The son of Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug Clifford has been charged with murdering his California girlfriend, who disappeared six days before her body was found on the side of a Nevada highway.
Brent Clifford, 55, was booked into the South Placer County Jail on a murder charge in connection with the death of Patricia Portela Wright, who went missing after not showing up for work on Aug. 9. ABC10 reported..
According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, 48-year-old Portela Wright was last seen five days earlier, on the morning of Aug. 4.
Police and search and rescue teams found a body believed to be Portela Wright’s on an embankment off Mount Rose Highway in Washoe County, Nevada, on Thursday.
“Through the investigation, deputies received information that led them to the area of Mount Rose Highway. Using a drone, they were able to locate the female’s body at the bottom of a steep embankment,” the sheriff’s office said.
Police have “tentatively identified” the body as Portela Wright and are awaiting confirmation from the Washoe County Coroner’s Office.
Police have not determined a motive for the killing but said “foul play is clearly involved.”
Police had identified Clifford as a suspect in the disappearance of Portela Wright, who was last seen with her boyfriend.
Clifford is also a suspect in a murder case in Reno, Nevada, where police said he traveled to the city from the Tahoe area on August 9 to visit a friend. Reno Gazette Journal Reported.
Police said William Andrews, 68, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in the 1300 block of Keystone Avenue in Reno. ABC10.
Clifford is believed to have stolen Andrews’ red 2003 Chevrolet Blazer.
The vehicle was later spotted traveling west on California Highway 70, leading police to Plumas County, police said.
Clifford had an outstanding arrest warrant for identity theft in connection with the disappearance of Portola Wright and was taken into custody by police in Portola, California, 60 miles northwest of Kings Beach, just before 4 p.m. on August 14.
After the body was discovered, he was charged with murder and booked into the Placer County Jail.
Clifford is not eligible for bail, according to jail records reviewed by The Washington Post.
Brent Clifford is the son of Doug Clifford, the founding drummer of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The band, consisting of John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford, was first inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
They were the first major band signed to play at Woodstock in upstate New York in 1969.
After the band broke up in 1972, Cook and Clifford formed Creedence Clearwater Revived, which was active from 1995 to 2020.
