OR OR – Martin Family Ken 54, Barbara 48, Barbie 15, Columbia River Gorge, Dec 7 1958

[tealrose]

I was raised in the Columbia Gorge across from this site on the Washington side. I agree! If someone accidentally drove off the road in this location, you would go through an area with trees and thick brush. Then, you would hit the railroad tracks. Then, you would have to continue down the bank on the other side of the tracks, with more trees and brush!!

I didn't mention the trees and brush because I have no idea if they were there 60+ years ago. It was after Bonneville and the railroad were built, so the land structures should be the same, but no guess on the hillside vegetation.

(And "Hi!" sorta neighbor! I almost moved to Stevenson/North Bonneville a couple times... I lived most of my life in the HR/WS area.)

 

[Gemmie]

View attachment 568733

I'll admit I was a bit surprised when I read news articles about the car's probably discovery recently. I had long felt recovery of the car after so long as close to nil: that's 66 years of currents, navigation intrusions and damage from other activities like dredging.
Let's hope it is indeed the Martin car and that surviving remains can tell us what really happened. Even just something as simple as was the car's engine running when it went into the water? Or a lot more.

I'm placing my bet on this being the car since LE said (upthread) "After matching a partial plate, officials now say they are 99% sure this is the Martin’s car. "

 

[FoxxTraxx]

I've just recently came across this story. There are a couple things that bother me.

1. Donald Martin - 28yrs old at the the time, stationed in NYC, 13 yrs older than the oldest sister, Barbie. Was Ken his natural father? Was Barbara his natural mother? Thats a big age gap?

2. The .38 colt handgun found near the the stolen Chevrolet was traced back to Meier and Frank department store and was thought to have been 1 of a few stolen items that Donald stole 2 yrs prior. It had dried blood on it as well. Coincidence? This handgun did it fly out of the car cover its self with blood before the family accidentally/forcefully went off a cliff? Or the parents kept the stolen gun for their son, carried it with them and some stranger was able to get it and use it against them?

3. The cremated remains of the 2 sisters (Virginia and Susan) were not claimed until 12 yrs later. Their cremains were claimed the day after their grandmother passed away, December 30, 1969 by an "unknown individual" while funeral arrangements were being made for their grandmother mother. Why wouldn't Donald, or anyone else in their family for that matter, have claimed their remains for 12 yrs?

4. Was Donald's albi checked? Verified?

Something just doesn't sit well.

These same issues stand out to me as well. The family dynamics are odd. A huge age gap between Donald (28) and the next sibling Barbara (15). Donald was reportedly estranged from the family and did not have much interest in resolving the case.
If this happened today investigators would be taking a much closer look at Donald. Perhaps a DNA test to see if the estrangement had a biological basis. The whereabouts of the cremated daughters is apparently unknow. Was Donald ever questioned?

 

[Warwick1991]

I've just recently came across this story. There are a couple things that bother me.

1. Donald Martin - 28yrs old at the the time, stationed in NYC, 13 yrs older than the oldest sister, Barbie. Was Ken his natural father? Was Barbara his natural mother? Thats a big age gap?

2. The .38 colt handgun found near the the stolen Chevrolet was traced back to Meier and Frank department store and was thought to have been 1 of a few stolen items that Donald stole 2 yrs prior. It had dried blood on it as well. Coincidence? This handgun did it fly out of the car cover its self with blood before the family accidentally/forcefully went off a cliff? Or the parents kept the stolen gun for their son, carried it with them and some stranger was able to get it and use it against them?

3. The cremated remains of the 2 sisters (Virginia and Susan) were not claimed until 12 yrs later. Their cremains were claimed the day after their grandmother passed away, December 30, 1969 by an "unknown individual" while funeral arrangements were being made for their grandmother mother. Why wouldn't Donald, or anyone else in their family for that matter, have claimed their remains for 12 yrs?

4. Was Donald's albi checked? Verified?

Something just doesn't sit well.

According to the book "The Echo of Distant Water," noted in earlier posts, Donald was across the country, but was questioned at length by the detective in charge of the investigation. Donald was indeed estranged, but there was no evidence that he played a role in the disappearance of the rest of his family.

The pistol is interesting, though. Presuming Kenneth Martin had it, there are other possibilities. If he was in poor health, he may not have been able to retain or otherwise use the pistol. It would also depend on where the pistol was with regard to either the car or Mr Martin's person. By the way, it is possible that Mr Martin was unaware that the pistol was stolen. It may have been given to him as a gift by Donald, and its questionable history not understood.

There are other possibilities as well. Hopefully, the car will be recovered soon, and yield information.

More information on the book noted above: Echo of Distant Water | Independent Publishers Group

 

[Gemmie]

 

[FoxxTraxx]

According to the book "The Echo of Distant Water," noted in earlier posts, Donald was across the country, but was questioned at length by the detective in charge of the investigation. Donald was indeed estranged, but there was no evidence that he played a role in the disappearance of the rest of his family.

The pistol is interesting, though. Presuming Kenneth Martin had it, there are other possibilities. If he was in poor health, he may not have been able to retain or otherwise use the pistol. It would also depend on where the pistol was with regard to either the car or Mr Martin's person. By the way, it is possible that Mr Martin was unaware that the pistol was stolen. It may have been given to him as a gift by Donald, and its questionable history not understood.

There are other possibilities as well. Hopefully, the car will be recovered soon, and yield information.

More information on the book noted above: Echo of Distant Water | Independent Publishers Group

I decided to buy a copy of the book. I’m sure there are more interesting details that I have been wondering about.

 

[Warwick1991]

It would be interesting to know about the characteristics of the water, such as temperature, etc. Some waters are more corrosive than others, I don't know about the Hood River. In some situations, an object like a car can break up when lifted due to corrosion. I assume the salvage team is prepared. I assume the mud can protect the wreckage to a degree. Very cold water can slow the breakdown of bodies and material.

 

[tealrose]

It isn't in the Hood River, it's in the Columbia near Cascade Locks.

The Columbia is cold.

The car is in a very deep part, and they think it may have moved enough over the years to fall in there, not been there originally.

This KOIN article quotes the diver as saying that the tailgate was open. I hope they're saving dredged material to look for items that might have come out of the car.

“When I dig, I did not empty out the whole pit,” Mayo said. “I dug a big basin out here and got down, saw the axel, put a buoy on the axel for the divers, see the gas tank, see the bumper, and actually — interestingly — the tailgate is open. … And that showed me the color of the car.”

(Sorry for the unformatted quote, I'm on mobile and having difficulty with it.)

 

[tealrose]

Forgot to say, that article is about an interview with the diver and includes photos and video.

 

[Catmommy]

More information to be had and I hope we get it but, to me, it appears to be Occam's Razor once again.

 

[Warwick1991]

It isn't in the Hood River, it's in the Columbia near Cascade Locks.

The Columbia is cold.

The car is in a very deep part, and they think it may have moved enough over the years to fall in there, not been there originally.

This KOIN article quotes the diver as saying that the tailgate was open. I hope they're saving dredged material to look for items that might have come out of the car.

“When I dig, I did not empty out the whole pit,” Mayo said. “I dug a big basin out here and got down, saw the axel, put a buoy on the axel for the divers, see the gas tank, see the bumper, and actually — interestingly — the tailgate is open. … And that showed me the color of the car.”

(Sorry for the unformatted quote, I'm on mobile and having difficulty with it.)

I see now that it's the Columbia River in Hood River County... My bad. I haven't looked at that book I noted earlier for a while.

The tailgate could open from the vehicle being jarred under water, or just from corroded sheet metal parts. Perhaps that's how the bodies of the 2 sisters came to the surface - via the tailgate.

 

[Oregonmama]

I drove out and watched some of the car retrieval process today. It's still ongoing. Car is encased with mud so it's taking longer to pull it up to the surface. So many local theories re this case. The son that was stationed in NY was cleared a long time ago. My hunch is the family were murdered by 2 criminal strangers that were in the area at the same time. JMO

Live look at the retrieval process, still ongoing. Sunny and 57 here so perfect weather to do this sad task.....

Partial car pulled from Columbia might have belonged to Oregon family that vanished in 1958

A crane on Friday pulled a car out of the Columbia River that may have belonged to an Oregon family of five who disappeared nearly 70 years ago.

www.kptv.com

 

[Warwick1991]

The remains of the chassis, with the engine, have just been pulled out by a crane. The tires are there, and hubcaps too. The hubcaps are still shiny. Most of the car body is missing, though. It has probably been broken up underwater. https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/wa...e-mystery-pulled-out-columbia-river-03062025/

 

[Warwick1991]

Perhaps there will be items to retrieve underwater, at the location where the chassis was just removed. Auto glass should survive. Perhaps the car came apart as a result of trying to move it, or even from earlier disturbances underwater. Any remaining sheet metal is undoubtedly fragile.

 

[Oregonmama]

Perhaps there will be items to retrieve underwater, at the location where the chassis was just removed. Auto glass should survive. Perhaps the car came apart as a result of trying to move it, or even from earlier disturbances underwater. Any remaining sheet metal is undoubtedly fragile.

The diver that found the car stated he saw a lot of the car so hopefully more parts can be retrieved.

 

[Gemmie]

The remains of the chassis, with the engine, have just been pulled out by a crane. The tires are there, and hubcaps too. The hubcaps are still shiny. Most of the car body is missing, though. It has probably been broken up underwater. https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/wa...e-mystery-pulled-out-columbia-river-03062025/

Sounds likely since the diver mentioned the tailgate was open when he found it. While I could be wrong, I'm thinking an open tailgate means the car was intact when found last fall. Otherwise, it would be laying on the riverbed. So that makes me think it came apart moving it after decades of sitting on the riverbed floor. JMO

“When I dig, I did not empty out the whole pit,” Mayo said. “I dug a big basin out here and got down, saw the axel, put a buoy on the axel for the divers, see the gas tank, see the bumper, and actually — interestingly — the tailgate is open. … And that showed me the color of the car.”

https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/diver-interview-missing-martin-family-station-wagon-found-03072025/

 

[Gemmie]

Mayo alerted authorities to his find in February and, about a month later, officials organized an operation to retrieve the car.

Next steps are unclear, given the authorities will presumably need to locate and attempt to retrieve whatever is left of the car underwater and human remains, if any.

Oregon divers recover portion of submerged station wagon believed to belong to missing Martin family

The recovery came at the end of a two-day process that could cap a decades-long mystery.

www.oregonlive.com

 

[chart75]

The bodies of the two sisters floated up in 1959 when a dredging operation caught the car and most likely broke the back window (and perhaps the tailgate). The bodies of the parents and the third sister are still missing. Seat belts weren't required for another ten years, so the missing three may have floated out some time later as well or could have been trapped in the station wagon. Time will tell if there are any remains left inside the vehicle.

 

[Bree1950]

I drove out and watched some of the car retrieval process today. It's still ongoing. Car is encased with mud so it's taking longer to pull it up to the surface. So many local theories re this case. The son that was stationed in NY was cleared a long time ago. My hunch is the family were murdered by 2 criminal strangers that were in the area at the same time. JMO

Live look at the retrieval process, still ongoing. Sunny and 57 here so perfect weather to do this sad task.....

Partial car pulled from Columbia might have belonged to Oregon family that vanished in 1958

A crane on Friday pulled a car out of the Columbia River that may have belonged to an Oregon family of five who disappeared nearly 70 years ago.

www.kptv.com

I agree that the two criminals that were in the area at the time were likely involved. They had eaten in a restaurant during the time the family was eating there. I’ll try to find the article about this.

 

[MerBeach]

The remains of the chassis, with the engine, have just been pulled out by a crane. The tires are there, and hubcaps too. The hubcaps are still shiny. Most of the car body is missing, though. It has probably been broken up underwater. https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/wa...e-mystery-pulled-out-columbia-river-03062025/

It’s interesting the article states there were other cars found in the same area, during this operation.