Cold case for 45 years | Car, bones and wallet found of Auburn University student missing since 1976 By 11Alive

Good morning. I’m sorry. Stuart Smith with the shoot County Sheriff’s Office and this morning, we’ve got some news on a 45, year old missing person case. Speaking. This morning is going to be shared James order for the truth County Sheriff’s Office and to is it major TJ would with the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office and they’re going to speak briefly on some developments that occurred yesterday around 11:00.

Good morning. I want to thank the media for turning out this morning for this most important case. I also want to thank my entire staff for all their hard work through the years in trying to get the get a resolution and trying to find out what happened to Kyle clinkscale. Also, thanks to sheriff said Lockhart and the Chambers County sheriff’s officer, major wood that were very instrumental yesterday and helping us find out some important information.

Kyle clinkscale along with his 1974. Ford Pinto went missing, January the 27th, 1976 on his way back to Auburn University from Lagrange for 45 years. We have searched for Kyle and his car.

Hundreds of leads and never really anything substantial developed from those leads yesterday. The Chambers County sheriff’s office called office in asked if we were looking for a Ford Pinto white in color. They gave us a tag number. We ran the tag number compared it to our case file to determine it was indeed counseling skills car.

We match that tag number and made sure it was his car. We had the car towed back here to the Sheriff’s office at this time. I want to get major wood to come forward and tell y’all how they discovered the car that I’m going to come back and give you some more information. And we’ll have some questions right after that. Make you.

Yesterday. Morning at approximately 11. 16 Eastern Standard Time. Are Chambers County 911.

And Chambers County myself and Chambers County.

Volunteer, fire department and Lynette front of the fire and EMS responded. When we arrived, we found what we believe to be a vehicle submerged in the creek. We retrieve the vehicle out of the creek was able to tell it had a Troup County tag on it. Once we were able to tell the truth County tag was on it. I then reached out to Captain Nathan Taylor, gave him the tag number and the VIN. Number two.

Attempt to try to find the information on this tag. At that point, we were then contacted again, and that’s what we are today.

So as I said, we have the car towed here to our facility yesterday. Once we got the car here, our investigators look through the car. The top is completely rusted away, maybe from the water that ran over the top of the car, all these years, but we were able to locate a wallet inside the car inside, that wallet was his ID and several credit cards. We’ve also located several bones inside the court. We Believe those to be human in nature. We called in the gbi. They are currently at our

Literally taking that car parted, they can looking at what’s in it to determine how many bones are in there and if they are indeed his bones.

If there’s any questions, I’ll be glad to try to answer for your major would. Yes, ma’am? I can’t speak to those because I was not part of that arrest. It was another Administration. That was another prosecutor. You would have to direct those questions to them, is why they made those arrests. You talk about? I’m not, would he have gone this way? Sheriff. Yes, it would have on the south on I-95.

The exit 7, do you take a ride in this bout? What pretty mild off of the interstate. So he was off his main route, but about three miles on the car. What were they doing? And whether it’s table, they were able to locate the farm at this time. We do not know we’ve turned the name. Phone number over the true County to contact.

But we’re not going to release any information about it this time.

All these bodies of water. I guess we looked at our search. These routes will look at back in the seventies. And before my time. I don’t have a clue.

my understanding the hatchback was a in the

major would noticed when he arrived.

We don’t know if it rusted out and came open or Florida. Just had they gone back down. If we find a vehicle in a creek. We’re going to pull it out. You know, you don’t never know if it’s stolen or been involved in any kind of

From like tivity so that’s just no more protocol.

We’re speaking now your investigation. What’s your theory of the case? Well, I want to see what the gbi finds in the car. You know, how many bones they find? Do they find a skull. Is there something that we can take to the crime lab and determine if there was Foul Play? Did he was he murdered and left there and he went off the road and wrecked their. That’s some things, we hope to discover, but it’s been 45 years and here is a couple of pictures that going to look at these of the car as with the boundaries yesterday and as it is here.

So we can pass these around. You’ll find anything that says this original suspect you to the path. You have to be roughly 45. That this is a bacteria or could have run off the road could have been connected. Hopefully, we’ll find something. We may never know but we are glad today. Was clinkscale. His mother died. Just this year in January and it was always her hope that he would come home. It was always our hope that we would find him for her.

She passed away. So just the fact that we have hopefully found him in the car, brings me a big Southward. There’s a lot of mud in the car. As you can imagine that has washed over in there over time and there was one bone that we noticed sticking up out of the mud and upon looking my putting the found the second and today the gbi is out here. We’re taking all the mud out, sifting through it to see if they can find anything else.

Well, it’s wonderful. You know, I just hate that we can’t share it with his mother, but it’s a great thing for 45 years. We’ve looked at this young man and look for this car and we drain lakes. And we looked here and look there and ran this Theory down and that theory down, and it’s always turned out nothing. And finally, yesterday just out of the blue, major would calls us and he’s got the car. Now. We’ve got the card, his ID and hopefully, his remains in the cold.

He was in LaGrange tonight. He was going back to Auburn, you know, he was a student at Auburn University and he left that night, going back to Auburn, never made it to Auburn his parents filed, a missing persons report. And from there, here. We are today 45 years later.

He died in 2007.

Well, there’s only distant. Can, you know, he was an only child. So there was no children of his. There’s no cuz I mean, there’s some cousins but they live out of town. So we have not reached out to them yet. I think some of the other family has. I have not personally. I will reach out to them and see if there’s any questions I can answer for them.

Majorly.

The person who actually called it in, he called it in to our communication Center. The phone number and information has been passed on to True County investigators. And at this point, we’re allowing them to speak with that individual. But as far as the speaking and elaborating we had we have not ourself as a sheriff’s department Chambers K, have not spoke with this person yet. He’s over here like nothing no information on this particular person. At this moment. Everything has been turned over to truth cow.

Talk about that site. You just like Martha road is a, it’s a it’s a fairly well traveled road that reaches from the Casita area to our County Seat, which is in Lafayette. It’s a two-lane road. Okay, so two Lane County Road,

A creek that travels, The Creeks travels under this two lane road.

When it was the part of the car that was sticking out was visible from the road.

It said, actually, we tried to find the creek name yesterday and it doesn’t actually have a name. It’s a branch off of some other Creeks. So isn’t it’s our Chambers County Road, 83. It could see them. The creek running. Yes, sir. The creek runs under the road spot. It it’s from the as a bridge that crosses, the across the road and Bridge cross this Creek.

And if you were standing on the bridge, you could look to your right. And you can see the part of the vehicle that was sticking out yesterday.

That I honestly I couldn’t tell you because of I wasn’t, I wasn’t born. I’m actually only 42 years old. So I have no clue what has changed in that area. I can only tell you the last 20 years that I’ve been in law enforcement, so

Let me ask you a question. Can you please spell your name? Absolutely, absolutely. It’s t. Erri. Y wo OD and I’m going to Major with the Sheriff’s Office and Chambers County S ID L OC k haart.

I’m surprised y’all need – many times y’all been here lately, but James Woodruff jmes. Wo OD r uff.

Any other questions, we might connect you. I also want to say this. I want to thank the gbi for quick response to get here to try to help us get this identified as soon as possible. I know they’ve been very busy and they send some agents down this morning to start working in the rain and try to get this resolves on the front thing.

Thank you all very much.