😔😔Skeletal Remains of Missing Politician Wash Ashore In Washington

A skeleton that washed ashore on a beach in Washington state in 2006 has been positively identified as a former Oregon mayor who was presumed to have drowned while on a fishing trip earlier that year, authorities confirmed.

The remains were identified as Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher, who disappeared in September 2006 while fishing in Tillamook Bay, a small inlet along Oregon’s coast. Asher, the former mayor of Fossil, was 72 years old at the time of his disappearance.

The U.S. Coast Guard launched an extensive search after Asher failed to return from the trip, but the effort was suspended on Sept. 6, 2006, one day after he went missing, according to contemporaneous reporting by The Astorian. Authorities at the time concluded Asher had likely drowned after his wife told investigators he did not wear a life jacket and did not know how to swim.

In November 2006, skeletal remains were discovered along the shoreline in Taholah, an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation, approximately 185 miles north of Tillamook Bay. The remains were recovered and later entered into evidence, though their identity remained unknown for years.

“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,” the New York Post reported.

In 2025, forensic evidence from the case was submitted to Othram, a Texas-based genetic genealogy firm that specializes in identifying unknown human remains. The company said it developed a comprehensive DNA profile from the skeletal remains and, using a sample provided by a relative, was able to confirm the identity as Asher.

The identification resolved a nearly 20-year mystery surrounding the remains recovered in Washington state and confirmed long-standing assumptions that Asher had drowned after disappearing during a fishing trip in Oregon.

Asher’s wife, Helen, died in 2018 at age 85 following a lengthy battle with cancer. According to her obituary, Asher’s disappearance and presumed death left “a large hole in Helen’s heart,” prompting her to return to Condon, where the couple had married in 1986.

Helen Asher had been widowed once before marrying Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher. Her first husband, to whom she was married for 20 years, died in 1980. Asher had also been married previously before marrying Helen, though it is unclear whether he was widowed, The Post reported.

Together, the couple had a large blended family. According to their obituaries, the family included 21 grandchildren and, by the time of Helen Asher’s death, 17 great-grandchildren.

Asher was widely known in the community of Fossil and spent much of his life serving the town in multiple roles. He worked as a lineman for the Fossil Telephone Company for nearly 50 years while also operating the Asher Variety Store.

In addition to his professional work, Asher volunteered as a firefighter and ambulance driver and served a brief term as Fossil’s mayor. He retired in 1995 after decades of involvement in civic and community life, according to his obituary.

Two weeks ago, Terri Lynn Williams Womack, the wife of U.S. Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), died after a brief illness, according to a statement from the congressman’s office. She was 68. Womack said his wife passed away at Circle of Life Hospice in Bentonville, surrounded by family and close friends.

“Sunday afternoon, Heaven welcomed an angel. My wife of 41 years, Terri Womack, went to live in eternity with Jesus,” Womack said. “My heart is broken and that space remains without her presence. I take comfort in knowing she is no longer suffering in pain and is at peace evermore.

“Her legacy of love will live in the hearts of all who knew her. Our family appreciates the outpouring of prayers and support. You have all honored her in such a special way, and we are eternally grateful,” he added.