B.C.'s Other Unsolved Mystery: Vancouver's Missing Lads

As the news of a sixth human foot appearing in the waters around Vancouver, B.C. percolates through the Interweb, we're reminded of another troubling and--we can only hope--wholly unrelated story we caught on CBC the other night. Apparently, for the last year, athletically built young men have been mysteriously disappearing around Vancouver, B.C. While the police have yet to suggest any relationship--or even foul play--between the disappearances, family members increasing see links. They've created a Facebook page (here) amongst other efforts to promote the cause of tracking these men down. But with the constant influx of feet found in coastal waters, it was inevitable that people would start trying to link the two.

For the record, the police have steadfastly denied any evidence of criminality in the young men's disappearances, and there is no evidence that the feet (at least one of which was thought to be female) are in any way linked to the disappearing young men. But the Vancouver police's failing response to the pig farmer/serial killer Robert Pickton leaves many skeptical; for years, as drug-addicted hookers disappeared from Vancouver's dismal east side, the police did nothing and refused to see evidence of a serial killer, or at least to admit as much publicly, despite the protests of victims' families and friends. So the response of Vancouverites is already somewhat once-bitten, twice-shy with regard to the police's dismissals.

Whatever the case, there's more weird stuff going on up in B.C. than just disappearing feet, and families are desperate for any information on their missing loved ones. So give the Facebook group a go and see if you know anything that can help.

Photo of Dan Bouchard, who went missing on Monday, June 9 after leaving a bar in the lower mainland. Click here for information on how to contact his family with any information about his whereabouts.

ALSO: A fascinating article on locating corpses, typically of drowning victims, appeared in Harper's in June. It's only available to subscribers, but friends can email it to you, and it does seem apropos.