Texas City man whose body was found in 1986 identified by Montgomery County authorities

A Texas City man whose body was found submerged in Crater Lake near Conroe in 1986 has been identified by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

On Aug. 3, 1986, several people around Crater Lake and FM 3083 and Exxon Road found a body submerged in the lake. The body was weighed down with two cinder blocks attached to an electrical cord, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.

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Clarence Wilson, 37, from Texas City, was not immediately identified when deputies pulled his body from the lake nearly 40 years ago. 

In recent years, the sheriff’s office has been reviewing more cold cases to see if advanced technology can help revive investigations, said Detective Fadi Rizk of the criminal investigation division. The sheriff’s office uses forensic testing of evidence for all types of investigtions, not just cold cases, Rizk said via email. 

Discovering Wilson’s identity

When investigators performed an autopsy, it showed that Wilson had multiple gunshot wounds, the release states.

The agency made another attempt at identifying Wilson in 2015, by exhuming Wilson’s remains to obtain DNA for entry into the Combined DNA Index System, a local, state and federal database of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence and mission persons. It was not successful, the release states. 

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After taking bones to Othram Lab in The Woodlands on May 2023, the sheriff’s office was able to get more DNA via forensic investigative genetic genealogy.

“The body was found in water, it was decades ago, so you can imagine the type of DNA, contamination and degradation that we started with when we started working on this case,” said Kristen Mittleman, chief development officer of Othram. 

The lab uses forensic-grade genome sequencing and genealogical data to help law enforcement agencies identify people involved in unsolved cases. Cases range from hundred-year-old homicides to identifying serial killers and drowning victims who washed ashore.

Due to the forensic lab’s methods, the agency was able to find a family member in California, the release states. 

After making contact with the possible family member, that person sent back a DNA sample to the lab. In October 2023, Wilson was positively identified, the release states. 

“Years ago, this would have been impossible,” Mittleman said, noting the methods used in the past would not be useful for DNA like Wilson’s. “Most people would never get their name back. Most victims would never get justice.”

The family believed Wilson moved to Texas to start a new life and were devastated to find out he was murdered shortly after, she said.

“When we contact families with law enforcement, it’s never good news,” Mittleman said. “Nobody wants to know that their loved one was murdered, left at the bottom of the lake. But it’s the truth. And I think the truth is very healing in a sense that people’s lives are stopped at the fact that they lose information and they don’t have the truth.”

‘Without a name, you can’t start an investigation’

Discovering Wilson’s name is the first step toward finding the person responsible for his death, she said. 

“Without a name, you can’t start an investigation,” Mittleman said. “This allows the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office to start their investigation. And, hopefully, people that look at his picture recognize him, maybe even remember being with him on the last week of his life and may contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.”

The sheriff’s office is still investigating Wilson’s death and is asking anyone with information about Wilson to contact the Cold Case Squad at 936-760-5820 or the Multi-County Crime Stoppers at 800-392-7867.  

Othram Lab has been able to provide more than 1,500 investigative leads to law enforcement, Mittleman said. The forensic lab has made more than 135 identifications in 2023, she said. 

To view Wilson’s case, visit othram.com.