SEVIER COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — On Friday, May 16, a man and his dog were walking along the shore of Fish Lake in Sevier County. The dog picked up a shoe it found on the shore — and officials believe it may be connected to the case of a man who went missing in 1997.

According to Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis, the owner of the dog noticed what “appeared to be a bone in the shoe.”

“Detectives responded and found the remains of what appeared to be the remains of a human foot inside the shoe,” Curtis told NewsNation affiliate ABC4.

Utah Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed it was a human foot

The Utah Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the shoe contained a human foot. The morning after the shoe was found, crews returned to the lake to search the shoreline and water near where it was discovered.

“No other evidence was found to indicate where the foot came from,” the sheriff’s office said.

After the discovery, detectives with the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office began looking into a missing persons case from 1997. Curtis said detectives found a child of that missing man and have sent in a DNA sample to compare with the foot.

There is no further information at this time.