Missing since 2006, former Oregon mayor Clarence Ed Asher's skeleton found on a beach in Washington | Today News

A skeleton found on a Washington State beach in 2006 was confirmed to be a former mayor who was believed to have drowned during a fishing trip in Oregon, according to a report by the New York Post.

Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher was believed to be dead after disappearing during a fishing trip at Tillamook Bay, a small inlet along Oregon's coast. The Coast Guard initiated a lengthy search, which was called off on September 6, 2006, just a day after Asher went missing, the report said, citing The Astorian.

Asher, the former mayor of Fossil, Oregon, was 72 years old when he disappeared. Authorities concluded that he had drowned after his wife informed them he was not wearing a lifejacket and lacked the knowledge to swim, the report said.

In November 2006, skeletal remains were discovered on a beach in Taholah, an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation about 185 miles north of Tillamook Bay.

The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office and the Coroner’s Office attempted to identify the remains but failed to find any meaningful leads. The remains were registered in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as Grays Harbor County John Doe and were eventually buried alongside other unresolved cases.

In 2025, forensic evidence from the case was sent to Othram, a Texas-based genetic genealogy firm that specialises in missing persons cases. The company stated it generated a comprehensive DNA profile and, using a sample from a relative of Asher, was able to connect the skeleton to Fossil’s missing mayor.

Helen, Asher’s wife, died in 2018 at age 85 after a prolonged battle with cancer. His sudden passing created “a large hole in Helen’s heart” that motivated her to go back to Condon, Oregon, where they married in 1986, the report said, citing her obituary.