SEQUIM, Wash. — What began as a potentially alarming discovery on a Sequim beach earlier this week has turned out to be far less grim than first feared.
Around 8:26 a.m., a local resident walking near the ebbing tide at Marly Nelson County Park on Port Williams found a shoe that appeared to contain human remains. The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office responded, and a deputy confirmed there were bones and soft tissue inside the sneaker — a white Puma decorated with green and blue Sharpie-style markings and sized around a U.S. women’s 5 to 5.5.
The unusual find prompted immediate concern, especially given a past Clallam County case in which a shoe containing human remains had been successfully identified through forensic DNA work. Investigators initially considered whether similar testing might again be needed.
But the mystery took a turn with the Clallam County Coroner’s Office’s follow-up analysis. On Dec. 11, officials received forensic results from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office confirming that the bone and tissue were not human. Instead, the material was determined to be of bear origin, with no human biological matter present.
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How bear remains ended up inside a shoe that washed ashore remains unclear, and investigators have found no related items in the surrounding area. For now, the CCSO says there is no additional information.
