Body of LaGrange, Georgia Resident Still Missing After 31 Years

Thirty-one years ago, a year before I was born, a murder happened in our quiet little city of LaGrange, Georgia. It remains one of the top cold case murder mysteries of our town. Although the murder of this person isn't a secret, the ones who done this horrible act still remains a secret. It is believed that many in this town were connected to the murder and knows exactly what happened, but no one has ever really came forward or admitted to the murder of Kyle Clinkscales. There were many speculations and rumors of what happened and who done it, but for whatever reasons no one would come forth and tell authorities who done it. This is a secret many still hold with them today.

Kyle Clinkscales was born on October 2, 1953. He went missing January 27, 1976. The circumstance of his disappearance is still unknown. Kyle, at the time of his disappearance, was a 22-year-old Auburn University Student. He was majoring in business at the time. Kyle was last seen at the Moose Club where he worked part-time as a bartender here in LaGrange, GA. The Moose Club, however, does not exist anymore. He was heading back to the Auburn University Campus, which is located 42 miles from LaGrange. Kyle Clinkscales never made it back to campus. Clinkscales car, a white '74 Ford Pinto, was never found. Neither was his body. It was believed that the reason he disappeared and was murdered was because he double-crossed Ray Hyde, a resident known for wrong doings in this town, out of drugs and money.

There have been many tips over the years about where the body of Kyle Clinkscales is located. But upon search from the LaGrange Police Department and GBI, nothing ever turned up. In March of 2005, Kyle's parents, John and Louise Clinkscales, received a phone call from a source that said at the age of seven he witnessed his grandfather throwing a barrel into a pond. He told the parents that a body was covered with concrete inside the barrel. Upon this information an arrest was made. The LaGrange Police Department arrested Jimmy Earl Jones. He was arrested in 2005 and charged for concealing a death, hindering the apprehension of a criminal, and two counts of making false statements. The pond was drained but nothing was ever found. The pond did contain a 3-foot dip where officials thought the body might have been. They believed, however, upon further information, that Ray Hyde later removed the body from the pond. The caller went on to tell Kyle's parents that he and his grandfather were threatened and if they ever opened their mouths then they would be murdered to.

With the new information obtained in 2005, fingers were pointed at Ray Hyde as the one who did the actual killing of Kyle Clinkscales. It was never proven, just mostly hearsay. Before this was brought to light in 2005, Ray Hyde had already passed away. He died July of 2001. Along with his death, died the truth and the whereabouts of Kyle Clinkscales. His body and his car, to this day, still remain unfound.