On Wednesday evening, a Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputy was dispatched to the area of North Highway 1 and Hardy Creek in Westport.
Upon arrival the Deputy learned a local resident had found a pair of jean pants with a shoe entangled inside one of the pant legs on the ocean beach near the mouth of Hardy Creek. This area is approximately 1 mile north of the Hart Family crash site.
The jeans were a girl's size 10 regular and the shoe appeared to be a 3.5 US big kid size or 5.5 women's US size.
Upon inspection, it was determined skeletal remains of what appeared to be a human foot was inside of the shoe. The shoe with the skeletal remains were released to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Coroner's Division.
The California Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services Richmond DNA laboratory is being asked to identity the remains through DNA analysis.
On Thursday a group of Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue members were being deployed to the area where the skeletal remains were located to conduct a search during tow tide conditions. An assessment of the ocean and terrain will also be conducted for the planning of a future search operation.