Fox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
A grim discovery by a family searching for seashells along a Northern California beach has unraveled a decades-old mystery — one so unusual investigators say the same man was identified twice. Human remains found in 2022 along Sonoma County’s Salmon Creek State Beach have been identified as Walter Karl Kinney, a 59-year-old former banker from nearby Santa Rosa who vanished in 1999, according to the DNA Doe Project and local authorities.
What makes the case even more interesting is what investigators uncovered next. Portions of Kinney’s remains had already been found years earlier and identified, making this a rare case in which the same person was identified in two separate investigations decades apart. ‘LOVERS’ LANE’ MURDERS SUSPECT NABBED DECADES AFTER COUPLE FOUND DEAD IN CAR 'This case was unusual – it’s not often we see someone end up as a John Doe twice,' Traci Onders, a team leader with the DNA Doe Project, said on the group's website. 'But thanks to investigative genetic genealogy, we were able to resolve this mystery and provide some answers to everyone involved in this case.' The latest break in the case traces back to June 17, 2022, when a family walking along Salmon Creek Beach spotted a single long bone protruding from the sand. FLORIDA COLD CASE BREAKTHROUGHS: SHERIFF’S UNIT CRACKS TWO LONG-UNSOLVED KILLINGS The bone, believed to be part of a leg and containing surgical hardware, offered one of the only initial clues. A search of the surrounding area did not uncover any additional remains. With few leads, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office partnered with the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit specializing in identifying unknown remains through genetic genealogy. GOT A TIP? A DNA profile was developed and uploaded to a genealogy database in early 2026, allowing volunteer researchers to begin building out family connections. Within just over a week, the team zeroed in on Kinney. FOLLOW US ON X As researchers dug deeper, they uncovered a key link to a separate case from 1999, when partial human remains washed ashore just a few miles away in Bodega Bay. Those remains were identified in 2003 as Kinney using X-ray records after his daughter came forward. GET BREAKING NEWS BY EMAIL Kinney, who was born in 1940, had been living in Santa Rosa at the time of his disappearance. His daughter previously described him as 'smart, sensitive, almost to a fault,' adding that 'this world was just too harsh a place for him.' CLICK HERE FOR MORE US NEWS Authorities have not released a cause or manner of death, and it remains unclear how Kinney’s remains became separated and discovered decades apart. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Officials also have not said whether the case remains open or if the investigation has been formally closed. Fox News Digital reached out to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office for comment.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Megyn Kelly Slings Favorite Insult at Fox News Host in MAGA Civil WarMegyn Kelly and Mark Levin continue to spar over Iran.
Read more »
Fox News Host Body Slammed on Live TV in Bizarre StuntA live TV wrestling demo took an unexpectedly painful turn.
Read more »
Trump Drops Hint About Major War EscalationThe Fox News-obsessed president is relaying his war messaging through cable news.
Read more »
US deploys Marines to Middle East amid Pakistan peace talks | Live Updates from Fox News DigitalPresident Donald Trump's administration began peace talks for the Iran war in Pakistan on Sunday as the U.S. continues to deploy forces to the Middle East.
Read more »
Fox News Host Warns Trump That ‘Tolerance’ for His War Is Running OutJohnny Jones delivered a message to the president on Sunday evening.
Read more »
MTG Brands Fox News ‘Fake News’ as MAGA Civil War DeepensAnn Coulter also compared the network’s Iran war coverage to its false 2020 election claims.
Read more »