TROUP COUNTY, Ga. (WGXA) — The car of a 22-year-old Georgia man who went missing nearly 50 years ago has been pulled out of a creek in eastern Alabama.

Kyle Wade Clinkscales was last seen the night of Jan. 27, 1976, the Troup County Sheriff’s Office said.

No one knew what happened to Clinkscales after the Auburn University student was last seen driving his 1974 Ford Pinto Runabout that winter evening.

But on Tuesday, investigators from Chambers County, Alabama were tipped off about a car that was submerged in a creek off of County Road 83.

After pulling the car out, investigators noticed its 1976 Georgia tag from Troup County.

Authorities in Chambers County contacted the Troup County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia for help running the tag details.

Investigators now know that the vehicle is the same one Clinkscales was last known to be driving the night he went missing — and Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff said they’ve also discovered bones in the vehicle that they believe belong to Clinkscales.

On Wednesday, Woodruff held a press conference to discuss the findings:

We were able to locate a wallet inside the car inside that wallet was his ID and several credit cards. We’ve also located several bones inside the car. We believe those to be human in nature. We called him the GBI they’re are currently at our facility taking that car apart. They can look at what’s in it to determine how many bones are in there. And if they are indeed his bones.

Troup County authorities say that January night almost 50 years ago, Clinkscales had left LaGrange to head back to Auburn for school — but never made it, and his 1974 Pinto Runabout, until now, had never been found.

The car is now in possession of the Troup County Sheriff’s Office, where Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents are processing it and collecting evidence.

If you have any information about this case, call Troup County deputies at 706-883-1616.

Written by CLAIRE HELM, WGXA Staff