of detached human feet near on the coasts of the Salish Sea. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Salish, human and foot can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2007, 2017, 1887, 1914—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Salish, human and foot.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Salish Sea human foot discoveries” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Salish, human and foot provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2261030. Authority coordinates are 49.150, -123.733. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2007, 2017, 1887 and 1914.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Salish Sea human foot discoveries”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Salish Sea human foot discoveries primary sources, Salish Sea human foot discoveries archive and Salish research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Salish Sea human foot discoveries”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Salish Sea human foot discoveries” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.