Cold Cases of the Golden Coast

Note: While this write-up was originally published on August 5, 2025, I regularly revisit cases, check for updates, ensure that I have exhausted all sources, etc., and then make note of when I last did so, no matter how minor. When edits are extensive, I re-post the write-up entirely. This post was last updated on February 18, 2026.    From the Sept. 14, 1977 edition of the  Fremont Argus. Background   Kurt Theodore Kaikinger was born on November 18, 1948 in San Francisco, CA to parents Theodore Joseph Kaikinger and Elaine Barbara Botzer, who had married in April of that year. Theodore's parents were originally from France. Kurt was the oldest of three boys, with his younger brothers Karl and Christian being born in 1950 and 1956, respectively. By 1950 the family was living in Oakland, Alameda County, CA before moving to San Leandro in the same county. Kurt graduated from Pacific High School in San Leandro in 1966.  According to classmates of his, who posted on ...

At about 4:45pm on Wednesday, September 19, 1979, the body of a teenager or  young man  was discovered in the Los Angeles Riverbed, north of the Patata St overpass/trestle in Bell, LA County, CA. He had been deceased for only some hours prior, and his face was recognizable; a postmortem photo is available through a link on the Doe Network. The cause and manner of death have not been released. Artist rendering from NCMEC. John Doe was 15 to 25 years old, 5'8, and 129 lbs. The estimated age group listed by NamUs is "Adult - Pre 30." He was white and had brown eyes and short, thin, light brown hair. A reconstruction of him created by NCMEC is available. When found, he was wearing blue slacks, a Hawaiian print shirt from K-Mart, a brown leather belt, underwear, and white socks with a red stripe at the top. John Doe's dentals, DNA, and fingerprints are all available for comparison. He has six MP exclusions on NamUs, as well as one repeat: John Doe is not Donald Rexroth (wh...