What initially looked like a grim discovery on a Washington shoreline turned out to be far less alarming.
Officials with the Clallam County Coroner’s Office said the remains found inside a white sneaker that washed up on Port Williams Beach in Sequim, Wash., on Dec. 9 were not human. After forensic examination, the tissue and bones were identified as a bear paw.
The shoe was discovered by a beachgoer who reported it to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Dec. 9, shortly before 8:30 a.m., according to KIRO 7 and The Sequim Gazette. The sneaker was located about 50 feet from the Port Williams Beach boat launch at Marly Nelson County Park, the outlets reported.
A responding deputy confirmed there was soft tissue and bone inside the footwear. Local reports described the item as a white Puma sneaker with green and blue Sharpie marker coloring on the exterior, in a women’s size 5 to 5.5.
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The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The shoe and the remains were sent to the coroner’s office, which forwarded them to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office for additional analysis. A state forensic anthropologist later confirmed on Dec. 11 that the contents were a bear paw.
The coroner’s office also said it found no human biological material inside the shoe or on its exterior, noting that the outside of the sneaker was “clean.”
Investigators have not determined how the bear remains ended up inside the shoe. According to KOMO News, deputies found no other related items in the surrounding area. The coroner’s office said no further details are available.
Washington is home to at least 25,000 bears — including grizzly and black bears — according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Grizzly bears are protected from hunting at both state and federal levels because they are rare in the state; the department also notes there are roughly 1,000 black bears for every one grizzly bear in Washington.
