The son of Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug Clifford is in custody and suspected of murder in Placer County, California. According to ABC 10, Brent Chandler Clifford, 55, was taken into custody at South Placer County Jail and is reportedly a person of interest in a pair of cases.
“Right now, detectives are working to interview anybody that might have information on what occurred; friends, family members, acquaintances,” Placer County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Dave Smith said in a press conference. “Our investigations unit does as good of a job as they possibly can to discover any information that might lead to the information about what happened.”
The initial case regards a missing Kings Beach woman whose body was reportedly discovered off Mount Rose Highway in Washoe County, Nevada. “There is apparent foul play involved,” Smith added.
Patricia Portella-Wright, 48, was Clifford’s girlfriend who was reportedly last seen with him on Sunday, Aug. 4, and later reported missing on Friday, Aug. 9. “It is with heavy hearts that we share today, (August 15th, 2024) we have found the body of a female believed to be Patricia Portella-Wright. The body was found off Mt Rose Highway in Washoe County Nevada. We are waiting on confirmation of the identification from the Washoe County Coroner’s Office,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Officer wrote on social media.
Twenty six miles from Portella-Wright’s body, the body of Willaim Andrews was found after being shot. According to law enforcement, Clifford drove Andrews’ red 2003 Chevy Blazer around for a time after his alleged murder.
Clifford was arrested on Wednesday in Portola, in Plumas County. He was booked at South Placer Jail and was not eligible for bail. He also faces charges of identity theft related to the homicide case. Portella-Wright’s friends and family spoke out after she went missing, telling ABC 10 that they were hoping for the best.
“She is loved by her family and her friends and missed terribly, not only by all of us, but all of our customers in our gallery. We’ve been reaching out with worry and concern,” they shared with the outlet.