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UPDATE 03/06/25 5:25 p.m: The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office said they could not remove the vehicle in the Columbia River thought to be connected to the Martin Family cold case due to “significant debris,” but the crew will continue efforts on Friday.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A new lead in a decades-old cold case of a missing Portland family has prompted an underwater search of the Columbia River Thursday morning.
Investigators with the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office say they received information from a local diver who claimed to have found the station wagon belonging to the Martin family, who vanished in 1958.
After matching a partial plate, officials now say they are 99% sure this is the Martin’s car. A barge with a crane attached is soon set to pull the car out of the river near Cascade Locks.
“We’re going in with the mindset of not having any preconceived ideas about what happened,” said Hood River County Sheriff’s Deputy Pete Hughes. “So we’ll have the crime lab, we’ll have detectives and they’ll be investigating this just like they would investigate any case, a known case at this point.”
Officials add that the vehicle is currently sitting upside down and there’s debris on top of it. But for the most part, it’s intact.
“We want to preserve this vehicle the best that we can to ensure that any evidence that comes out is able to be saved,” said Hood River County Sheriff Matt English. “It’s all dependent on what’s in that car.”
The sheriff also confirmed this is still an ongoing criminal investigation with the Oregon State Police Crime Lab now involved as well.
Archer Mayo, the diver who found the vehicle, told KOIN 6 News he has been searching for the car for seven years. He always believed it to be at Cascade Locks, in a deeper hole near the locks called “The Pit.”
Mayo recalled the moment he first saw the car underwater.
“As I went further on, I realized ‘Oh my gosh, this is the car! This is a ’54 wagon.'”
He then alerted authorities.
KOIN 6 News anchor Jeff Gianola is at the scene and will have more detailed information later in the day.
The case background
In December 1958, the typical holiday season in Portland was full of caroling neighbors, school holiday pageants and the hustle and bustle of gift buying.
On December 7, it became something else entirely.
Ken Martin and his wife Barbara told family members and their Northeast Portland neighbors the family was going to spend Sunday afternoon in the Columbia River Gorge collecting Christmas greenery. The two Martin parents and three young girls, Barbara, Virginia and Susan would never return.
The official story remains the same: five members of the Martin Family accidentally drove into the Columbia River in December 1958 and died.
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In this undated photo, Ken and Barbara Martin sit on the couch in their living room with son Don and the three girls. (KOIN Archives) -
The Martin family loved Christmas. Barbara, Virginia and Susan Martin sit in a sleigh during a neighborhood Christmas celebration. (KOIN Archives) -
The Martin family loved Christmas. Barbara, Virginia and Susan Martin sing carols during a neighborhood Christmas celebration. (KOIN Archives) -
Coverage of the search for the Martin Family features pictures of Barbara, Virginia and Susan Martin in the Oregon Journal. (Oregon Journal) -
Coverage of the search for the Martin Family in the Columbia River near Cascade Locks from the Oregon Journal. (Oregon Journal) -
An undated photo of the 1954 Ford Country Station Wagon the Martins drove into the Columbia River Gorge on Dec. 7, 1958. (KOIN Archives) -
A report from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office detailing the discovery of a girl’s body near Bonneville Dam. The body is later identified as Virginia Martin. (Graven family) -
A gas station receipt from a Chevron station in Cascade Locks shows Ken Martin purchased five gallons of gas on the afternoon the family vanished. (KOIN Archives) -
Aerial photo of Cascade Locks, Ore. taken in 1958. According to the official report, the Ken Martin accidentally backed the family car into the river here on the afternoon of Dec. 7, 1958. (KOIN Archives) -
Detective Walter Graven (left) speaks to Don Martin when he returns to Portland to settle the family estate. (Graven family) -
Detective Walter Graven was the only investigator following leads and connecting the dots in the disappearance of the Martin family. (Courtesy: Graven family) -
Seen here in his Navy uniform, Don Martin was somewhat estranged from his family and living on the East Coast when his father, mother and three sisters vanished. (Graven family) -
The Martin family loved Christmas. Ken Martin is seen here dressed as Santa Clause with two unidentified boys. (KOIN Archives) -
A glimpse of the Martin Family home in Northeast Portland taken during the investigation into the family’s disappearance. (Graven Family)
However, the discovery of a damaged gun and bodies of the two younger Martin girls floating to the surface seem to point to something more sinister.
Despite the discovery of the bodies, the official investigation was shut down. The disappearance of the Martin Family was ruled a tragic accident.
So, why was someone inside the Martin home after they, according to the official report, drove into the Columbia River, but before anyone knew they were gone?
In 2020, Gianola did a 4-part podcast, What Happened to the Martin Family? The podcast remains available.
