Unidentified people · Offshore, Ocean County
The sock marked “Gordon,” recovered off the New Jersey coast (2003)
Unresolved · Remains unidentified
A left foot inside a sock stitched with the number 24 and the name “Gordon” was found 21 miles off the New Jersey coast in June 2003 and has never been identified.
A single recovered foot
According to the New Jersey State Police, a left foot was found on June 19, 2003, 21 miles off the New Jersey coast. The case is filed on the state’s Ocean County list as number 0306-0595, with NIC number U550005099. The estimated date of death on the listing is January 1, 2002.
The stitched sock
The listing identifies the foot as male, with an estimated birth year between 1979 and 1983. That would have made him roughly 19 to 23 years old at the estimated date of death. Race, height, weight, and other features are listed as unknown. The foot was inside a white sock with a red and blue stripe, stitched with the number 24 and the name “Gordon.” The listing does not say what the marking meant.
Full x-rays are available for comparison, according to the listing.
What remains unknown
The listing gives no name and no cause of death, and it does not say whether any other remains were ever linked to this person. Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police at 1-800-709-7090 or missingp@gw.njsp.org, or the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office in Toms River at 732-349-2010, the contacts given on the official case page.
Sources and research limits
- New Jersey State Police, Unidentified Persons/Bodies — Ocean County, case 0306-0595 / NIC U550005099 — Official case page, reopened and checked September 11, 2026, for the date and distance offshore, estimated date of death, estimated birth years, the sock description, and tip contacts. The page does not say where offshore the foot was found, who found it, the cause of death, or whether other remains were recovered. No contemporary 2003 newspaper account was located.