Skeleton washed ashore on Washington State beach identified as former Oregon mayor

A skeleton that washed ashore on a beach in Washington State in 2006 was positively identified as a former mayor who authorities presumed drowned on a fishing trip in Oregon.

Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher was presumed dead after he disappeared while on a fishing trip at Tillamook Bay, a small inlet on the coast of Oregon. The Coast Guard launched an extensive search that was suspended on Sept. 6, 2006, just one day after Asher vanished, The Astorian reported at the time.

Asher, the former mayor of Fossil, Oregon, was 72 when he disappeared. Authorities determined that Asher had drowned when his wife told them he didn’t wear a lifejacket and didn’t know how to swim, the outlet reported.

In November 2006, a collection of skeletal remains turned up on the shore of a beach in Taholah, an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation roughly 185 miles north of Tillamook Bay.

The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office and the Coroner’s Office tried to determine the identity of the remains, but didn’t land on any meaningful leads. The remains were listed in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as Grays Harbor County John Doe and were eventually buried under other mounting cases.

In 2025, forensic evidence from the case was submitted to Othram, a Texas-based genetic genealogy company specializing in missing persons cases. The company said it created a detailed DNA profile and, with a sample from a relative of Asher’s, was able to link the skeleton to Fossil’s lost mayor.

Asher’s wife, Helen, passed away in 2018 after a long-fought battle against cancer at 85 years old. His sudden death left “a large hole in Helen’s heart” that pushed her to return to Condon, Oregon, where they married in 1986, according to her obituary.

Helen was widowed after her first husband of 20 years passed away in 1980. Asher was also married once before tying the knot to Helen, but it’s unclear if he was also widowed.

The couple boasts a sprawling blended family, including 21 grandchildren and, by the time Helen passed away, 17 great-grandchildren, according to their obituaries.

Asher was a well-established local legend who dedicated his life to the betterment of Fossil.

He worked as a lineman for the Fossil Telephone Company for almost 50 years, all while operating the Asher Variety Store, volunteering as a local fireman and ambulance driver, and serving a brief stint as the town’s mayor, all before retiring in 1995, according to his obituary.