Tests on foot found by dog 'inconclusive'

RUSSELLVILLE - Tests conducted Monday by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences on a foot that was found by a dog Saturday night have not been helpful to police.

"They did tests to determine if it is human or not, and those tests were inconclusive," said Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett. "More tests are scheduled for (today)."

A dog discovered the foot and brought it to his owner at a Circle Drive residence in Hester Heights subdivision around midnight Saturday.

Hargett said the foot was taken to the Huntsville Forensic lab Monday morning. He said it wasn't until late afternoon that they got the information on the "inconclusive" test results.

"At this point we're still going under the assumption that the foot is human, and we're still trying to find where it came from," the chief said.

Two Russellville doctors - an emergency room doctor and an orthopedic surgeon - identified the foot as human.

The chief said cadaver dogs are scheduled to return today to search the area.

"We're hoping the additional tests will open up some doors for us and then the search, hopefully, will turn up something we can use," Hargett said.

The chief said a grid search took place Sunday in an attempt to find anything connected to the case. Authorities said there were no other parts of the foot attached.

"It was severed below the ankle and had five partial toes still attached to the foot," Hargett said.

The chief said the foot was not badly decomposed but it would still take forensic evidence to determine the gender, age and race.

Hargett said it's not known if the foot had been dragged a long distance by the animal or where the dog may have found the remains.

"There's still a ton of questions surrounding this case," Hargett said. "We're waiting on forensics to hopefully clear a lot of them up."

Hargett said his department doesn't have any open cases involving missing children. He has also been checking with other agencies on missing person cases involving children.

Anyone with information about the remains or about a missing child or small adult is asked to contact Shoals Area CrimeStoppers at 386-8685 or any local law enforcement agency

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com.