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A body found on a southwest Washington coast in 2006 was identified through DNA testing as that of a former Oregon mayor, who authorities believe drowned while eating crab.
The body was identified as Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher, 72, according to Osram, a Texas-based organization specializing in DNA analysis and forensic genetic genealogy. The group said Asher went crabbing in Tillamook Bay on September 5, 2006, before his disappearance.
Before identifying Usher, Osram said the mystery surrounding his identity began in November 2006 when someone discovered a skeletal corpse on a Washington state beach.
Osram said authorities initially estimated the man to be between 20 and 60 years old and about 5 feet 9 inches tall. His body was found on the beach with a “moderately advanced level of post-mortem decomposition,” according to posts shared on social media and Crime Solvers Central.
The man was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) in 2006, known only as Grays Harbor County John Doe.
See how authorities and Osram helped restore Grays Harbor County’s John Doe name.
Where exactly was the body found?
On September 5, 2006, the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office Marine Corps received a report of a missing boater, Tillamook County Sheriff Joshua Brown confirmed to USA TODAY. Brown said sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene at the request of the U.S. Coast Guard and discovered someone had left the boat idling with the shift handle in neutral.
Brown said the ship’s marine radio was working properly and another radio was playing music, adding that there was one crab pot on board. The sheriff said authorities learned Asher was the person on the missing boat. Brown added that throughout the night and into the next day, the Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard and Fire and Rescue searched for Asher to no avail.
About three weeks after Asher disappeared in 2006, Brown said, Oregon State Police confirmed that Asher’s pants and wallet were found on a beach in Lincoln County, south of Tillamook Bay. The pants were washed into the sea. However, the wallet containing his ID was handed over to the police. All of his belongings were released by the district attorney and returned to his family, Brown said.
Osram said the unidentified skeletal remains of Asher were found on the beach in Tahola, a village on an Indian reservation on the Pacific Coast, two months after she went missing. The beach is part of Grays Harbor County, north of the bay where he disappeared.
Authorities made several attempts to identify the man without success. In 2025, 19 years after the remains were discovered, the Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office collaborated with another county official, the King County Coroner’s Office.
Authorities provided forensic evidence to Osram, and scientists used advanced DNA testing to identify the man. Scientists first had to develop DNA extracts from evidence collected on the beach and then used forensic-grade genome sequencing to build the man’s DNA profile.
Osram said the company’s Forensic Genealogy Research Team conducted genetic genealogy research and passed new leads to investigators. These new clues helped investigators identify the man’s relatives, who were then able to compare the DNA of these family members to the man’s DNA profile.
Osram said a DNA match identified the man as Asher.
Osram added that Washington Governor Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown and the Washington State Legislature helped secure funding to cover the investigation that led to Usher’s identification.
Who is Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher?
Asher was declared legally dead in 2006 after authorities determined he likely drowned while eating crabs in Tillamook Bay.
According to Asher’s online obituary, he was born in Salem, Oregon in 1934 and moved to Fossil in eastern Oregon in 1952.
He worked as a lineman technician for Fossil Telephone Company until his retirement in 1995. During this period, Asher’s Variety Store also opened in 1965. He served as Mayor Fossil from 1970 to 1978, the city confirmed to USA TODAY on Jan. 15.
He was married for more than 20 years and loved antique cars, fishing, boating, hunting, black labs, cooking and RVing, his family wrote in his obituary. He also volunteered as a local firefighter and ambulance driver.
When he died in 2006, in addition to his wife, he left behind three children, multiple stepchildren, 21 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
This story has been updated to add information.
Saleen Martin is a reporter for USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia (757). Email sdmartin@usatoday.com.
