A decades-old area cold case may have just gotten a little warmer.
Kenosha County, Wisconsin authorities announced at a Tuesday news conference they have identified a 1993 John Doe homicide victim as Ronald Louis Dodge of the Menominee Indian Tribe.
The 31-year-old homicide case has been reopened, officials said.
Dodge reportedly had connections to the Chicago area, possibly living on the north side of the city at the time of this death, according to authorities. Dodge’s wife Kathryn Erickson died in Chicago in November of 1993, a news release said.
Dodge, who was born on Dec. 27, 1952, was found dead on Aug. 27, 1993, according to the release. His body was in “an advanced state of decomposition” alongside what is now the Canadian Pacific railroad tracks in the village of Pleasant Prairie, near the Illinois state line.
According to Pleasant Prairie Police Chief David Smetana, Dodge had a suffered gunshot wound, “near the time of his death.”
At the time, no identification could be made, and the remains were buried in St. John’s Cemetary in Randall, Wisconsin.
Smetana said the identification was a major break in the case. He urged anyone with information about Dodge, “from the Menominee Indian Reservation to Chicago,” to reach out to investigators.
“You can’t, from a practical standpoint, start an investigation without knowing who the person was,” Smetana said. “I’ve got high hopes we’ll bring justice to the Dodge family, but it depends on the public’s help.”
Joey Awonohopay, vice chairman of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, gave thanks in his native language for the diligent work of investigators over many years.
“The most honorable way we can express gratitude is through our original breath,” Awonohopay said.
He read a statement from the Dodge family, who also expressed their gratitude for bringing some closure to the family after decades of uncertainty.
“The diligence of the Pleasant Prairie Police Department and the Kenosha County Medical Examiner’s Office has brought our search to an emotional end,” the statement said. “Ronald has been laid to rest amongst his relatives, home on the Menominee Reservation.”
Kenosha County Medical Examiner Patrice Hall said the case was one of the most difficult she’s worked on in her 20-year career. She was “honored” to be able to bring some closure to the victim’s family, she said.
“Over the years we’ve had several John Doe cases, and we’ve been able to solve those cases and bring a resolution to the family, and give the person their name back,” she said. “Everybody deserves to have their name returned to them.”
Finding Dodge required taking advantage of technology and techniques developed in the three decades since the case went cold. In December 2014, Hall resumed the investigation after learning the Pleasant Prairie Police Department had kept the victim’s skull as evidence.
Over the next nine years, the Kenosha County Medical Examiner’s Office and police worked with numerous agencies throughout the country to identify the victim, including the DNA Doe Project, which was able to find leads to Dodge’s extended family members.
Hall spoke with the family, providing a clay model of Dodge’s face. On June 5, 2023, Allen Dodge, the victim’s brother, gave Hall a call. His brother had been missing since May 8, 1993. DNA samples were obtained from Allen Dodge and another sibling, and authorities were able to confirm the victim was Dodge.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the department at 262-948-8910 or tips@pleasantprairiewi.gov. Anonymous tips can be made to Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at 262-656-7333 or 800-807-8477.
