Missing Auburn Student’s Car Found, but 1976 Mystery Remains

Missing Auburn Student’s Car Found, but 1976 Mystery Remains
The 1974 Pinto Kyle Clinkscales was driving when he disappeared in 1976, is recovered from a creek in Alabama in December 2021. Maj. Terry "Tj" Wood/Chambers County Sheriff's Department via AP
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LAGRANGE, Ga.—An Auburn University student disappeared after leaving his job at a Georgia bar one night in January 1976, and authorities long believed he was murdered. But the only person ever convicted went to prison for years for making false statements about a killing that may never have happened.

Nearly a half-century after the disappearance, the open hatch of a 1974 Pinto became visible in the murky water of an Alabama creek. It was Kyle Clinkscales’ car, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation will now analyze about 50 bones found inside, including part of a skull, a Georgia sheriff said.