Mystery of student’s disappearance 45 years ago may be solved after car found

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The 45-year-long mystery of the disappearance of a 22-year-old in 1976 could finally have been solved.

Kyle Clinkscales went missing after leaving the bar he worked at in his native Georgia, Alabama.

He left to make the 45 mile drive back to where he studied, at Alabama University's campus.

However, he never completed the journey, and no vehicle or remains were ever found, MailOnline reports.

But on Tuesday, local police received a tip from a man who said he had seen a car partially submerged in a creek, just 20 miles down the road from the college.

It turned out to be the car belonging to Kyle Clinkscales.

And it is believed to have had human remains inside, too.

Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff said: “For 45 years, we have searched for Kyle and his car.

“We have followed hundreds of leads, and never really had anything substantial develop from those leads.”

The car was a white Ford Pinto, and the licence plate matched the one from 45 years ago, too.

The car also contained ID and credit cards belonging to Mr Clinkscales, and it was localed a short distance away from from Interstate 85 – a popular stretch of road.

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However, on Wednesday, Mr Woodruff said that the discovery left them with more questions than answers.

He said: “I want to see what the Georgia Bureau of Investigations finds in the car, how many bones they find, do they find a skull?

“Was he murdered and left there? Did he run off the road and wreck there? That's something we hope to discover.

“But it's been 45 years.”

He added that the discovery can bring some kind of closure to the family of Mr Clinkscales, although he father died in 2007, and his mother died this year – he had no siblings.

“It was always her hope that he would come home,” Mr Woodruff said.

“It was always our hope that we would find him for her before she passed away.

“Just the fact that we have hopefully found him in the car brings me a sigh of relief.”

  • Family
  • Unsolved Mysteries

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