In 1989, a custodian in a music store in Madison, Wisconsin discovered human remains in the chimney. At first, it was not clear that the remains were of a male or female, and remnants on clothing though to be a dress fueled confusion. An expert told police that the remains certainly belonged to a man, but since there was no ID with the body, they had no idea who the person was, nor did they know how their body had managed to get down the very small opening of the chimney, or if he was a homicide victim. For years the case remained a mystery, and the man was named 'Chimney Doe'. Eventually, DNA & genealogy proved that the remains were that of Ronnie Joe Kirk who dropped from sight in 1970 after losing contact with his family. Kirk was born in Oklahoma and is known to have travelled through Alabama, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. Authorities now know who he is, but how his remains got where they were found, and whether or not he's a homicide victim, remain a mystery and police are still trying to put the pieces together. Chimney Doe now has his name back; it's Ronnie Joe Kirk, and this is his story. 

Donna Sue Hyatt was a loving daughter, sister, mother and grandmother who faced some challenges in life. She relied on her friends, family and faith to help her put a smile on her face every day, and she was always friendly, chatty and sunny – until someone murdered her on her living room floor. There were plenty of suspects both in Donna Sue’s life and in the larger Carlsbad, NM area she called home. But police could not pin the crime on any one of them, although they had their suspicions.  Eventually the case went cold. DNA testing in 2010 revived the case, but could not solve it.  It would take the advent of forensic genealogy to link a repeat offender to Donna’s brutal slaying – someone who had gotten away with it before. 

On March 19,1980, a deceased man was found off of Highway 17, between Rhinelander and Eagle River in Wisconsin. He carried no ID, and the authorities came to the conclusion that he had died as a result of hypothermia, perhaps after falling in the cold and never waking up. The man didn't appear to have the ideal clothing or shoes for walking out in such a cold area, and he didn't carry any ID. After feeling comfortable that they had resolved how he died, the authorities struggled to find anyone in the area who they felt could be a match for him, and his prints were not found to be a match to any on file. The dead man was dubbed 'Rhinelander John Doe'.