Police

Body in Monroe County identified as man who vanished 3 years ago

Published

5 years ago

March 15, 2019

Jose Zuniga-Jimenez, who was last seen alive in 2016

A body found last November near Tomah reportedly has been identified as a Sparta man who may have been dead for three years.

The Monroe County sheriff’s office says an abandoned car helped investigators identify remains discovered in the Town of Clifton as Jose Zuniga-Jimenez, born in 1977.

Zuniga-Jimenez was last seen in March, 2016, fleeing a house in Elroy after a domestic incident with his estranged wife.

The abandoned car, belonging to Jose’s roommate, was found in April of 2016, and apparently had been in that spot for weeks or months.

A hunter came upon skeletal remains near Tomah last fall, and police were reminded of the abandoned car that was found in the same area.

By early March of this year, DNA tests confirmed that the remains belonged to Zuniga-Jimenez.

Related Topics:abandoned car monroe county remains

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.