Identified! WI - Ridgeland, WhtMale 168UMWI, 18-24, Pins in Left Tibia, Sep'82 - Kraig King

[inmyhumbleopinion]

From the Barron County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page:
Posted 1 hour ago:
“Press Release - January 7, 2020

The Barron County Sheriff’s Department with the assistance of the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and DNA Doe Project have identified decomposed human remains from 1982.

The remains are identified as Kraig King from White Bear Lake, MN. King’s next of kin have been notified.

On September 21, 1982, loggers found a pile of clothes in the woods on private land about 100 yards from the tree line near Highway 25 about 4 miles north of Ridgeland, Barron County. Upon closer inspection, they discovered it was actually badly decomposed human remains. After conducting an autopsy a pathologist reported the deceased was a white male, between 18 and 22 years old, weighing 180 to 195 pounds and was 5’8 to 5’9 tall. The subject had brown hair and a husky build. It is estimated the time of death was April to May 1982 and the manner of death was homicide.

The Barron County Sheriff’s Department is seeking the public’s help as the investigation of King’s homicide continues. Anyone with information on why the victim would have been in Barron County in 1982, or any knowledge of this case should contact the Barron County Sheriff’s Department at 715-537 3106.

Without the assistance of the DNA Doe Project, Barron County John Doe would have never been identified.

The DNA Doe Project is a non-profit volunteer organization formed to identify unidentified deceased persons using forensic genealogy. The DNA Doe Project also wanted to acknowledge the following people/organizations: DNA Solutions, HudsonAlpha Discovery, Justin Loe – Full Genomes Corporation, Dr. Greg Magoon – Aerodyne Research Corporation and GEDmatch.

The Barron County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate and work with the DNA Doe Project on the December 3, 2017, unidentified remains discovered and we do not believe they are connected.

Per Chris Fitzgerald, Barron County Sheriff” (BBM)
Barron County Sheriff's Department

It appears to be about 69 driving miles from White Bear Lake, MN to Ridgeland, WI (1 hr. 18 min. to 1 hr. 30 min., depending on route taken, per Google Maps):
خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

ETA: Bolding
Rest In Peace, Mr. King.

 

[ntt1]

Kraig Patrick King was born May 20, 1961 as per Minnesota Birth Records

 

[Cubby]

Human remains found in Barron County in 1982 identified as MN man, info sought about death

 

[carbuff]

Rest in peace, Mr. King, and condolences to your friends and family.

 

[jaejae]

Here is another report about this case:

37 years later, remains found in Wisconsin identified as White Bear Lake man – Twin Cities

 

[JovanSrna]

Some bits of information.
His parents are still alive.
He wasn't reported missing.
Tips have rolled in very quickly after the announcement. This gives me hope.
Friends from kindergarten, high school and Catholic church have also found out. The class of 1979 for his high school has a Facebook page (or group).

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Here is another report about this case:

37 years later, remains found in Wisconsin identified as White Bear Lake man – Twin Cities

Some bits of information.
His parents are still alive.
He wasn't reported missing.
Tips have rolled in very quickly after the announcement. This gives me hope.
Friends from kindergarten, high school and Catholic church have also found out. The class of 1979 for his high school has a Facebook page (or group).

Thank you for posting. Very well-researched article, IMO:
“[SBM]

[Kraig King of White Bear Lake, MN] who was an adult, was never reported missing, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said, and the case eventually went cold.

‘1982 was a long time ago,’ Fitzgerald said Tuesday. ‘People did things differently back then. There’s no right or wrong. Law enforcement was done differently in 1982 vs. 1992 vs. 2002. … Hopefully, now, the family can have some closure.’

King’s parents, Paul and Judy King, declined to comment when reached by phone at their house in White Bear Lake. ‘This is very, very painful,’ she said.

Investigators from the Barron County Sheriff’s Department informed the Kings about a week ago that their son’s remains had been identified.

‘They were happy to know where he was, and that we know it was him,’ Fitzgerald said. ‘They were relieved about that. All those years, you don’t know that answer, and now you know that answer. Obviously, it’s hard to hear the murder part of it, so now we work the second part of this murder investigation.’

[SBM]

Sara Schoetz Werzel, of White Bear Township, learned the news from a Facebook page devoted to the White Bear Lake Class of 1979. She and King used to ‘walk to kindergarten together,’ she said, and their families both went to St. Mary’s of the Lake Catholic Church in White Bear Lake.

‘I saw it, and said, “Oh, my gosh, that’s Kraig King,”’ she said. ‘I hope all can be put at rest now, and there will be closure for his family and friends.’

The Barron County Sheriff’s Department is asking the public for any information on King and why he would have been in the area in 1982. We’ve already gotten some calls, Fitzgerald said. ‘Somebody knows something.’

’What we have learned in the past year is, you never give up hope. No matter what, you never give up.’” (BBM)

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

On DDP’s role in the investigation:
“[SBM]

Volunteer genealogists with the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit volunteer organization formed to identify unidentified remains using forensic genealogy, are credited with discovering King’s identity.

After uploading King’s DNA to a GEDmatch.com database on Dec. 12, they had a match almost immediately, said forensic genealogist Jenny Lecus.

‘It was our fastest “solve” ever,’ said Lecus, who lives in Franklin, Wis., a city in southern Milwaukee County, and served as the team lead on the case. ’We got it down to that family almost immediately.’

Lecus contacted Barron County investigators, who checked databases and determined there was no indication of ‘proof of life’ for King after the date the remains were found, she said. ‘They were able to contact family, and they were finally able to make that confirmation.’

[SBM]

Barron County officials learned about DNA Doe Project from an agent with the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation who helped investigate the Jayme Closs case. Officials submitted the remains of King and bones that were found in 2017 south of Barron that belonged to a man who died of a gunshot wound to his head area; Lecus is working on this case as well, she said.

The bones were found about six miles from where King’s remains were found in 1982 ‘on the same road, just off of Highway 25,’ Fitzgerald said. ‘It sounds suspicious, but they don’t appear to be connected. It’s a 12-mile road. It’s a corridor to Minneapolis through Menomonie.’

Melissa Cowley-Huff, of Chippewa Falls, Wis., said Tuesday that she was glad the mystery of King’s identity had been solved. Her father, Michael Cowley, of Barron, Wis., who died in 2016, was one of the loggers who found the body.

’They kept smelling something,’ she said. ’They thought a deer had died nearby and they kept having to work around it, so he said they stopped working to try and find where it was so they could bury it, so that they didn’t have to keep smelling it. … We always wondered if they found out who he was or what happened.’

[SBM]” (BBM)
37 years later, remains found in Wisconsin identified as White Bear Lake man – Twin Cities

 

[JerseyGirl]

Human remains found in western Wisconsin in 1982 ID'd as missing White Bear Lake man

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Interesting comments starting to pop up: Barron County Sheriff's Department

 

[JovanSrna]

Interesting comments starting to pop up: Barron County Sheriff's Department

Here are some interesting findings from the comments on that page.

* Kraig's father was gym coach at White Bear High School. According to Wikipedia, this school was merged with White Bear Mariner High School in the 1983–84 school year to form what is now known as White Bear Lake Area High School.
* Kraig has four brothers. One of his brothers died about five years ago.
* Kraig was into acid around the time of his death.
* His family was well known in the area but did not report him missing so everyone was absolutely clueless about his disappearance.

 

[Rural_PC]

Weird that his brothers obit does not mention him?

View Kent KING's Obituary and express your condolences

 

[JovanSrna]

He was a hockey player. This could explain the knee injury.

 

[Melt71]

Weird that his brothers obit does not mention him?

it says “survived by” his parents and other brothers; perhaps family had assumed Kraig to be deceased.

 

[Rural_PC]

it says “survived by” his parents and other brothers; perhaps family had assumed Kraig to be deceased.

I guess, but that would be odd to me.

 

[carbuff]

Yeah some of the comments are interesting for sure.

 

[JovanSrna]

I find it a bit unnerving that they didn't report their son and brother missing but I'd like to share this sentiment:
''Dosta im je muke njihove'', which means ''They have had enough of their torment''.
In a sense, they are fortunate to have lived long enough to find out the truth but this is also a punishment and a burden as well.

 

[Sneaker33]

Here are some interesting findings from the comments on that page.

* Kraig's father was gym coach at White Bear High School. According to Wikipedia, this school was merged with White Bear Mariner High School in the 1983–84 school year to form what is now known as White Bear Lake Area High School.
* Kraig has four brothers. One of his brothers died about five years ago.
* Kraig was into acid around the time of his death.
* His family was well known in the area but did not report him missing so everyone was absolutely clueless about his disappearance.

 

[Sneaker33]

Where did you find info about drug use? I have not seen or read any statements from family or friends.

 

[Melt71]

Where did you find info about drug use? I have not seen or read any statements from family or friends.

Not sure about @JovanSrna but I saw it in one of the early comments on LE’s Facebook post. From a person who posted quite a bit about the family, sibling’s names etc. The poster apparently went to school with the UID and brothers. Not verified by LE or family.