Skeletal Remains on Washington Beach Identified as Oregon's Missing Mayor
Authorities have finally identified a set of skeletal remains that washed ashore on a remote Washington beach nearly two decades ago. The remains belong to Clarence Edwin "Ed" Asher, the former mayor of the small Oregon town of Fossil. Asher vanished during a fishing trip in 2006. This identification closes a case that investigators long presumed was a drowning but never formally resolved.
The Disappearance in 2006
Ed Asher disappeared on September 5, 2006. He was 72 years old at the time. Asher headed out alone to crab and fish at Tillamook Bay, a narrow inlet on Oregon's coast. According to reports from The Astorian, Asher left Garibaldi's Old Mill Marina around 10 a.m. He told his wife he planned to return by mid-afternoon. When he failed to come back, his wife contacted authorities that evening.
The United States Coast Guard launched an extensive search immediately. Multiple boats and HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters from Air Station Astoria joined the effort. Crews later located Asher's 21-foot boat idling about half a mile from the marina. Live crab still remained on board. Searchers recovered two of the three buoys he typically used. However, they found no lifejacket. Asher's wife told searchers that her husband did not usually wear a lifejacket and did not know how to swim. Officials believed he had fallen overboard.
The search operation covered over 200 miles of water for more than 11 hours. Poor visibility prevented an underwater search. Authorities suspended the operation the following day.
Discovery of Remains and Initial Investigation
Less than two months later, in November 2006, a collection of skeletal remains surfaced on a beach in Taholah. Taholah is an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation. This location sits roughly 185 miles north of Tillamook Bay.
The Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office and the county coroner examined the remains. They could not establish an identity at that time. The case entered the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as Grays Harbor County John Doe. Over time, the case gradually slipped into obscurity.
Breakthrough Through Genetic Genealogy
The situation changed in 2025. Investigators submitted forensic evidence from the case to Othram, a Texas-based company specializing in genetic genealogy. Scientists used forensic-grade genome sequencing to create a detailed DNA profile from the remains. They then compared this profile with a reference sample from one of Asher's relatives.
The match confirmed that the skeleton belonged to Fossil's missing former mayor. Ed Asher was born in 1934. Authorities presumed him dead shortly after his disappearance.
Personal Impact and Community Legacy
Asher's wife, Helen, died in 2018 at age 85 after a long battle with cancer. Her obituary noted that his sudden disappearance left "a large hole" in her life. It prompted her to return to Condon, Oregon, where the couple married in 1986. Together, they built a sprawling blended family. This family included children, 21 grandchildren, and, by the time of Helen's death, 17 great-grandchildren.
In Fossil, a town of just a few hundred residents in Wheeler County, Asher was a familiar and widely respected figure. His obituary details a life of service and dedication. He worked for nearly 50 years as a lineman at the Fossil Telephone Company. He also ran the Asher Variety Store. Asher volunteered as a fireman and ambulance driver. He served a brief term as mayor before retiring in 1995. Friends and family remember him as a man devoted to fishing, boating, antique cars, and his black Labradors.
Closure After Nearly Two Decades
This identification brings a measure of closure to a disappearance that lingered unresolved for nearly 20 years. What was once a nameless set of remains on a distant shoreline now connects back to a life firmly rooted in a small Oregon community. Forensic certainty has finally linked a long-assumed fate with a name and a story.
