What happened to Kyle Clinkscales? Officials identify remains of Auburn student reported missing 47 years ago

Skeletal remains of the then 22-year-old Kyle Clinkscales were found inside a car in Alabama, almost 50 years after his disappearance. Kyle Clinkscales was last seen on the night of January 27, 1976, in LaGrange, Georgia.

Kyle was planning to drive back to school in Alabama in his 1974 Ford Pinto. However, the then 22-year-old never arrived. His remains were recently discovered in a creek in Alabama. Police recovered the car in 2021 on December 7, along with the skeletal remains.

Upon further investigation, authorities identified the remains to be of Kyle Clinkscales’. Despite the identification, several unanswered questions related to the case and surrounding Kyle’s death still remain.

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The remains of Kyle Clinkscales were discovered almost 50 years after his disappearance

Kyle Clinkscales was last seen in 1974, and his remains were eventually discovered in 2021 from a creek in Chambers County, Alabama. Authorities recovered the remains in his car along with several personal items. The skeletal remains were then sent to the GBI Crime Lab for further examination.

Almost a year after the discovery, the remains were identified as those of the missing student.

In a press release, police stated,

“An official report has not yet been completed or released by the GBI as it relates to a manner of death.”

Sgt. Stewart Smith said,

“It was always a big mystery in Troup County. Hopefully now getting that confirmation can at least bring that closure and those questions to what family and friends are still out there that knew Kyle.”

GBI is still working to find out what led to Kyle Clinkscales’ death. However, authorities believe that certain aspects of the crime might remain unresolved. Sgt. Smith further added,

“Due to the time that it’s been and it was in the water, we may not know.”

In 2006, a media outlet reported that a man claimed that Kyle Clinkscales was shot to death, however, it was later found that the man’s story has changed several times. Hence, he wasn’t considered a credible witness. No homicide charges were pressed against him. After discovering the car in 2021,

“We’re glad today. For 45 years we’ve looked for this young man and looked for this car. We’ve drained lakes. We’ve looked here and looked there. It always turned out with nothing.”

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Police are relieved that at least the family could get closure

Troupe County Sheriff James Woodruff said,

“It was always her (Kyle’s deceased mother) hope that he would come home. It was always our hope that we would find him for her before she passed away.”

The Sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post,

“The Coroner’s Office received this information from the GBI at which time they released it.”

The Kyle Clinkscales case has been a mystery for decades. Back in 1981, a man claimed to be Kyle and mentioned that he lost his memory in a car accident. The car was found in 2021, after a 24-hour dig around Troupe County. Police in fact questioned two male individuals named Jimmy Earl Jones and Ray Hyde. However, nothing solid ever came up. Ray denied knowing Kyle as well.

Later, in 2005, Jones was taken into custody for making multiple false statements but wasn’t charged with murder. Authorities have expressed relief after discovering something related to the case.