TROUP COUNTY, Ga. — Law enforcement officials confirmed Sunday that remains found in 2021 in Alabama belong to a LaGrange man who went missing 46 years ago.

On Jan. 27, 1976, Troup County Sheriff’s Office officials said Kyle Wade Clinkscales disappeared after leaving work in LaGrange to return to Auburn University.

Despite extensive efforts to locate Clinkscales, officers could not find him or his vehicle.

On Dec. 8, 2021, Troup County officials were notified that a 1974 Pinto Runabout believed to have belonged to Clinkscales was pulled out of a body of water off of County Road 83 in Chambers County, Alabama.

The vehicle was taken to Troup County, where investigators found skeletal remains. They were then turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

“For 45 years, we have looked for this young man and his car. We drained lakes. We looked here and looked there and it always turned out nothing,” Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff said when the remains were found in 2021. “Then, out of the blue, we got the car, his ID, and hopefully his remains.”

On Sunday, Troup County officials were notified the remains had been positively identified as Kyle Wade Clinkscales.

The Clinkscales family always thought they would get answers. But his father died in 2007, and his mother died earlier this year at the age of 92, never knowing what happened to their son.

“It was always her hope that he would come home. Always our hope we would find him for her. Just the fact we found him and his car bring me a big sigh of relief,” the sheriff said.

There have been many twists and turns in the case over the years. Officials named a lead suspect who died in 2001 but always claimed he had nothing to do with Clinkscales’ death.

Two others were arrested and convicted in 2005 for helping him conceal the body. The two told the sheriff’s office that Kyle was shot in concrete in a 55-gallon drum and buried in a pond.

The cause and manner of death have not been determined.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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