More than two decades later, Washington County Sheriff's Office cold case detectives have renewed their appeal to the public for information on the enigmatic disappearance of Paul Evers St. Claire, initially reported missing in 1996. According to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, there appears to be a connection between St. Claire's case and the unsolved murder of David Larry Stroh, whose skeletal remains were identified in 2019 through genetic genealogy.
Investigators have unearthed a past peppered with aliases and crime, revealing that before assuming the identity of Paul St. Claire, the missing man was born Lloyd Adam Buzzard. His transformation into St. Claire in the early 1970s led him to Oregon, where he established various business ventures and crossed paths with a man known as Frank Tidwell. Although after Paul was reported missing, neither he nor the car he last saw have ever been found.
It has been established by the investigators that Frank Tidwell was, in fact, Robert Stroh—holding an extensive criminal history and described as a "violent and dangerous" individual, with believed hidden partnerships in businesses spreading as far as beyond Oregon borders. As the timeline of events unfolded in the 90s, the disappearance of Paul St. Claire intertwined with the more sinister aspects of Robert's and David Stroh's lives. Robert, who was also the last known person to see Paul, later died in 2013.
Only a week after St. Claire vanished, the investigation widened with the reported sexual assault of a teenage girl, at the hands of a man known as Marshall Bond. Bond was quickly linked to David Stroh, brother to Robert Stroh. His disappearance was shrouded in mystery, with suggestions he might've fled to Wyoming—although such a departure was questioned after he was charged with the assault and a grand jury indicted him. An arrest warrant was promptly issued but turned up nothing as he slipped through the grip of local and Federal pursuers.
People who might hold threads that could unravel this mystery are now being sought after by officials. If anyone possesses information on the disappearance of Paul St. Claire or the murder of David Stroh, they are urged to come forward. Detective Tim Miller at the Washington County Sheriff's Office, reachable at 503-846-2690, waits for the missing piece that might finally provide closure to these long-standing questions.
