While a family was combing the Northern California shoreline for seashells, they stumbled upon a startling find that has shed light on a long-standing mystery. This peculiar case has intrigued investigators, as it involves the same individual being identified twice.

The skeletal remains discovered in 2022 at Sonoma County’s Salmon Creek State Beach were confirmed to belong to Walter Karl Kinney, a 59-year-old ex-banker from Santa Rosa who vanished in 1999. This revelation was made public by the DNA Doe Project and supported by local law enforcement.

Adding another layer of intrigue to the story, investigators made an unexpected revelation.

Parts of Kinney’s remains had actually been uncovered and identified many years earlier, creating a unique scenario where the same individual was identified in separate cases, spanning several decades.

Walter Karl Kinney, a former Santa Rosa banker who disappeared in 1999 and was later identified through DNA after remains were found on a Northern California beach. (DNA Doe Project/Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office)

“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. 

The surf along Sonoma Coast State Beach at Gibson Beach is viewed during a stormy afternoon on May 5, 2017, near Bodega Bay, California. (George Rose/Getty Images)

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. 

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.

Coast Guard cadets run along Salmon Creek Beach in Bodega Bay, California, along the Sonoma County coastline where human remains were discovered years later.

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.

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.”

Authorities have not released a cause or manner of death, and it remains unclear how Kinney’s remains became separated and discovered decades apart.

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. 

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

Jenny McCarthy recently opened up about a grueling six-month ordeal last year, during which she endured a series of dental complications. An infected root canal and a problematic dental implant led to nine surgeries and persistent infections affecting her mouth.

‘I started growing these growths on my eye,’ the 53-year-old presenter confessed on the podcast Heal Squad x Maria Menounos on Sunday.

“It looked like the worst kind of whitehead, with a pus-filled tip oozing infection,” McCarthy described vividly.

Upon further investigation, McCarthy’s functional medicine doctor uncovered that she was suffering from severe mold toxicity, which resulted in mycotoxin poisoning.

In a preview of an upcoming episode of The Masked Singer, obtained by Us Weekly, McCarthy explained, “Mold releases toxins in dust particles. Most people with strong immune systems can handle it,” she said.

“For those with weaker immune systems, leaky gut, or candida—issues I’m already battling—it’s a different story,” she added.

Jenny McCarthy, 53, went through ‘six months of living hell’ last year when an infected root canal and bad dental implant led to nine surgeries on her mouth followed by constant infections (pictured last Thursday)

McCarthy was shocked when she realized the ‘certain mold’ she has can cause seizures.

‘[My doctor] goes, “If this thing that you’ve got crosses the blood brain barrier, you’re going to be in the hospital having seizures,”‘ the former Playboy Playmate recalled.

‘I’m like, “Oh, my God!”‘

After McCarthy was on ‘antibiotics for a year’ eating ‘only soft foods’ – she realized ‘the mycotoxins made me antibiotic resistant, so no wonder why infection, infection, infection. I was taking all these antibiotics that weren’t working for me anymore.’

The two-time Daytime Emmy nominee is now on a heavy-duty mold protocol to combat her onslaught of symptoms.

On February 18, McCarthy gave a public shout out to the three dentists who ‘saved her’ in Illinois and California – Dr. Dean Lodding, Dr. Beth Ann Damas and Dr. Ben Javid.

The Formless Beauty founder seems very cautious about what she puts into her body, though she still embraces beauty treatments like Botox, fillers, fat transfers, and breast implants. 

McCarthy made headlines in 2014 for claiming to The Daily Beast that she ‘cured’ her son Evan Asher’s autism with chelation therapy under the disproven belief that mercury in vaccines causes the lifelong developmental condition.

The 2025 FOX Winter Preview host welcomed the 23-year-old gamer during her six-year marriage to filmmaker John Asher, which ended in 2005.

McCarthy is also stepmother to her second husband Donnie Wahlberg’s two sons – Xavier, 33, and Elijah, 24 – from his 11-year marriage to realtor Kimberly Fey, which ended in 2010.

As for her close friendship with US secretary of health and human services RFK Jr., the former View host scoffed: ‘I am a walking trigger for people already and have been for 20 years with my vaccine stance. I can say I supported Bobby. I’m fearful of the vaccine schedule and I love Jesus.’

‘I started growing these growths on my eye,’ the presenter confessed on the podcast Heal Squad x Maria Menounos on Sunday. ‘Yes, it looked like the nastiest whitehead, pus-filled eraser top… oozing infection’

McCarthy’s ‘functional medicine doctor’ decided to dig deeper into her symptoms and discovered that severe mold toxicity had caused mycotoxin poisoning 

After The Masked Singer panelist was on ‘antibiotics for a year’ eating ‘only soft foods’ – she realized ‘the mycotoxins made me antibiotic resistant, so no wonder why infection, infection, infection. I was taking all these antibiotics that weren’t working for me anymore’

McCarthy is now on a heavy-duty mold protocol to combat her onslaught of symptoms

On February 18, the two-time Daytime Emmy nominee gave a public shout out to the three dentists who ‘saved her’ in Illinois and California – Dr. Dean Lodding, Dr. Beth Ann Damas and Dr. Ben Javid

On Monday, McCarthy shared a snap of herself hiking with second husband Donnie Wahlberg and her 23-year-old son Evan Asher (center)

She currently executive produces and serves panelist duties on the 11-episode 14th season of The Masked Singer, which concludes this Wednesday with a two-hour finale on Fox

‘Those three things alone will make people run the other direction.’

McCarthy currently executive produces and serves panelist duties on the 11-episode 14th season of The Masked Singer, which concludes this Wednesday with a two-hour finale on Fox.

The Southern Illinois University drop-out is said to earn between $1.25 million and $2.5 million per season on the celebrity singing competition, which was adapted from the South Korean series King of Mask Singer.

The star – who boasts 6.4 million social media followers – is also every bit the influencer with paid partnerships for brands like Desert Moon Hyperbarics and Wellness, L’AGENCE and Welcome Home Rentals.

McCarthy’s 56-year-old hubby currently executive produces and stars as detective Danny Reagan in the 20-episode inaugural season of Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier’s police procedural Boston Blue, which airs Fridays on CBS.

Boston Blue is a direct spin-off of Wahlberg’s prior procedural, Blue Bloods, which concluded in 2024 after 14 seasons.

The two-time Emmy nominee’s nineties boyband, New Kids on the Block, are scheduled to resume their Las Vegas residency at the Dolby Live at Park MGM on June 19.

The married couple of 11 years originally met in 2012 while appearing as side-by-side guests on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

A father orchestrated a tragic ambush by convincing his daughter and her mother to meet him at a stadium parking lot with the promise of giving them money, only to fatally shoot them.

John Mbuyi, aged 30, took the lives of Raissa Thatukila, 33, and his six-year-old daughter, Nathy Mbuyi, in a calculated attack outside Birdville Stadium in Haltom City, Texas, last Friday. Authorities described the shocking event as meticulously pre-arranged, which ended with Mbuyi turning the gun on himself.

Emerging from his U-Haul truck, Mbuyi opened fire on Thatukila and his young daughter while they sat in their car, after enticing them to the location under the guise of financial assistance, as reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The fatal incident occurred amidst a heated custody battle, with Mbuyi reportedly harboring deep-seated resentment towards Thatukila, according to statements from Haltom City police on Monday.

Sgt. Rick Alexander previously noted that the victims were related, stating, “we believe they had a familial connection,” according to a report by KDFW-TV.

Police also revealed that Mbuyi was grieving the loss of his dad and had expressed “concerning thoughts” about death prior to the shooting.

“Based on the evidence, detectives have concluded this was not a spontaneous incident but a deliberate act of violence,” police said as they described it as a “premeditated and targeted.”

After gunning down his two victims, he shot himself and died in hospital.

Residents spoke of the horror, which unfolded near a high school.

“It’s just heart-wrenching to know that something like that happened at our job,” bus driver Jacque Hall, who was finishing her shift when came across the crime scene, told KDFW.

“I just hope it wasn’t one of the kids from our buses. Because, these kids, I know for me, they’re my kids.

“You cannot pass by here anymore and not think about these families that their lives were lost, and especially, this child.”

Birdville school district officials have offered counseling to students that have been impacted.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.

Disneyland Paris has embarked on an exciting new era with the unveiling of World of Frozen, a pivotal centerpiece in the transformation and rebranding of its second theme park, now known as Disney Adventure World.

This revitalized park seeks to envelop visitors in captivating storytelling. Central to this vision is Adventure Way, a beautifully landscaped promenade featuring the “Raiponce Tangled Spin” ride and The Regal View Restaurant & Lounge. This scenic pathway guides visitors to Adventure Bay, where the “Disney Cascade of Lights” nighttime show dazzles audiences.

The grand opening ceremony was marked by a thrilling moment as Spider-Man made a dramatic appearance atop the park’s iconic Earffel Tower, officially announcing the new Disney Adventure World name. The celebration commenced with children and families from the Make-A-Wish foundation being the first to explore the newly designed paths.

Within the enchanting World of Frozen, guests were transported to a meticulously crafted Arendelle. This new land includes the “Frozen Ever After” ride, the “A Celebration in Arendelle” stage show, and the Nordic Crowns Tavern, offering a menu inspired by Scandinavian flavors.

The park’s grand reveal was highlighted by a welcome ceremony featuring prominent Disney figures such as Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences; Thomas Mazloum, President of Disney Experiences; and Natacha Rafalski, President of Disneyland Paris.

“Disney Adventure World will be known as a place where guests can step into the Disney, Marvel and Pixar stories they love deeply,” Mazloum said during the event.

The celebration featured a performance by singer Santa, who played a piano while singing “Into the Unknown” from “Frozen 2.” Joining Santa, A 10-year-old Make-A-Wish recipient named Lou joined the performance for a duet of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” alongside a robotic Olaf.

The day also included appearances by international celebrities, including “Emily in Paris” stars Lucas Bravo and Camille Razat, and Spice Girl Emma Bunton.

Guests can now step into the magic themselves as Disney Adventure World and the World of Frozen are officially open to the public at Disneyland Paris.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Disney Parks and this ABC station.