Human Foot That Washed Ashore a Year Ago Belongs to Woman Who Disappeared in 2018

Washington state officials have identified a human foot that washed ashore more than a year ago as belonging to a 68-year-old woman who disappeared in 2018.

The Seattle Times reported that Clallam County officials crowdfunded the $7,500 to pay for DNA testing on the remains found inside a size 8 New Balance sneaker that washed ashore near the mouth of the Elwha River in December 2021.

On Tuesday, they announced the testing had identified the remains as Jerilyn L. Smith, who disappeared form her home in Sequim in January 2018. Her husband located her car near the Elwha River Bridge, and search and rescue dogs tracked her scent to the middle of the bridge. Divers were not able to find her.

Othram Labs in Texas conducted the testing and provided a list of possible family members to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives obtained a sample from one of the them, and the Texas lab confirmed a match.

Information about the cause and manner of Smith’s death was not made available.

More than two dozen human feet in sneakers have washed up along the coasts of the Salish Sea in Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia since 2007.

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[Featured image: Jerilyn Smith/handout]