Archive · 14 Jan 2026
Skeleton Found in 2006 Confirmed as Missing Oregon Mayor
A man named Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher was a former mayor of a small town in Oregon.
He went missing in 2006 while on a fishing trip and was believed to have drowned.
His body was never found, and the search was called off.
In 2006, some bones were found on a beach in Washington, but no one knew who they belonged to.
Many years later, in 2025, scientists used DNA to figure out that the bones were actually Ed Asher's.
This helped solve the mystery of what happened to him.
Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher, former mayor of Fossil, Oregon, disappeared during a fishing trip in Tillamook Bay in 2006.
His skeleton was found on a beach in Taholah, Washington, in November 2006 but remained unidentified for years.
The remains were registered in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as Grays Harbor County John Doe.
In 2025, Othram, a genetic genealogy firm, used DNA profiling to identify the remains as Asher's.
Asher was a well-known local figure who served as a lineman, store owner, firefighter, and briefly as the town's mayor.
- Who
- Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher, former mayor of Fossil, Oregon
- What
- His skeleton was found and identified in 2025
- When
- He disappeared on September 5, 2006, and his remains were found in November 2006
- Where
- He went missing in Tillamook Bay, Oregon, and his remains were found in Taholah, Washington
- Why
- He was believed to have drowned during a fishing trip
- Name
- Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher
- Age at Disappearance
- 72
- Location of Disappearance
- Tillamook Bay, Oregon
- Date of Disappearance
- September 5, 2006
- Location of Remains Found
- Taholah, Washington
- Date of Remains Found
- November 2006
- Identification Year
- 2025
- Identification Method
- DNA profiling by Othram
