Khaberni - After two decades of mystery and open questions, the sea finally drew the curtain on the mystery of the disappearance of an American official, after a skeleton swept by the waves led to the resolution of a case that had puzzled authorities since 2006.
The relevant authorities recently announced the definitive identification of skeletal remains found on a beach in Washington state about 20 years ago, proving it to be of Clarence Edwin "Ed" Asher, the former mayor of the city of Fossil, Oregon, who was lost during a fishing trip and had not been heard from since then, according to the "New York Post".
The beginning of the story
Asher, who was 72 years old at the time of his disappearance, had gone on a fishing expedition in Tillamook Bay on the Oregon coast, before all news of him completely ceased, and the Coast Guard launched a wide-scale search that ended only a day later without any results, amid official speculations of his drowning, especially after his wife at the time reported that he was not wearing a life jacket and could not swim.
Two months after his disappearance, in November (November) 2006, skeletal remains were found on the beach of Taholah village inside the Quinault Indian Reservation, about 185 miles north of the site of his disappearance.
Despite attempts by Grays Harbor County police and forensic medicine to identify the remains since then, the case remained without clear leads and was recorded under the name "John Doe" in the National System for Missing and Unidentified Persons, before being buried along with other accumulated cases.
Decisive turn
The decisive turn came in 2025, when criminal evidence was referred to "Othram," a company specializing in genetic genealogy, and with the use of advanced techniques and DNA analysis, in addition to a sample from one of Asher's relatives, experts were able to definitively link the skeleton with the missing mayor of Fossil, thereby closing one of the long-standing pending cases.
Asher departed and left behind a poignant human story, especially for his wife Helen who died in 2018 after a battle with cancer, and who carried the sudden void of his absence "a huge void in her heart", as reported in her obituary, which led her to return to Condon where they married in 1986.
Prominent figure
Asher was a prominent local figure, devoting his life to serving his small community; he worked for about 50 years at Fossil Communications, managed a variety store, volunteered as a firefighter and ambulance driver, and served a brief term as mayor before retiring in 1995, and also left behind a large family that includes dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
