SEATTLE » The King County medical examiner’s office is hoping the shoe’s the clue that will help identify a human foot that washed ashore this week — inside an athletic sneaker — on the shore of a Seattle park.

The medical examiner’s office described the shoe Wednesday as a New Balance sneaker, men’s size 10 1/2, that is white with blue trim. The particular model was first available for sale in April 2008.

There was also a black cotton Hanes brand sock on the foot.

The medical examiner says it doesn’t know the sex, age, ancestry or height of the person involved.

The foot was found Tuesday at a park near Seattle’s Pier 68.

Since 2007, there have been roughly a dozen cases in which a human foot encased in a tennis shoe has washed ashore in regional waters. A number of them were found in British Columbia. In a couple of cases, investigators determined the feet belonged to men who had been reported missing.