A severed foot that appeared on a beach in 2022 has now been identified as belonging to a man who vanished almost 30 years ago.
Officials in Northern California confirm that the remains found on a Sonoma County beach are those of Walter Carl Kinney, a former banker from Santa Rosa who disappeared in late 1999.
This identification adds a puzzling twist to a case where Kinney was previously labeled as “John Doe” on two different occasions over the years.
The events trace back to August 1999 when Kinney, at the age of 59, went missing without any leads. Toward the end of that year, a leg was discovered close to Bodega Head, roughly eight miles away from where the recent remains were found.
Back then, the only evidence was a pair of size 12 Rockport walking shoes with custom orthopedic inserts.
Unfortunately, until 2003, there were no names attached to the body. A clue from Kinney’s daughter living in Ohio led investigators to review his medical records. Ultimately, an X-ray of his foot matched the remains in his shoe, officially declaring Kinney deceased.
The mystery returned in June 2022 when a family looking for shells at Salmon Creek Beach uncovered a long bone protruding from the sand.
They were surprised to find surgical hardware still attached. Despite thorough searches along the shoreline, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office could not uncover any additional parts or clues regarding his identity.
For nearly four years, “Salmon Creek John Doe” was an unsolved case. However, the investigation gained traction after local law enforcement teamed up with the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit specializing in forensic genetic genealogy.
In March 2026, researchers made a breakthrough. Using DNA profiles and tracing family trees back to San Diego, they identified matches. They were taken aback to discover that the DNA from the leg bone found in 2022 perfectly matched Kinney’s from the 2003 case.
“This case was unusual. It’s not common for someone to be a John Doe twice,” commented Traci Onders, team leader for the DNA Doe Project. “But thanks to genetic genealogy, we’ve managed to solve this mystery and offer answers to everyone involved.”
