Halloween 2026: The Salish Sea Feet, Nine Years On

About this episode

Episode 442: To mark our ninth anniversary, we're going back to where Dark Poutine began: the mystery of the Salish Sea floating feet. Since 2007, more than twenty disembodied human feet — most still laced into running shoes — have washed ashore along the coastlines of British Columbia and Washington State, sparking theories of serial killers, trafficking rings, and worse. This time we bring the full research the story always deserved: the science that finally explained how it happens, the named victims behind the headlines, and the case that, as of this recording, still hasn't been closed. Sources: The Vancouver Sun — "Human Leg is Found Encased in a Boot" (July 30, 1914) South China Morning Post — "A 14th human foot, this one in a hiking boot, washes ashore in British Columbia" Wikipedia — "Salish Sea human foot discoveries" National Geographic — "How science solved the mystery of feet washing ashore in the Pacific Northwest" Longreads — "The Curious Tale of the Salish Sea Feet" BC Coroners Service — Special Investigations Unit foot map (archived) DNASolves.com — "After 17 years, Clallam County Doe (2008) is Identified" CBC News — "DNA analysis confirms