The first time I saw this phenomenon was in the summer of 2007 on a boardwalk alongside a beach in Nova Scotia, Canada. It was really weird to see this huge pair of white sneakers without anyone in them. They were placed as if they had been vacated while their owner was running or walking on the boardwalk. I had the impression he was floating above me, spooky. We figured it was a candid camera gag or whatever and ran on to the beach before the mosquitoes consumed us. I didn’t take a picture or even think about looking for a telephone. The shoes were still there when we came back to the car.