Experts debate whether foot is human

FREDRICKSBURG, Va., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Experts are roiled in debate about whether a mystery limb found at a Spotsylvania County, Va., landfill is a human foot.

The Virginia medical examiner's office says its X-ray indicates the 8-inch foot came from some kind of primate, the Fredricksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star reports.

That determination led Spotsylvania County Sheriff Howard Smith to call off fire, rescue and sheriff crews that had been sifting through 127 tons of garbage looking for human remains, the newspaper said.

The search started Sunday when landfill workers found the limb, which appeared to have been sawed off from a body, the sheriff said.

And despite the medical examiner's determination, many experts doubt the limb came from a primate -- at least ones we have seen.

A primate rescue center representative said the foot "certainly doesn't resemble the foot of any chimp I've met."

Another expert speculated it was the hind foot of a bear and at least one person has speculated there could be a one-footed Bigfoot or Yeti running in the Virginia wild.