On the evening of October 17, 1996, 29-year-old transient Clayton Cobenais was fatally shot near the corner of SE 3rd and Ash Street in Portland, Oregon. Witnesses said an argument between Cobenais and another man, both described as transients, escalated when the second man produced a handgun and shot Cobenais. The suspect was described as a white male about 35 to 40 years old, with short brown hair and an unshaven face, wearing a dark blue jacket and jeans, but was never apprehended.

Cobenais, a Native American, was known to police because of his transient lifestyle and struggles with alcoholism; he was often involved in fistfights when intoxicated, which may have contributed to the altercation. The Portland Police Bureau’s Cold Case Homicide Unit has continued to investigate, and Crime Stoppers has offered cash rewards for tips leading to an arrest, but the case remains unsolved.

Did anyone in Portland at the time see or remember that confrontation near SE 3rd and Ash Street?