For nearly two decades, the male skeletal remains discovered on a remote Washington beach remained an unsolved mystery—just another unidentified case in law enforcement’s cold files. But thanks to cutting-edge forensic technology, one man’s family can finally lay him to rest with answers.
The remains, found in November 2006 on a beach in Taholah on the Quinault Indian Reservation in Grays Harbor County, have now been identified as Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher, former mayor of Fossil, Oregon, who was 72 years old when he vanished while crabbing in Tillamook Bay months earlier.
The positive identification made public Jan. 13 represents a breakthrough in a case that had baffled authorities for two decades.
Vanished at Sea
The mystery began on the morning of Sept. 5, 2006, when Asher left from Garibaldi’s Old Mill marina in his 21-foot boat around 10 a.m. He was heading to Tillamook Bay to crab and fish, planning to return by 3 p.m., his wife said, the Daily Astorian reported at the time.
When Asher failed to return that evening, his wife contacted the Oregon State Police, and search efforts began. The U.S. Coast Guard deployed multiple resources, including two 23-foot utility boats, a motor lifeboat, an 18-foot skiff, and several HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters from Air Station Astoria.
Searchers found Asher’s boat idling in the water about a half-mile from the Garibaldi Marina with live crab still on board. They recovered two of the three buoys Asher typically used, but found no life jacket. According to his wife, Asher did not typically wear one on the bay and could not swim.
Officials had suspected he fell overboard.
After covering more than 200 miles and working well past dark on the initial search and into the following morning, the Coast Guard suspended its efforts that evening without locating Asher.
Asher was declared legally dead in 2006, presumed to have drowned. His remains would not be identified until 20 years later.
Genetic Testing Breakthrough
Last year, the Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office and the King County Medical Examiner submitted forensic evidence to Othram, a Texas-based genetic genealogy company specializing in missing persons cases. Using advanced DNA testing known as Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing, Othram scientists developed a comprehensive DNA profile from the skeletal remains.
The company’s in-house forensic genealogy team then conducted searches using the profile, developing new leads that were returned to law enforcement. The follow-up investigation led authorities to potential relatives. Reference DNA samples collected from a relative matched the unidentified man’s profile, resulting in a positive identification.
The identification would not have been possible without critical state funding. Gov. Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown, and the Washington State Legislature provided crucial financial support to enable the forensic genetic genealogy testing in this case.
Small-Town Pillar
Asher was born April 2, 1934, in Salem and was raised in Astoria by his parents, Clarence and Delpha Asher.
He opened Asher’s Variety Store in 1965 and worked as a lineman technician for the Fossil Telephone Company until retiring in 1995. He also served as mayor of Fossil and volunteered as a local fireman and ambulance driver. He loved antique cars, fishing, boating, hunting, and cooking, among other things. He was married to his second wife, Helen, for over 20 years at the time he went missing. She died in 2018, aged 85.
