Car being pulled from Columbia River might have belonged to Oregon family that vanished in 1958

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By MARTHA BELLISLE
Updated 5:51 PM CST, March 6, 2025

Authorities said Thursday that they planned to pull a station wagon from the Columbia River believed to have belonged to an Oregon family of five who disappeared nearly 70 years ago while they were out searching for Christmas greenery.

The search for the Martin family dominated regional headlines at the time and led some to speculate about the possibility of foul play.

Salvage efforts continued into the afternoon Thursday and authorities did not know if they would be able to pull out the vehicle before dark.

The station wagon thought to belong to Ken and Barbara Martin was found last fall by Archer Mayo, a diver who had been looking for it for seven years, said Mayo’s representative, Ian Costello. Mayo pinpointed the likely location and dove several times before finding the car upside-down about 50 feet (15 meters) deep, covered in mud, salmon guts, silt and mussel shells, said Costello, who announced the find Wednesday.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/river-missing-family-car-submerged-martins-0929b4b52648b0095c00d577d69faebd

[chouchou]

1. I wonder if there's any relatives that remember when the family disappeared.

Obviously, they would have to be quite old.

[Mme. Defarge]

2. I was 11 years old when that story

dominated the local news in Portland. So glad to know that the mystery had finally been solved!

[Srkdqltr]

3. How sad. The picture of the soldier with the family picture is heart breaking.

[MurrayDelph]

4. For those who don't want to follow the link

The nearest city to where they are diving is Cascade Locks, which is about 45 miles east and a little north along the Columbia River from Portland.

(I had to look because I can see the Columbia River from the living room window, but I'm over 130 miles west and north along the River from Cascade Locks)

[surfered]

5. We love that area and visited it often over the last many years. Can you narrow down the location?

[artemisia1]

6. It may not have been an accident

Multnomah County police consistently suspected foul play in the Martins' disappearance, based on the evidence of the tire tracks that indicated their vehicle was deliberately pushed from the cliff.[34] Also troubling were the reported sightings of the family at dusk on the north bank of the river in Washington state, while the tire tracks placed them on the south side of the river in Oregon; this would suggest that their car would have fallen over the cliff after nightfall.[34] The arrest of the two ex-convicts the day after the family's disappearance, for car theft, was also noted, though police were unable to determine if the incidents were related.[9] Walter Graven, a Portland detective who died in 1988, ardently felt the family had met with foul play and that their murders would be solved once their car was discovered.[16]

Searches were undertaken by both Multnomah County and Hood River County police, but neither were able to produce substantial leads. A stolen white Chevrolet registered in Venice, Los Angeles, California, was found in Cascade Locks the day of the Martins' disappearance, but was quickly dismissed by police as it did not match their vehicle.[11] Also found near the site of the abandoned Chevrolet was a .38 Colt Commander handgun, which had been disposed of in the bushes and was covered in dried blood.[16] The handgun was turned over to law enforcement but never processed for evidence. The gun's serial number was traced to a Meier and Frank department store,[9] and it was subsequently discovered that the gun had been among several sporting good items that the Martins' son Donald had been accused of stealing while working at a Meier and Frank two years prior.[16]

[tonekat]

8. That is very intriguing

So many more questions about this.

[AmericaUnderSiege]

7. Tragedies like that make us reflect.

What is actually important?

Sorry if that's trite.

[oasis]

9. Diver, A.Mayo, looking 7 years for the car.

How does one find the time and expense for such project?

[Shipwack]

10. It's not an uncommon activity for divers.

There’s even an organization that coordinates civilian search dives (too tired to google it right now).

Plus, everyone has a hobby. Instead of just randomly diving, he decided to give it a purpose. I don’t think he did it for 40/week. Just whenever he had time (and desire) for a dive he’d do another area.

[oasis]

11. Thank you.👍