Overview
- Officials announced on Jan. 13 that skeletal remains found in November 2006 near Taholah on the Quinault Indian Reservation are those of Clarence Edwin "Ed" Asher, 72.
- Asher vanished on Sept. 5, 2006 during a Tillamook Bay crabbing trip; the Coast Guard found his boat idling with live crab and he was later declared legally dead, presumed drowned.
- The Grays Harbor County Coroner’s Office and King County Medical Examiner reopened the case in 2025 and sent evidence to Othram, a Texas lab specializing in forensic genetic genealogy.
- Othram developed a DNA profile using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing, investigators located relatives, and a reference sample confirmed Asher’s identity.
- Othram and local officials credited funding from Gov. Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown, and the Washington State Legislature; this marks the 43rd Washington identification using the lab’s technology.