VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 20 (UPI) -- Officials in British Columbia said the remains found in a sneaker this week weren't human and the incident was a hoax following the finding of five human feet.

The British Columbia Coroners Service issued a statement about the shoe found washed ashore on Vancouver Island, CTV News reported.

"A forensic pathologist and an anthropologist have examined the shoe and remains, and determined a skeletonized animal paw was inserted into the shoe with a sock and packed with dried seaweed," the service said. "This type of hoax is reprehensible and very disrespectful to the families of missing persons."

Among those upset by the prank was Sally Feast, whose brother's small plane went down in 2005. None of the four people aboard were found.

"It's a cruel joke, the cruelest joke. I can't believe someone would do this," she told CTV News.

The human feet in sneakers began appearing on beaches in August 2007 and officials have had no success matching DNA with anyone missing in the province, the report said.