By Police make “strange request” in bid to find owner of foot found on New Waltham footpath
In April 2019, North East Lincolnshire residents were left shocked when a human foot was found on a New Waltham footpath.
Police have since conducted extensive local, national and international investigations in a bid to locate the person who the severed foot belonged to.
The investigations have been carried out into missing people in the UK and abroad, as well as extensive forensic testing and DNA analysis – but police are yet to find a match.
Now, Humberside Police are appealing to members of the public to come forward in what they have referred to as a “strange request”.
Officers are now investigating whether or not the foot may have been amputated in a medical procedure.
They are looking for any female in Humberside or Lincolnshire who has had a foot removed since 2014, and are urging anyone who fits the description to get in touch.
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Curtis, Senior Investigating Officer in the case, said: “A team of detectives have been working tirelessly to ascertain the identity of the individual and to determine how the body part came to be on the path.
“One line of our enquiry is that the foot may have been clinical waste from a medical procedure. This line of enquiry cannot be ruled out without a full and thorough investigation.
“Although this must seem a very strange request we are now appealing for any female in the Humberside Police Force area and Lincolnshire that has had a medical procedure to remove her left foot since 2014 to contact us.
“The NHS have been able to provide certain information in relation to historical surgeries but this would not include any private medical procedures, so by issuing this appeal now we are hoping to rule out anyone within this category of patient.
“If you have had such a medical procedure in the past eight years whether through the NHS or through private medical services I would ask you to call us, your call will be treated with the utmost respect and privacy.
“I encourage anyone that would be in this category of amputees to contact us. Or anyone that has not already spoken to us, to please get in touch by calling our non-emergency number 101 quoting log 85 of 25 April 2019.”
