A severed leg that surfaced on a beach in 2022 has been conclusively identified as belonging to a man who disappeared nearly 30 years ago.

In Northern California, officials have confirmed that the leg found on a Sonoma County beach is that of Walter Karl Kinney, a former banker from Santa Rosa who vanished in late 1999.

This identification adds another strange twist to a case where Kinney has been identified as “John Doe” twice, separated by decades.

The story began in August 1999 when Kinney, at the age of 59, mysteriously disappeared. Later that year, a leg was discovered near Bodega Head, about five miles from the location of the recent find.

Back then, the only lead was a size 12 Rockport walking shoe with a custom orthopedic insert.

The case went dormant until 2003, when Kinney’s daughter in Ohio provided a crucial tip, prompting investigators to review his medical records. X-rays of his feet matched the remains found in the shoe, leading to Kinney being officially declared dead.

The mystery resurfaced in June 2022.

While walking along the picturesque Salmon Creek Beach, a family hunting for seashells stumbled upon a long bone protruding from the sand.

To their shock, the bone still had surgical hardware attached to it. Despite an intensive search of the shoreline, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office was unable to find any other parts of the body or clues to the person’s identity.

For nearly four years, the “Salmon Creek John Doe” remained a statistical mystery. However, the investigation gained new momentum when local law enforcement partnered with the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization specializing in forensic genetic genealogy.

In March 2026, the breakthrough finally arrived. By utilizing DNA profiles and tracing family trees back to San Diego, researchers identified a match. They were stunned to realize that the DNA from the 2022 leg bone was a perfect match for the man identified back in 2003.

“This case was unusual – it’s not often we see someone end up as a John Doe twice,” DNA Doe Project team leader Traci Onders said in a statement. “But thanks to investigative genetic genealogy, we were able to resolve this mystery and provide some answers to everyone involved in this case.”

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters