DNA From Descendants Of Man Missing For 90 Years Sought To Close Case

A missing-person case that's been open for almost 90 years may finally be solved if medical officials can match DNA from the man who went missing with his present-day family.

Marvin A. Clark was last seen in Portland, Oregon during the Halloween weekend of 1926, the Associated Press reported. Investigators believe they found Clark's remains and are in the process of tracking down his descendants to confirm his identity. But the missing man's descendants have been hard to find, creating the only obstacle to closing one of the oldest missing-person cases in the country.

The state medical examiner's office already developed a promising DNA profile of Clark after they found three of his paternal great-great-grandchildren. However the results were not conclusive.

"Now, they're looking for a maternal link, someone on his mother's side, and following that lineage to shore it up and make the statistics a little better," Dr. Nici Vance, from the medical examiner's office, told the AP. "There's an association there, but it's not strong at this point."

What are believed to be Clark's remains were found in 1986 near U.S. Route 30 in Portland. The body was found with items including a 1919 penny, wire-rimmed glasses and a revolver. A wound from a .32 caliber bullet was found in the skull's temple. The man's death was ruled a suicide.

Officials connected the body to Clark after a woman claiming to be his granddaughter came forward. Dorothy Willoughby said her grandfather was a town marshal from Linnton and had been depressed about medical issues, the AP reported. The man, in his 60s, was said to be partially paralyzed on his right side and could not use his right arm.

Clark vanished after he left for a bus trip to visit his daughter in Portland on Saturday, Oct. 30, according to local reports from 1926. His daughter, Sidney McDougall, told The Oregonian she was not expecting a visit from her father, according to the AP.

Clark's granddaughter died in 1991, leaving investigators without the strongest link to solving the missing-person case. The case is still being pursued, and Clark's descendants are being tracked down by the Center for Human Identification at the University of North Texas, the AP reported.