Severed Human Foot Reeled Out By Indiana Fisherman Belongs to a Missing Mother

Severed Human Foot Reeled Out By Indiana Fisherman Belongs to a Missing Mother
(Geralt/Pixabay)
Venus Upadhayaya
5/2/2019
Updated:
5/2/2019

A severed human foot fished out from a pond by an Indiana man belongs to a mother who went missing in March, according to the police.

Avon Police Department Deputy Chief Brian Nugent said on May 1 that the remains are of the 30-year-old mother of five, Najah Ferrell, reported Daily News.

Ferrell went missing on March 15 as she left home for work. She never made it to work that day and two weeks later, police found some of her belongings scattered on the highway and her Nissan Altima abandoned in Indianapolis.

The fisherman reeled out the severed foot from a pond at Crown Point on April 9 after which he reported it to the police.

A recognizable tattoo on the foot helped police to do the preliminary identification and DNA analysis done by the Indiana Police confirmed it to be Ferrell’s foot.

Ferrell was to attend her third day of orientation at Panera Bread on the day she disappeared. The investigation is ongoing and no suspects have been identified.

“We’re convinced, this family is convinced, this community is convinced also–somebody knows something,” Nugent said about the case in March.

He requested that the public contact Crime Stoppers Indiana at (371) 262-TIPS if they have any information.

Human Feet Washed Ashore in British Columbia

The 15th human foot to wash up on a beach in British Columbia, Canada, since 2007 prompted officials there to reach out for public help to identify the victim.
The foot washed ashore in West Vancouver in September 2018, but the incident was only revealed to the public in February 2019 by the B.C. Coroner’s Service when officials decided to ask for community assistance, reported the Vancouver Sun.

In the intervening months, testing was done in the hopes of identifying the foot, but investigators were only able to determine that it was a man’s foot with no matching DNA profiles on file for missing persons.

The man is believed to be under 50 years of age, based on the foot’s bone structure. The foot was discovered inside a light grey Nike Free RN shoe size 9.5. The shoe was manufactured sometime in the first four months of 2017.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call West Vancouver Police at 604-925-7300 or contact the B.C. Coroners Service at 1-877-660-5077 or [email protected].

15th Foot

The first of the 15 feet started washing up in Vancouver in August 2007, according to the coroners service. Five other feet washed ashore that year and the next, all of which were connected to people that went missing in either 2004 or 2006.

While just one foot washed ashore in the next several years, two were found in 2011 and another was discovered in 2012. Starting in February 2016, five additional feet washed ashore, including the latest one.

“Ten of these feet have been matched to missing persons, while five remain unidentified,” the coroners service said.

Authorities added that there is no deep mystery as feet come apart from the rest of the body during the decomposition process.

A graphic from the B.C. Coroner’s Service shows where the 15 human feet that have been discovered between 2007 and 2018 were found in Vancouver. (B.C. Coroner’s Service)
A graphic from the B.C. Coroner’s Service shows where the 15 human feet that have been discovered between 2007 and 2018 were found in Vancouver. (B.C. Coroner’s Service)
Coroner Barb McLintock told Global News that the phenomenon is not from “strange serial killers” cutting off victims’ feet or from “funny little aliens.”

“Which some people do think. Sad but true,” she said. “A lot of this is simply the quelling of the public imagination, to say ‘No, this is unfortunate and they’re all very sad cases.’”

Theories about the feet have circulated widely, including one that has some of the feet coming from the men who were aboard a plane that crashed off Quadra Island, reported the Toronto Star in 2008. Another thinks the coastline is being used as a dump for cartels.

The Star reported that more than 20 men in the area have gone missing and their disappearances have never been accounted for despite pleas from their families.

Epoch Times reporter Zack Stieber contributed to this report.
Venus Upadhayaya reports on India, China and the Global South. Her traditional area of expertise is in Indian and South Asian geopolitics. Community media, sustainable development, and leadership remain her other areas of interest.
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