Car of a missing college student and skeletal remains found in an unsolved 4-decade-old case

• The car of a missing college student and remains have been found in an unsolved case in Georgia.
• Kyle Clinkscales, 22, went missing in January 1976, and his car was missing until this week.

The car of a missing college student and skeletal remains were found in Georgia this week in an unsolved four-decade-old case, authorities said Wednesday.

The Troup County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that the car of Kyle Clinkscales was found in Chambers County, Alabama, on Tuesday.

A wallet — with identification and credit cards — and skeletal remains were also recovered at the site, police said at a news conference.

Clinkscales had been missing since January 27, 1976, when he disappeared after leaving a bar in western Georgia to drive back to Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. He was 22 at the time.

His car was found on Tuesday by Chambers County deputies, who were notified of a submerged vehicle in a creek, the Troup County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies from Chambers County contacted the Troup County Sheriff's Office, just over the border in Georgia, after pulling the car from the water and identifying the Georgia license plates.

The car's identification matched the 1974 Ford Pinto Runabout that Clinkscales was last seen driving, the Troup County Sheriff's Office said.

The car "is currently being processed by Special Agents with the GBI to determine the contents of the vehicle," the Troup County Sheriff's Office said.