GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY, Wash. (KATU) — Human remains found on a beach on the central Washington coastline nearly 20 years ago have been identified as belonging to a former Oregon mayor who went missing while crabbing back in 2006.
Clarence Edwin “Ed” Asher was 72 years old when he was pronounced legally dead after he was presumed to have drowned while crabbing in the Tillamook Bay on September 5, 2006.
Nearly two months after Ed Asher’s disappearance in November of 2006, human remains were found on a beach in Taholah, which is an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation along the Washington coast.
The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office and Coroner’s Office worked to identify the remains, but after a lengthy investigation and no results, the person became known as Grays Harbor County John Doe.
In 2025, the coroner’s office and King County Medical Examiner sent forensic evidence from the John Doe case to a lab in Texas, where scientists managed to extract DNA and build a profile for the person.
They used genetic genealogy and samples from relatives of Ed Asher to confirm that he was the person in the John Doe case.
Ed Asher was born in Salem on April 2, 1934 before being raised in the Astoria area. He moved to Fossil Oregon in 1952 where he worked as a lineman for the Fossil Telephone Company, where he worked until retiring in 1995. At one point, he served as the mayor of Fossil, and also opened up Asher’s Variety Store in 1965.
More from DNASolves:
Critical funding to enable forensic genetic genealogy testing in this case was made possible by Governor Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown, and the Washington State Legislature. We are grateful for their support in providing this funding.
Individuals who have taken a consumer DNA test can aid ongoing forensic investigations by joining the [DNASolves database] Expanding the pool of available DNA data increases the likelihood of successful identifications, helping to reunite families with their missing loved ones and resolve cases that have remained unsolved for years.
The identification of Ed Asher represents the 43rd case in the State of Washington where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram. Visit [DNASolves] to learn about other Washington cases where your support can help bring long-awaited answers to families.
