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Foot found in Spotsylvania County turns out to be that of an ape
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Date published: 2/13/2007
MORE PHOTOS: Click here to view more images of the foot.
What is it? You tell us. Read the story, view the pics, then share your thoughts at the bottom of the story.
Authorities now say that the foot found at a Spotsylvania County landfill is not human, but it's unclear exactly what species it is.
The Virginia medical examiner's office X-rayed the left foot found Saturday at the Livingston Landfill and determined that the 8-inch foot was that of an "apelike species," said Spotsylvania Sheriff Howard Smith.
The medical examiner's office reported those findings early yesterday morning, ending search efforts at the Massey Road landfill. About 35 Spotsylvania fire, rescue and sheriff's personnel were at the site sifting through 127 tons of trash to find more of the body.
That search began Sunday after the foot was found by landfill workers cleaning the treads of a bulldozer used to spread and cover garbage.
The foot appeared to have been cleanly sawed off and resembled that of a human, Smith said. An employee with the Virginia medical examiner's concurred, and the foot was sent to Richmond for forensic testing.
The Free Lance-Star sent photos of the foot to several people who study primates. All disagreed with the state medical examiner's office's conclusions.
Experts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said it looks more like a human foot than that of an apelike species, according to Jordana Lenon, a spokeswoman for the primate center on campus. She said it's difficult to tell without handling it. A colleague of Lenon's said it looked like the skinned-out hind-foot of a bear.
April D. Truitt of the Primate Rescue Center in Kentucky, also said the foot looks more human. She said it's too big to be a monkey; it's more the size of a gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo or orangutan. She said its bone structure leaves the chimp as the only possibility.
"This certainly doesn't resemble the foot of any chimp I've ever met, and I've encountered hundreds in the past two decades," Truitt added.
William Dranginis of Manassas has a more unusual opinion--he believes the foot could be that of Bigfoot. He heads the Virginia Bigfoot Research Organization and has been passionately studying the elusive creature for more than 10 years.
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