The mystery of the owner of a severed foot found in rural Templeton has be solved, the Sheriff’s Department announced.
“The Sheriff’s Office has identified the individual whose foot was found near Santa Rita Road in rural Templeton on July 26,” reads a news release. “With the help of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and its rapid DNA process, this individual was identified as a surviving victim of a traffic collision on July 17.”
That crash occurred when the unidentified man’s car crashed into a guardrail and caught fire on Southbound Highway 101 just north of the Vineyard Drive off-ramp in Templeton.
“Both of the victim’s legs were severed in that collision,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “One foot was recovered at the scene. The other foot could not be located.” The department did not identify the crash victim.
The car crash happened some 3 miles from where the foot was found on Santa Rita Creek Road by a man riding his bicycle on the popular biking road.
It is suspected that animals carried the foot away from where it came to rest in the accident.
