What happened to Kyle Clinkscales? Car of US student missing since 1976 found with 'human remains'

Search for the 22-year-old college student, Kyle Clinkscales, who went missing in 1976, appears to have ended on a sombre note. The authorities in the United States have found the car in which Clinkscales was last seen. His wallet, identity card and suspected skeletal remains were also found in the vehicle, which was submerged in a creek in Chambers County, Alabama. 

On Tuesday (December 7), sheriff's deputies dragged the car out from water after a 911 caller reported seeing it. The authorities were able to identify that the reported vehicle belonged to Clinkscales after running number plates. 

In a press conference, Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff, who was with Chambers County's Major Terry Wood informed about the latest development in the case. As quoted by CNN, he said, "For 45 years, we have looked for this young man and looked for this car."

"We have drained lakes, and we have looked here and looked there and ran this theory down and that theory down, and it's always turned out nothing. And finally yesterday, just out of the blue, Major Wood calls us and he's got the car," he added. 

Woodruff added, "We were able to locate a wallet inside the car. Inside that wallet was his ID and several credit cards. We have also located several bones inside the car. We believe those to be human in nature." 

The sheriff also stated that the bones, found in the car, have not yet been tested. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is currently examining them to ascertain whether if they belonged to Clinkscales.

Now the police are waiting for the GBI report that can reveal what caused the death of Clinkscales. 

The sheriff added, "I want to see what the GBI finds in the car. How many bones did they find? Did they find a skull? Is there something that we can take to the crime lab and determine if there was foul play? Was he murdered and left there? Did he run off the road and wreck there? Those are some things we hope to discover." 

What happened to Kyle Clinkscales? 

The incident happened on January 27 in 1976 when Clinkscales, said to have started driving in his Pinto Runabout to Auburn University in Alabama, where he was a junior. He believed to have begun his journey from Moose Club, a bar that he worked at in his hometown of LaGrange, Georgia. He was never seen or heard from since then. 

Initially the family thought he left voulntarily as he was reportedly not doing well at college, however, later they filed a missing person's report. 

His father even wrote a book about his disappearance, titled "Kyle's Story: Friday Never Came" and also set up a non-profit missing persons organisation, "Find Me Inc". 

The case of missing Kyle Clinkscales remained one of the most talked-about incidents when it had happened as police had no luck to solve the case for a very long time. Now finally they found the missing piece but after more than 45 years. 

It's too late for the parents as media reports have mentioned that Kyle's father died in 2007 and his mother died earlier this year at the age of 92.