30-Year Mystery Solved:John Doe Identified as Native American Man

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. (Civic Media) — Authorities have identified a homicide victim whose body was found near railroad tracks in southeastern Wisconsin nearly 30 years ago.

The Kenosha County Medical Examiner’s Office and Pleasant Prairie Police Department announced Tuesday that the victim was Ronald Louis Dodge, born in 1952 on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin.

Dodge’s decomposed body was discovered on Aug. 27, 1993, near the Soo Line tracks in Pleasant Prairie, just north of the Illinois border. He remained unidentified for decades and was buried in a local cemetery.

The case was reopened in 2014 when investigators realized Dodge’s skull had been retained as evidence. Over the next nine years, authorities worked with several agencies, including the DNA Doe Project, to identify him.

Forensic testing revealed Dodge died from a gunshot wound around the time his body was found.

“Cases involving Native American Jane and John Does are extremely difficult to research,” said Robin Espensen, co-lead of the DNA Doe Project team. “We were fortunate to have the support of Ronald’s relatives to make this identification possible.”

Police are urging anyone with information about Dodge’s death to contact the Pleasant Prairie Police Department.

The investigation remains ongoing as authorities seek to determine the circumstances surrounding Dodge’s homicide nearly three decades after his body was discovered.