SOLVED - 1996 Mill Creek Bones

Updated on October 21, 2022

On September 1, 1996, the skeletonized remains of an adult female were found in the hills overlooking the Mill Creek area in rural Polk County. Investigators determined the woman’s death was a homicide as the body was wrapped up in a tarp and bound with rope. Many efforts were made over the years to help identify the female. Different techniques were used in an attempt to help put a face with the unidentified remains, including doing sketches, CT scans, and 3D rendered images. The actual skull was even used to create a sculpture at one point. Even with all the efforts made, the woman remained unidentified until 2019 when a new DNA technique was used in an attempt to finally identify her.

Polk County Detectives were contacted by Yolanda McClary, who is a retired Crime Scene Investigator with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department and was working on developing a new TV show to financially assist agencies in identifying unidentified remains in cold cases. In 2019, a DNA profile was developed from the remains and genealogists working with Ms. McClary assisted Polk County in identifying the woman over a 10 month research process. The remains were determined to be that of Kathy Thomas, born in Oklahoma in 1953.

Kathy’s life story is remarkable, yet tragic. She was the youngest of three girls born to Leo and Jessie Thomas from Oklahoma. After Leo and Jessie divorced, Leo brought Kathy to Southern Oregon at the age of five and he gave her up for adoption to Aileen Buxton. Kathy had three children in her first two marriages, but ended up losing custody of them when visiting Oklahoma and they were adopted out to other families located in the state.

Kathy returned to Oregon and married Brian Clifton in 1984. The couple lived in the Salem area for most of their marriage and Kathy’s last contact was in March 1996 when she reported a hit and run accident to Salem Police. Her remains were found less than six months later in Polk County. There were no missing persons reports made about Kathy in 1996, nor was there any record of divorce for Kathy and Brian.

The television show “The Jane Doe Murders” documented the lengthy process of how Kathy was identified by Ms. McClary and her associates, then the finding of her children and sister, who had no idea Kathy had died in 1996. In an extraordinary turn of events, Kathy’s children had never met their aunt, even though they only lived an hour away from each other, and they were introduced during the filming of the documentary. They remain close to this day.

Detectives were able to learn that Brian Clifton married another woman about one month after the remains were found and he then moved out of Oregon.

Through a collaborative effort between local, state and federal partners, detectives were able to locate Brian Clifton in another state in December 2020 and interviewed him regarding what happened to Kathy. Detectives questioned Brian multiple times during a series of interviews over a several month period.

On August 12, 2021, the Polk County Grand Jury heard the case and indicted Brian Clifton for the murder of Kathy Clifton.

On August 13, 2021, Brian Clifton was located and he was taken into custody by the local agency where Brian was living. After the arrest, Polk County Detectives interviewed Brian and he admitted to his involvement in the murder of Kathy. Brian Clifton will be extradited to Oregon, where he will be prosecuted for the murder of Kathy in 1996.

That same day, Polk County Detectives met with Kathy’s adult children and Kathy’s sister to let them know they had never forgotten about their mother/sister and that after 25 years, Kathy was finally getting the justice she deserved.

On September 7, 2021, 68 year old Brian Clifton was arraigned for the charge of Murder in the 1st degree. He was lodged in the Polk County Jail and held without bail.

On October 20, 2022, Brian Clifton pleaded guilty to Murder I in Polk County. Members of Kathy’s family, including her daughters, were present for the hearing and provided statements to the court. Brian Clifton was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.