Human remains found in submerged car positively identified as student missing since 1976
02/20/2023 2:35 pm PST
TROUP COUNTY, Ga. (TCD) -- Investigators in Georgia caught a big break in a cold case over the weekend when human remains located in an Alabama creek were positively identified as a 22-year-old who had been missing for over 45 years.
According to the Troup County Coroner’s Office, Kyle Wade Clinkscales was last seen Jan. 27, 1976, at the Moose Club in Lagrange, Georgia. The Troup County Sheriff’s Office said he left Lagrange to drive to Auburn University in Alabama, where he went to school.
He disappeared, and his whereabouts remained a mystery until Dec. 8, 2021, when a 1974 Pinto Runabout was found submerged in the water in Chambers County, Alabama. Chambers County Sheriff’s Office deputies removed the car from the creek and saw the vehicle had a 1976 tag on it and a Troup County decal.
The car’s VIN reportedly determined it was Clinkscales' car, and the vehicle was transported back to Georgia.
According to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office, skeletal remains and other personal belongings were still in the car when deputies retrieved it. Officials sent the remains to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for identification and examination.
On Feb. 19, the results positively identified the remains as belonging to Clinkscales. His manner of death was not released.
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