Police on Friday were investigating what was believed to be yet another floating human foot - the sixth discovered over the past 10 months in waters near Vancouver, Canada's third-largest city.

At first, Wednesday's discovery seemed to deepen the mystery surrounding the feet found along island shorelines in the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver.

But the latest find turned out to be a hoax. British Columbia's coroner's office said on Thursday that it was really an animal paw that was dressed in a sock and inserted into a running shoe with some seaweed.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say whoever is behind the hoax could face charges.

'Whoever is responsible for this took the time to ensure that the remains were set up to closely resemble human remains,' Inspector Brendan FitzPatrick said.

'Due to the nature of these incidents over the past year, many families with missing loved ones are closely watching and wondering if it is their loved one who has been found. The insensitivity shown to the families and the victims involved is unbelievable.'

Since last August, five feet have been found within a few kilometres of one another along island shorelines. All of them, including the fifth which washed up on Monday, were encased in running shoes.

'Finding five feet in one localised area would be highly unusual anywhere in the world,' said Seattle-

based oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, who has consulted on other cases of recovered body parts. 'We're dealing with something suitable for Sherlock Holmes.'

Among the clues police are sifting through: Four of the five are right feet. No. 5 is a left foot. The first two feet wore size 12 shoes.

Police will not say if the lone left foot matches any of the right feet, according to the National Post, a Canadian newspaper.

CBC Radio in Vancouver has reported that one foot, discovered late last month, came from a woman. But police have neither confirmed nor denied that assertion.

There is no evidence to suggest that any of the feet were severed from their bodies by force, the Vancouver Sun reported on Friday, citing Mr Stephen Fonseca, manager of identification and disaster response in British Columbia's coroner's office.

Bodies drifting in oceans naturally come apart at the joints, according to Mr Ebbesmeyer, who is not involved in the Canadian case.

Analysis of ocean sediments or the presence of plankton inside the shoes may provide clues about where the feet had been before they were discovered, he said.

While the sixth case is now closed, chief coroner Terry Smith's office in British Columbia continues work to identify the other feet.

Mr Smith said last week that DNA profiles from the first three feet had not helped to determine identities because they did not match any existing samples.

Because the detached feet are encased in synthetic footwear, he and others say they can float in water and not sink; other human remains have less chance of being washed ashore, although forensic experts say that is not uncommon.

But no one can recall so many detached human feet turning up in one area over a period of less than a year.

AP, Bloomberg