SPOKANE, Wash. – A 34-year-old mystery has finally been solved, and an unidentified man found dead in a local landfill has his name back. The success is attributed to a combined effort between a son searching for answers about his biological father, and death investigators with the medical examiner’s office who refused to give up.
For Dicki Towles, the heartbreak of simply not knowing began in the early 1990’s when her brother Clifford ‘Cliff’ Bippes failed to call her on her birthday.“He never would have done that,” she said of her brother missing the call. “That’s when I knew something was wrong.”Dicki says she grew increasingly panicked when Cliff also didn’t reach out over Christmas. She knew her brother had spent some time in the Seattle area and Spokane County. Devastated, she reported him missing, but wasn’t even certain which area he had most likely disappeared from. She remembers the anguish.”We were extremely close,” she said. “He always took care of me.”Dicki says her brother did have some troubles over his life, but she was always there to help him. She says he was proud to serve our country in the Army, was the protective type, and always found a way to make those he loved smile. “He was very happy and charismatic person,” she said. “Happy-go-lucky.”Months passed after the missing person’s report was filed. Those months turned into years, and then decades. Searches of various databases produced nothing helpful.Over that same time, the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office was also struggling with a mystery of their own. An unidentified man was found deceased in the early 1990’s in a local landfill. Investigators used a variety of resources, including canvassing local tattoo shops to see if any of them recognized work done on the man. None did. They also released a rendering of what the man may have looked like. A forensic artist created a compelling photo, but still, nothing helped. Until, genetic genealogy continued to rapidly develop.Across the country, a man named Matt Cunningham was also closely eyeing developments in DNA. For years, he’d been hoping it would lead to answers about his biological family.”I’ve been searching maybe 15 years… just off and on and in spurts,” he said. “I’d get leads and then it’d die down.”He says he sent in his DNA to some public databases and began researching his family tree. “I had been on a bunch of different sites… and I found certain relatives that were close to me,” he said. “(For me,) it was more about finding out who (I) look like, who (my) traits come from. When I was adopted, I got a great family. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”He says his discoveries pointed to some likely blood relatives in Washington, some distant cousins. That’s why when one day he saw a Washington number calling him, he had a gut feeling it had something to do with his biological family. It was the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office. “They said, ‘well I have some interesting news.’ I said it won’t surprise me…I said you’re calling from Spokane,” he said. “I figured you found my biological father, and that’s why you’re contacting me.”At that point, they suspected they had but needed to confirm it. Matt agreed. The ME’s research also led them to Dicki who also submitted her DNA. The samples proved the unidentified remains belonged the Matt’s father, Dicki’s brother, Clifford Bippes.”They said we are 100 percent sure Clifford Bippes is your biological father,” Matt said.Clifford Wayne Bippes was likely 45-years-old when he died. It took 34 years, and a lot of passion from investigators, to finally identify him. “It means so much,” said M.E. Dr. Veena Singh. “They are people, even if it’s just bones, they are people. They have a name. They have a story, but their story has been on pause.”Cliff’s story is one of many recent successes under Dr. Singh’s leadership. She largely credits her death investigators who care so deeply about the work they do. “They have to have that curiosity and on a bigger level, a love for humanity to put in that time and effort to bring closure to the family,” Dr. Singh said.As for Matt, he says his biological family has brought up a possible in person meeting down the line.”If the occasion arises,” he said. “Everything works out in life and happens for a reason, if that’s what’s mean to be, it will happen.”Dr. Singh says funds from the federal American Rescue Plan have been absolutely critical in her office’s work on identifying so many of the former unidentified.Spokane Police Department does not believe Cliff’s death was criminal in nature, but they still encourage anyone with information to call crime check at (509) 456-2233.
