Bones found in Wisconsin music store chimney identified

(MADISON, Wis.) – Human bones found inside the chimney of a Wisconsin music store in 1989 have been identified as those of a man whose last known contact with relatives was in 1970, authorities said.

The DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit that uses genealogy to identify unknown people, announced this week that the bones are those of Ronnie Joe Kirk, who was originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

His bones and skull were found in September 1989 in Madison, Wisconsin, in a pile at the bottom of the narrow chimney of a since-demolished building that at the time housed a music store.

Authorities tried unsuccessfully to identify the remains of the person, whom they called “Chimney Doe.”

But in late 2018, Madison Police Detective Lindsey Ludden took the case to the DNA Doe Project and hair samples from the skull were sent in 2021 to Astrea Forensics, a California-based DNA sequencing company specializing in in degraded samples.

Gwen Knapp of the DNA Doe Project said it took more than two years to develop a DNA profile suitable for investigating genetic genealogy. This led to the bones being identified as those of Kirk, who was born in 1942, adopted, married twice and had three children.

“This was a unique case of adoption and multiple generations of different marriages, despite there being a relatively close relative DNA match in the family,” Knapp said. “We are so excited to be able to give Ronnie Kirk his name back and hope his family solves Ronnie’s long-term disappearance.”

Madison police spokeswoman Stephanie Fryer said Kirk’s last confirmed contact with relatives was in 1970, when he divorced his second wife in Missouri. Fryer said Kirk’s children, two from his first marriage and one from his second, are in their 50s and did not know each other until investigators contacted them.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Kirk’s relatives asked for privacy and no additional information was given about them beyond a statement saying they were happy to finally know what had happened to him.