A severed foot that washed ashore over a year ago has led to the identification of a woman that went missing in 2018.
Back in December 2021, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office received a report about a foot inside a sneaker near Elwha River in Port Angeles, just south of the U.S.-Canada border, per Fox News.
Investigators on the case determined that it was a woman's size 8 New Balance brand shoe, but that's all they were able to conclude at that time.
"Despite our efforts, the woman’s identity has remained a mystery. With few leads for investigators to pursue, the case eventually went cold," police officers said in January - asking the public to help identify the woman, as cited by USA Today.
Detectives attempted to pursue various leads but still fell short until last year, when the sheriff’s office partnered with Othram Labs in Woodlands, Texas.
After analyzing the human foot, the lab gave detectives a list of potential family members that can verify the woman’s identity through DNA.
The surviving family members sent samples to the lab and this confirmed the remains belonged to 68-year-old Jerilyn L. Smith. - almost bringing the cold Washington case to a conclusion.
While the police were able to confirm Smith's identity, the cause of death and the circumstances of her disappearance were not immediately clear. All that is known is that she was reported missing on January 7, 2018.
According to People, an original missing person report revealed that Smith and her husband went to bed on January 6, 2018, in their Sequim, Washington home.
In the middle of the night, the woman's partner allegedly moved to the couch and then went to church the next morning without seeing his wife. When he returned, she was gone.
It was stated that Smith's car was discovered near the Elwha River Bridge, east of Port Angeles, so search and rescue dogs attempted to track her scent to the middle of the bridge directly over the river. Divers also scoured the river but she was never found.
Clallam County Sheriff Brian King spoke with USA Today about the identification discovery and disclosed that Smith is suspected to have drowned the month she went missing. A death certificate has also been printed.
Despite the devastating news, law enforcement has noted that the woman's family was appreciative of the crowdfunding to identify her remains.
"The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office would also like to thank all those who participated in funding the DNA research on this case that ultimately helped a family with having some semblance of closure during the grieved loss of their loved one," authorities said.
