Marvin Alvin Clark

Date of Birth*: Estimated in 1852 based on census records
Birthplace: Marion County, Iowa, United States of America
Age at the Time: ~74
Age Group: 70s
Biological Sex: Male
Hair: White or Grey Hair
Eyes: Blue
Skin Complexion:
Shoe Size:
Ethnicity: Caucasian or White
Nationality: United States
Languages Spoken: English

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Physical Build:

Height:

Weight

Distinguishing Marks:

• Eyeglasses, Mental Stability Concerns, Mustache, Physical Abnormality

Medical Condition: A postcard allegedly sent by him a few days after his disappearance showed signs of possible mental confusion or instability.
Physical Abnormality: He was partially paralyzed on the right side. His right arm was mostly unusable and he walked with a limp or 'halting gate.' He may have used a cane.
Dental Condition:
Scars & Other Marks:
Piercings:
Tattoos:

Other Descriptors:

Clothing

• Dark Suit
• He was known to wear Leather ‘High-Top’ Boots

Possessions:

• Wire-Rimmed Eyeglasses
• Possibly a Can

Date of the Disappearance*: October 30, 1926

Description:

Marvin Alvin Clark was born circa early 1850s in Marion County, Iowa, to parents who had migrated from New York. He was highly educated, having graduated from two universities (specific institutions are never named in surviving records). By 1910 he and his wife, Mary, had relocated to Oregon; the U.S. Census that year places them in the small community of Holbrook. For a time, Mr. Clark served as town marshal of Linnton (a historic district that later merged into Portland). But eventually, they settled in the outlying town of Tigard. They remained there happily for approximately 15 years, and Marvin became a well-known local figure. Theirs’ was a happy family, with four well-loved children since grown into adulthood.

Physically, Clark stood approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall. He suffered partial paralysis on his right side, rendering his right arm largely unusable, and walked with a pronounced halting gait or limp; he occasionally used a cane. These traits made him highly recognizable and were highlighted in all 1926 search appeals.

Most contemporary headlines and family accounts describe him as 75 or “in his mid-70s.” The 1920 U.S. Census supports a 1852 birth year (age ~74 at disappearance). However, NamUs erroneously lists his age at disappearance as 69. This appears to be a clerical error that has propagated in some summaries. The afternoon he disappeared, he was last seen wearing a dark suit and possibly carried his cane.

On October 30, 1926, a crisp Saturday during Halloween weekend, Marvin Alvin Clark left his home in Tigard, Oregon, around 1:00 p.m. intending to visit his daughter at the Hereford Hotel in downtown Portland. His daughter, Sidney McDougall, lived in and managed the hotel; however, she was not apparently aware that he was planning to visit her at the time.

He boarded a motor stage (an early interurban bus) in Tigard, most likely at the terminal near the town center at the intersection of Pacific Highway and McDonald Road. Some accounts describe this as the last confirmed sighting of Mr. Clark. Others suggest he was later seen arriving at the Northwest Salmon Street terminal in Portland, roughly a mile from his hotel. However, there were no eyewitnesses who definitively saw him board or ride the vehicle, leaving his true last known location uncertain.

Within a few days, his family realized something was wrong and his daughter reported him missing. A $100 reward (roughly $1,800 today) was offered. The paralysis and distinctive limp were emphasized so the public could identify him.

On November 9, a little more than a week after his disappearance, his wife Mary Clark received a postcard postmarked Bellingham, Washington . . .about 250 miles north of Portland. The message was described in The Bellingham Herald at the time as ‘disconnected’ and ‘jumbled’, seemingly indicative of a ‘wandering mind.’ This did not align with Mr. Clark’s usual communications as an educated university graduate. However, witnesses in Bellingham did report seeing a man matching Mr. Clark’s description (age, build, limp) checking into two local hotels on November 2 and 3 respectively.

This raised several questions and concerns, notably the possibility of a medical incident causing some unusual mental confusion. It was possible that he had boarded the wrong northbound stage. That said there is nothing in the accounts to suggest that his wife had notice any mental disarray when he left that morning.

If he was mentally confused, he may alternatively had attempted to return to the Linnton area where he had previously worked or the neighboring areas around Highway 30 and Mt. Saint Helens, which he was intimately familiar with. This would not however have aligned with him traveling to Bellingham.

No further trace emerged after the Bellingham sightings. His case remains the oldest active missing-person investigation in the United States.

Multiple Victims?: No

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Date the Body was Recovered:

Description: Unknown

Time of Death:

Cause of Death:

Recovered Remains (if partial):

Suspected Homicide?: No

Multiple Victims?: No

DNA Tested (No Match): In 1986, loggers discovered a nearly complete adult male skeleton in an isolated wooded ravine in northwest Multnomah County, near Rocky Point Road in the hills above U.S. Highway 30 / St. Helens Highway, only a few miles from historic Linnton where Clark had once served as marshal.

The state medical examiner (Dr. Karen Gunson) ruled the death a suicide: single gunshot wound to the temple and the body was placed at around 35-55 years old. Despite the age discrepancy, there were some who believed it could have been Mr. Clark, but in 2018, DNA testing excluded Mr. Clark as a potential match.

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Description:

License Plate:

Description: