'Nike phenomenon' resurfaces in B.C. with discovery of foot in shoe

Dead things do wash up out of the ocean ... especially if it's tied up in a shoe.

Dead things do wash up out of the ocean ... especially if it's tied up in a shoe. Photo: Mark Thiessen, AP Photo: Mark Thiessen, AP Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 'Nike phenomenon' resurfaces in B.C. with discovery of foot in shoe 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

If you die in coastal waters and are not discovered and you are wearing a running shoe — especially one with with gas injected into the shoe soles — then one or both of your feet could end up as the newest case of the "Nike Phenomenon."

That's what happened to someone's foot Sunday on a Vancouver Island shoreline. The Canadian Press reported that a hiker exploring Botanical Beach near Port Renfrew "came across a running shoe containing a human foot in a sock." The B.C. Coroners Service is investigating but so far foul play is not suspected.

So far, since 2007, 13 feet have washed ashore in British Columbia. Others have washed ashore elsewhere in the Northwest and across the globe.

For instance, Canada.com reported in 2008 that a right foot in a sock was found in New Zealand, a right foot in a high-top runner in the Ottawa River in Ottawa, two feet on Chesil Beach in southern England, two in Spain, one in California and another in Merseyside in the U.K.

In a story I wrote about the phenomenon in 2011, Curtis Ebbesmeyer, world renown oceanographer and beachcomber extraordinaire, told me:

"I think you could probably trace it to the Nike phenomenon. Nike was the one that really brought in the air soles. Certainly in the '90s, Nike was a major producer of shoes with gas injected soles. Once you start doing that then you have at least part of the phenomenon."

Coroners have explained that hundreds of people are likely missing in coastal waters and over time their bodies will decompose and disarticulate and what will float will float. Of the more than a dozen feet found in shoes, non of them have been associated with murder and certainly not mechanical dismemberment.

Of the 12 previous incidents, coroners report that 10 feet have been identified as belonging to seven people.

The is the 13th foot is currently under investigation. Regional Coroner Matt Brown told CKNW radio that DNA tests will be used to try and identify who the foot belongs to.

"The shoe itself we believe was manufactured in late 2012 early 2013 so what we are looking for most likely is somebody who went missing between March of 2013 and December of 2015."

Jake Ellison can be reached at 206-448-8334 or jakeellison@seattlepi.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/Jake_News. Also, swing by and *LIKE* his page on Facebook. If Google Plus is your thing, check out our science coverage here.