A SEVERED leg that washed ashore on a remote California beach has been linked to a banker that went missing nearly three decades ago.

Authorities have confirmed the remains discovered on Salmon Creek Beach belong to missing Walter Karl Kinney.

Headshot of Walter Karl Kinney, a white man with dark hair, smiling.
Walter Karl Kinney went missing back in 1999Credit: http://www.dnadoeproject.org
 

Walking on Salmon Creek
Remains discovered at Salmon Creek have finally been linked to the missing bankerCredit: Getty
The shocking discovery sheds some light on a case that saw Kinney identified as a “John Doe” on two separate occasions – but decades apart.

In genealogy, a “John Doe” refers to someone whose true identity is unknown.

Kinney, 59, who was a former banker from Santa Rosa, disappeared without a trace in August 1999.

Later that year, a single leg was discovered near Bodega Head.

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At the time, the only clue was a size 12 walking shoe containing a custom orthopaedic insert.

The case went quiet until 2003 when a tip from Kinney’s daughter allowed investigators to stumble upon his medical records.

X-rays of his feet matched the remains left in the shoe, and Kinney was finally declared dead.

In 2022, a family walking along Salmon Creek Beach spotted a bone sticking out the sand.

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The bone still had surgical hardware attached to it.

This body part was approximately five miles from where the first discovery was made.

Authorities started to comb the rest of the shoreline for any other human remains.

Despite their best efforts, they were unable to find any other body parts or clues.

Again, it appeared the discovery would remain a mystery until a breakthrough in March this year.

Law enforcement partnered with DNA Doe Project, a forensic organisation specialising in genetic genealogy.

By using DNA profiles and tracing family trees back to San Diego, researchers were able to identify a match.

DNA from the bone found in 2022 was a perfect match with the man identified in 2003.

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Traci Onders, DNA Doe Project team leader, said: “This case was unusual – it’s not often we see someone end up as a John Doe twice.

“But thanks to investigative genetic genealogy, we were able to resolve this mystery and provide some answer to everyone involved in the case.”

Pacific ocean and Salmon Creek
A family noticed a long bone sticking out of the ground while strolling along the beach in 2022Credit: Getty
 

North Salmon Creek Beach
Authorities were able to match DNA from the bone to those discovered in 2003Credit: Getty