Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Tekoa man identified through DNA testing
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 Spokane Police Department.
Reports say that on July 2, 1989, an employee at the landfill uncovered Bippes’ remains; however, a cause of death could not be identified due to decomposition. He had visible injuries, including broken bones, according to a news release from the medical examiner’s office.
Back then, the landfill was unmonitored and open to the public, only maintained by employees every two to three weeks, according to the Spokane Medical Examiner.
Bippes’ death was immediately considered suspicious due to the way it was found. Still, an autopsy revealed Bippes’ injuries were likely from the bulldozer uncovering his body and not the cause of death.
Bippes had several distinct tattoos but could not lead to an identification.
Spokane Police canvased bars, homeless shelters, tattoo parlors, and the jail with illustrations of the tattoos, but no one could identify him.
Bippes was buried at Fairmount Cemetery as an unidentified man.
As technology advanced, the medical examiner’s office made additional attempts to identify the body, including adding his DNA to CODIS, a national database, in 2008.
In July, the medical examiner sent a tissue sample to Othram, a company that uses forensic-grade genome sequencing to analyze degraded DNA.
Bippes’ biological son had entered his DNA into a genetic genealogy database, giving investigators a match.
“The case was not necessarily listed as a cold case with us. We are curious to know if it was an accident. With this press release, we will get answers,” added Humphreys.
The son was adopted at birth and in search of his biological family. The son had done extensive research on his family tree and was able to provide potential leads on who his father might be.
Investigators from the medical examiner’s office used this research to find Bippes’ sister, who submitted a DNA sample for reference.
This October, that sample returned a match for Bippes.
Bippes was born in Tekoa in 1943 and was the eldest of three siblings. He served in the Army. His sister last saw him six months before his death, and reports say he did not have the tattoos at that time. She reported him missing in January 1990 when Bippes failed to call or visit for his sister’s birthday.
A headstone was placed for Bippes in April 1991 after an extensive search found nothing.
The circumstances of Bippes’ death remain unknown. The Spokane Police Department and Medical Examiner’s Office asked that anyone with information about Bippes’ death call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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