Just a woman's foot to go by -- what would you do?

[scotdeerie]

I met a local Investigator (NYSP) who asked me to look at a few of his very cold cases -- not because I'm talented, just because he knew I liked hunting for clues -- but he gave me one that is very cold and really, no pun intended, a dead end.

The case is from 2005. All they have is a foot. In a moccasin-style shoe. It probably came out of Lake Ontario* but that's not positive. It was found on the shore. The shoe make is "Cheyenne" and the size is 8-1/2W and here all the relevant information ends. There simply is nothing else to go on. I've searched missing people -- male and female -- from both this area (western NY state which includes the counties Monroe, Orleans, Niagara, Erie and MORE) and Canada with no one missing in the right time frame within years.

I'm absolutely at a dead stop by several things:
1. The local law enforcement agencies and MEs weren't putting a lot of data into NamUs in this time frame.
2. NamUs and DoeNetwork rarely, if EVER, mention shoe size. If I had my way, that information would be right in there with height/weight/hair and eye color and clothing last seen in.
3. Friends and families simply don't report people to law enforcement agencies in a timely manner when they might have a lifestyle that brings them to the attention of the police too much as it is.
4. The lake can hold onto a body for a long time before spitting it back out. Or body parts might be scattered from the falls, down the Niagara River shores and out into the lake, often in areas where no one will ever find them.
*5. People come to this area from all over to commit suicide at Niagara Falls. Literally, this person could be from ANYWHERE in the world. And all we have is the shoe size and the brand of the shoe she was wearing when she died.

Unless the local agencies start putting in backlogged or ignored cases (some cases of body parts found in the area would be a big help) I don't think there's any way to work this case out. Does anyone have any ideas?

(BTW, this case is in NamUs. However, please note: the address connected to the case is in error. It is the address of the person who FOUND the body part, not where the body part was found. I got that clarification directly from the officer handling the case. Please don't post that address *anywhere*. Thanks.)

 

[CCJD]

Link to case on NamUs: Unidentified Person Case

 

[scotdeerie]

Link to case on NamUs: Unidentified Person Case

Again, just to stress the point: The address shown there is the address of the person who found the foot. It is not the address where the foot was found. Please don't post that address anywhere!

 

[Laughing]

Well, are there pictures of that 8 1/2 W shoe? Maybe we can figure out where it was made, and then sold?

Where the toenails polished, do we know? Shaved or natural? Dark, medium, light skin? Tan line? Scars? Bug bites?

Not much help in that NamUs listing, is there?

 

[scotdeerie]

Well, are there pictures of that 8 1/2 W shoe? Maybe we can figure out where it was made, and then sold?

Where the toenails polished, do we know? Shaved or natural? Dark, medium, light skin? Tan line? Scars? Bug bites?

Not much help in that NamUs listing, is there?

There sure ISN'T much info. The shoe is a Cheyenne and I looked that up but there's not much to be seen there. The Investigator said it was ankle high so he has a photo but I suspect it is a photo with bones sticking out of it so we're unlikely to see it. I'm trying to find out if there is adipocere in the shoe which would indicate a longer PMI and give more options but, still, even looking back over a few years, there aren't many missing women locally or in Canada. I'm thinking of volunteering to pay for a DNA test just to get another handle on it. (I'd just consider it a charitable donation on my taxes. Think that would work? ) There have been cases of bodies popping up from the lake where they've been dead for a long time after sitting in cold water (although the average depth of Lake Ontario is 100', it is 1000' at it's deepest) and they look downright fresh. Depending on whether the body is caught up on something under the water, only parts might float free and may go unnoticed along the very long shore line of Lake Ontario.

Here's a body that may have been dead as long as three years and yet the tattoo you are looking at is on the actual body that still remains, to this day, unidentified. Looks pretty fresh, right? He may have been out in deep water (and probably weighted down). Unidentified Person Case That deep water can be tricky. Not to mention this tattoo drives me crazy every time I see it. Why has no one been reported missing with that tattoo? Who isn't missing a person with Marvin the Martian on their chest??

 

[Laughing]

Is LE sure this is a woman's foot, or is that inferred from the woman's shoe?

The idea of working to coordinate with other washed-up body parts is, um, graphic & grisly.

Another WS Moment of Macabre.

 

[scotdeerie]

Is LE sure this is a woman's foot, or is that inferred from the woman's shoe?

The idea of working to coordinate with other washed-up body parts is, um, graphic & grisly.

Another WS Moment of Macabre.

The ME said it was a woman's foot. If the shoe had a size stamped in it (8-1/2W) and it was a certain length/width then it would fit as a woman's shoe, not a man's since a woman's 8 is about a man's 5 -- a pretty big size difference. But that's supposition on my part. The next time he has the files out he's going to go over things with me again so I'll try to get more details.

Oh, and body parts around here -- well that's just something I grew up with. If anyone ever realized how many bodies and parts are floating around in these waters they'd never go swimming. Seriously.

 

[Laughing]

I wondered about a young man or teenaged boy at that size.

I prefer European sizing since my shoes are routinely 41.5. That's 10 1/2 in US sizing.

Since we know so little, anything more could help!

Thanks, Laughing

 

[scotdeerie]

I wondered about a young man or teenaged boy at that size.

I prefer European sizing since my shoes are routinely 41.5. That's 10 1/2 in US sizing.

Since we know so little, anything more could help!

Thanks, Laughing

I actually searched for ANYONE within a reasonable amount of that time in two countries and still came up with nothing. I didn't just search female. I kept expanding the search.

I'll let you know next time we get together and go over it again but real life is keeping him pretty busy at this point plus he's actually perusing another cold case lead. The foot is sitting in a cooler somewhere and not a high priority, unfortunately. I did notice that someone seems to be putting new (old) cases into NamUs so perhaps someone who is missing will eventually find their way into the database from back then. I have offered up my services for data entry (I LOVE to type) but apparently I would have to be LE for that to happen. *shrug*

Thanks for thinking this through with me!

 

[Skully]

Just some things that come to mind. By looking at the stump, they would know if the foot was cut off or if animals took it off. Many times animals tear apart the body parts and they can tell if that was the case or if someone dismembered this person. I wouldn't put up money for DNA testing, it is expensive and the agency should do that if they want it done. You may not get much from the DNA testing, but Parabon, (not sure of spelling) can take a sample and do a full profile on a sample and get a composite of the person, but again, around 5K and up. But like you said, she may not be reported missing and no one is looking.

 

[scotdeerie]

Just some things that come to mind. By looking at the stump, they would know if the foot was cut off or if animals took it off. Many times animals tear apart the body parts and they can tell if that was the case or if someone dismembered this person. I wouldn't put up money for DNA testing, it is expensive and the agency should do that if they want it done. You may not get much from the DNA testing, but Parabon, (not sure of spelling) can take a sample and do a full profile on a sample and get a composite of the person, but again, around 5K and up. But like you said, she may not be reported missing and no one is looking.

I don't remember exactly why but I have worked on the assumption this is a floater (natural disarticulation of the body in water) or it was damaged from mechanical means (water turbines and other energy processing equipment) at the falls or by being beaten against the rocks at the base of the falls and in the lower river. I could be wrong. I'll double check.

I was wondering how much they searched the shoreline where it was found. There was a case in Rochester where the body parts showed up a few months apart and perhaps a mile or more from each other. The Great Lakes are tricky. And if they missed other body parts, well they're 15 years buried or washed back out into the water now. They'll never be found again in my lifetime.

 

[vw51212]

Also to consider is if there was a boating accident at one point.
If someone died in a boating accident, such as came in contact with a boating motor, and was rushed to a hospital but passed away, the family would have been notified, had a funeral and buried their loved one without the missing foot.
You might be searching for a missing person that was not at all missing just lost a body part in the accident that killed them.
This match will never show up because they are not missing, they were maimed in an accident.

 

[Mireille]

You can get a scope of height from a foot. Or shoe-size in this case.

US shoe size: 8.5 are in other measurements:
Inches: 9 11/16''
Centimeters: 24.6 cm

So; in european sizes, she'd be a 39.

There is some average height approximations available for women with the 8,5 shoe size in US size.

Shoe sizes 6.5 - 10 would, according to a company that makes shoes, have women average in height between 5'4''-5'7''. This is of course not a rule and there may be exceptions. This is just an average. I'd put her on the taller end of the spectrum.

Shoe size 9-15 in US women's, average in height 5'8''-9'. Now I don¨t think there are many women that are 9 feet tall.

My first suggestion for this foot would be this lady here:
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

MISSING
Missing Person / NamUs #MP63783
Patricia A Bessel
Age: 67
Height: 5'6''
This info is below:
The female left home on 3/17/2005 for the store and she never returned home. Her vehicle was located near the American Rapids Bridge in Niagara Falls, NY.
The bridge i found is called "whirlpool rapid bridge" and is 18 minutes from the spot the shoe was found.

@scotdeerie