Overview
- The DNA Doe Project built a DNA profile from the Salmon Creek Beach bone and, after a GEDmatch upload in January 2026, researchers identified Walter Karl Kinney in March 2026.
- Investigators linked the 2022 bone to partial remains found near Bodega Head in 1999, which were matched to Kinney in 2003 using hospital X-rays of a foot inside a size 12 Rockport shoe.
- The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said the cause and manner of death remain undetermined and told USA TODAY the case is closed unless more remains are recovered.
- The bone, likely a tibia with surgical hardware, was found on June 17, 2022 by a family searching for seashells, and a search of the area turned up no other remains.
- The nonprofit called the case unusual because the same person was identified as a John Doe twice, providing long-awaited confirmation for Kinney’s family decades after he vanished.