Deceased/Not Found WA - Shantina Smiley, 29, & Azriel Carver, 8 (fnd deceased), Olympia, Mar 2010 - #8

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The first severed foot, discovered in August 2007, was associated with a deceased man whose name police withheld at the request of his family. A man's right foot found on Gabriola Island in August 2007 remains unidentified. Two feet found on Valdez and Westham islands in July 2008 belonged to the same man. And two female feet found in Richmond in December 2008 belonged to the same woman.


The RCMP have said the feet in B.C. separated from the body through a natural process.



Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Ni...ic+Northwest/3452456/story.html#ixzz0y08TT2li
 
I always try to check in here to see if there has been any news.




Prayers finding Shantina :praying:
 
Thanks for the map RubyRed. We've stayed at a vacation home on Orcas several times and I have a Niece in Oak Harbor. But I have no idea what the tidal flows are like. Any locals; do you feel the foot could be Shantina's?
 
RubyRed said:
"Based on the size, we believe it's from either a juvenile or a female," he said.

Police believe that the foot was in the water for less than two months. "It's almost complete, with muscles and ligaments," Wallace said.

He said that a forensic pathologist is being called in to examine the foot, and DNA samples will be taken.

It is the ninth foot to wash up in the coastal region from B.C. to the northwestern tip of Washington since August 2007.

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/...found_100827/20100827?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
Click to expand...

The muscles and ligaments still with foot, makes me think it isn't
as old as the case is in Shantina Smiley????
 
passionflower said:
The muscles and ligaments still with foot, makes me think it isn't
as old as the case is in Shantina Smiley????
Click to expand...
Yes, that is a worry. I was hoping maybe the cold water and the months of March, April....slowing decomposition, but you do have a point.....
 
I was wondering: Do feet normally become detached when a person drowns, and the body is not recovered? 9 feet in 3 years seems alot,?? as though a serial killer is on the loose. Or are feet often found detached in water?:waitasec:
 
SMK said:
I was wondering: Do feet normally become detached when a person drowns, and the body is not recovered? 9 feet in 3 years seems alot,?? as though a serial killer is on the loose. Or are feet often found detached in water?:waitasec:
Click to expand...
Decomposition may separate the foot from the body because the ankle is relatively weak, and the buoyancy caused by air either inside or trapped within a shoe would allow it to float away. Link from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discov...h_Columbia_beaches,_2007–2009#Level_of_rarity
 
SMK said:
I was wondering: Do feet normally become detached when a person drowns, and the body is not recovered? 9 feet in 3 years seems alot,?? as though a serial killer is on the loose. Or are feet often found detached in water?:waitasec:
Click to expand...


This is the ninth severed human foot found on the B.C.-Washington coast since 2007.

All of the others were in running shoes.


The first severed foot, discovered in August 2007, was associated with a deceased man whose name police withheld at the request of his family. A man's right foot found on Gabriola Island in August 2007 remains unidentified. Two feet found on Valdez and Westham islands in July 2008 belonged to the same man. And two female feet found in Richmond in December 2008 belonged to the same woman.

The RCMP have said the feet in B.C. separated from the body through a natural process.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Ni...ic+Northwest/3452456/story.html#ixzz0xxcEQvAV
 
From the same link as I posted above - I found this interesting.
Determining the origin of the feet is complicated because ocean currents may carry floating items long distances and because currents in the Strait of Georgia may be unpredictable. A foot may float as far as 1,000 miles (1,600 km). Also, human feet have a tendency to become adipocere (a soap-like substance formed from body fat), which makes it hard for forensic scientists to find clues. Under optimal conditions, a human body may survive in water for as long as three decades, meaning that the feet may have been floating around for years.[
 
RubyRed said:
This is the ninth severed human foot found on the B.C.-Washington coast since 2007.

All of the others were in running shoes.


The first severed foot, discovered in August 2007, was associated with a deceased man whose name police withheld at the request of his family. A man's right foot found on Gabriola Island in August 2007 remains unidentified. Two feet found on Valdez and Westham islands in July 2008 belonged to the same man. And two female feet found in Richmond in December 2008 belonged to the same woman.

The RCMP have said the feet in B.C. separated from the body through a natural process.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Ni...ic+Northwest/3452456/story.html#ixzz0xxcEQvAV
Click to expand...
And thanks for this, too---it makes more sense to me now.....
 
SMK said:
How I wish this would be Shantina, so justice might at last begin to head her way...........http://www.examiner.com/headlines-in-seattle/cle-elum-wash-skeletal-remains-found-shallow-grave-believed-to-be-woman?cid=examiner-email
Click to expand...

All three of those women were within 4 hours of that site. The other article says that the body would have been placed there within the last 8 years. I posted some time ago the decomposition rates of various materials (including cloth). I'll have to search and see if I can find it.
 
Fabrics may aid the forensic scientist and/or detective in determining length of time since death. Decay of fabrics is based on what the materials are and how long they've been there. Styles of shoes and clothing also help pinpoint dates. Below is a chart representing the most common types of fabrics and exposure to various elements over time.

Material--Length of Time in Good Condition (in months):


Rayon: 1-2 if buried / 5 on surface

Paper: 1 in alk or fresh water / 5 on surface/in acid*

Cotton/Wool: 6 in alk or fresh water / 10 to 15 on surface/in acid

Human Hair: 10 to 15 if buried / wind blows it away on surface

Cotton/Poly: 15 on surface / 25 to 35 if buried

Other Plastics/Leather: 15 to 35 on surface / >48 if buried

*paper is partially acid, so acidic soils do not affect it as quickly as alkaline


http://www.anthro4n6.net/forensics/
 
Thanks for all that, Calliope! It is great even to be able to speak of this case again. If only this could be the break! Otherwise, back to obscurity. :( Being buried, then, would most definitely have preserved the clothing, if it is she. And yes, I figured it must be nearly 3 hours from where she was last seen, but then, if someone wanted to hide the body, they would go some distance. *fingers mightily crossed*
 
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