Whitman County Gazette - Serving Whitman County since 1877

TEKOA — The body of a man found in a landfill in 1989 was recently identified as Clifford Wayne Bippes, a local man from Tekoa. Bippes, 45, was identified through forensic genetic genealogy by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office. The announcement was made on Tuesday, Oct. 31, by the Spokane Medical Examiner.

“The medical examiner’s office really did the work. It wasn’t an active case with us because we did not know how he died. Now that we know who it is, that is why we put out a call for anyone who knew anything,” said Julie Humphreys, Communications Manager for the Sp...