Bones That Washed Up on Beach in 2006 Finally Identified

Nearly 20 years after an Oregon man vanished on a crabbing trip, investigators finally know where he ended up. A forensics lab has identified skeletal remains found on a Washington beach in 2006 as those of Clarence Edwin "Ed" Asher, a former mayor of Fossil, Oregon. Asher, 72, disappeared that September after heading out alone to crab in Tillamook Bay on the Oregon coast, per CBS News. The Coast Guard later located his boat, but no sign of him. He was ultimately declared dead, with officials suspecting he had fallen overboard. His wife told authorities he typically didn't wear a life jacket and couldn't swim.

Two months after his disappearance, skeletal remains washed up on a beach on the Quinault reservation in Grays Harbor County, Washington, about 185 miles north of Tillamook Bay, per the New York Post. Investigators at the time could only determine that the bones belonged to a man somewhere between 20 and 60 years old, about 5'9" and 170 to 180 pounds. With no match to missing persons, the case went cold. The Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office and coroner revived the case in 2025, partnering with Texas-based lab Othram.

Using DNA testing and investigative genetic genealogy—comparing the unknown man's DNA to that of potential relatives—scientists were able to narrow in on Asher and ultimately confirm his identity. Asher, who moved to Fossil in 1952, once served as the town's mayor, ran Asher's Variety Store starting in 1965, and volunteered as a firefighter and ambulance driver, according to an obituary published by the Oregonian. His death left "a large hole" in the heart of his wife of 20 years, Helen, according to her 2018 obituary.