A skeleton that washed ashore on a Washington state beach nearly two decades ago has been positively identified as a small-town former mayor who vanished during a fishing trip and was presumed drowned.
Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher disappeared in September 2006 while fishing in Tillamook Bay, a small inlet along the Oregon coast. The Coast Guard mounted an extensive search but suspended it on Sept. 6, 2006, one day after Asher went missing, The Astorian reported at the time.
Asher, the former mayor of Fossil, Oregon, was 72 years old. Authorities concluded he likely drowned after his wife told investigators he did not wear a life jacket and did not know how to swim, the outlet reported.
Two months later, in November 2006, skeletal remains were discovered on a beach near 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 county coroner attempted to identify the remains but found no solid leads. The case was eventually entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as Grays Harbor County John Doe and faded into the backlog.
The mystery was finally solved in 2025, when forensic evidence was sent to Othram, a Texas-based genetic genealogy company that specializes in cold cases. Using advanced DNA testing and a sample provided by a relative, the company linked the remains to Asher, Fossil’s long-lost mayor.
Asher’s wife, Helen, died in 2018 at age 85 after a long battle with cancer. His disappearance left “a large hole in Helen’s heart” and prompted her to return to Condon, Oregon, where the couple married in 1986, according to her obituary.
Asher is survived by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Helen had been widowed after her first husband of 20 years died in 1980. Asher had also been married previously, though it is unclear whether he was widowed before marrying Helen.
Together, the couple built a large blended family that included 21 grandchildren and, by the time Helen died, 17 great-grandchildren, according to their obituaries.
Asher was a well-known figure in Fossil who spent decades serving his community.
He worked nearly 50 years as a lineman for the Fossil Telephone Company while also operating the Asher Variety Store, volunteering as a firefighter and ambulance driver, and serving a brief term as mayor. He retired in 1995, according to his obituary.
