Bones Found In Car Belonging To Auburn Student Missing Since 1976

ALABAMA — Law enforcement officials have announced a major break in a 45-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of an Auburn University student.

The car belonging to 22-year-old Kyle Clinkscales, who vanished in 1976, has been found, the Troup County Sheriff's Office in LaGrange, GA announced Wednesday. Human remains as well as a wallet were also located inside the car.

According to the sheriff's office, on the night of Jan. 27, 1976, Clinkscales left LaGrange to travel back to Auburn University where he was a student. However, he never arrived and neither he nor his white two-door 1974 Pinto Runabout were ever found — until this week.

On Tuesday, around 11:20 a.m., deputies with the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office said they were notified of what appeared to be a car submerged in a creek off of a County Road 83 approximately one mile from County Road 388.

Once they arrived on scene, deputies said they recovered the car from the water, which appeared to be an older model Ford passenger car with a 1976 Georgia tag with a Troup County decal.

Chambers County deputies contacted the Troup County Sheriff’s Office for assistance in trying to run the tag information. After verifying information, deputies determined that the tag and VIN matched that of a 1974 Ford Pinto Runabout, which was the same car that Clinkscales was last seen driving on the night of Jan. 27.

The car has been transported to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office where it is currently being processed by special agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

During a news conference, Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff said investigators did find what they believe are human bones along with identification and credit cards belonging to Clinkscales, WRBL-TV reported.

According to AL.com, the sheriff said it's too soon to determine whether foul play may have been involved in Clinkscales’ death.