MIDDLETOWN — The body part found Monday afternoon on the shore of the Great Miami River will be sent to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office in connection with a body with a missing foot, according to Middeltown police.

Officials with the Butler County Coroner’s Office refused to accept the foot because they did not have a body missing one. However, the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office does have a body missing a foot, said Middletown police Lt. Scott Reeve.

“When we started our search, we didn’t know the Montgomery County coroner (had a body that) was missing a foot,” he said. “When we initiated our search, we were looking for other body parts, or a body.”

At 3 p.m. Monday, two fishermen found the severed foot — police are unsure if it’s a left or right foot — on the east shore along the river as they were putting out fishing lines, said Reeve. It was found about a third of a mile north of Germantown Road next to a pile of debris.

For the next 6 1/2 hours Middletown police officers and Butler County sheriff’s deputies searched the river for other body parts or a body, said Reeve.

The Butler County River Rescue Team and the sheriff’s office helicopter aided in the search on Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday’s search started around 9 a.m. and ended around 2 p.m. The police brought in dogs from the Buckeye Search and Rescue, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization.

It was not until about noon Tuesday when Reeve said authorities became aware of a Miami Twp. suicide in April, when 22-year-old Dale Snider of Germantown was struck by a Norfolk Southern train near Farmington Road.

Reeve is uncertain if the foot belongs to the body, but it is the strongest lead. The foot is being kept in an evidence refrigerator until it can be sent to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office this morning, he said.

Montgomery County Coroner’s Office officials refused to comment on the case or if they have a body missing a foot.

The site of the suicide and the location of where the foot was found are separated by about 10 miles along the river, and Reeve said, “It would be unusual for a body part to travel that far, but not impossible.”

Reeve said they do not know the size of the foot or if it belonged to a male or female.

“It’s hard to tell when a body part has been in the river; the skin is bleached,” he said.