Othram, Inc.Kenneth, Barbara, Barbie, Virginia, and Sue Martin shortly before they went missing in 1958.

On December 7, 1958, Kenneth and Barbara Martin, along with their three young daughters, set out from their home in Portland, Oregon, to collect greenery for Christmas decorations in the Columbia River Gorge. However, they never returned.

Two days later, worried friends reported the family missing after Kenneth and Barbara failed to show up for work. The local sheriff's office launched a massive search, but they could not find the Martin family or their vehicle.

Five months later, the bodies of two of the children were recovered from the Columbia River, but these discoveries raised more questions. Over the years, theories regarding the disappearance of the Martin family ranged from a tragic accident to cold-blooded murder. However, now, thanks to the work of a rescue diver and DNA technology, the Martin family has finally been found.

What Happened to the Martin Family on December 7, 1958?

Two weeks before Christmas in 1958, Kenneth and Barbara Martin took their daughters Barbie, Virginia, and Sue for a Sunday drive, placing them in their red-and-white Ford station wagon. They headed east from their home in Portland towards Cascade Locks, where they planned to collect greenery for decorations.

They safely reached Cascade Locks, where they may have filled up on gas and eaten at a local restaurant, but they never returned home. After the family was reported missing, investigators found paint chips on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Columbia River, leading them to assume that the Martin family had accidentally fallen into the water.

Cascade Locks Historical MuseumAuthorities believe the Martin family may have accidentally entered the water in this Cascade Locks area.

The recovery of the bodies of 13-year-old Virginia and 11-year-old Sue from the river in May 1959 seemed to support this theory. However, despite numerous dives, authorities could not find the family's vehicle or the remains of Kenneth, Barbara, and Barbie.

Moreover, the discovery of a bloody gun allegedly linked to the Martin family's eldest son Donald, who was living in New York at the time of the disappearance, fueled wild murder rumors. The gun's serial number belonged to a shop where Donald had worked and had stolen various items two years prior.

Still, the case went cold and remained so for decades.

Finally, in 2024, a diver named Archer Mayo discovered a rusty vehicle at the bottom of the Columbia River.

Discovery of the Martin Family's Vehicle in the Columbia River

Mayo told Portland news station KATU 2 that he had been searching for the Martin family for seven years. In November 2024, while diving in an area known as the "hole" near Cascade Locks, he noticed something strange.

"There was a large depression in front of me," Mayo said. "And when the water cleared a bit, I saw a tire and realized it."

Archer MayoArcher Mayo saw the tire of the Martin family's vehicle for the first time during a dive in 2024.

Mayo reported his discovery to the authorities, and in March 2025, the Hood River County Sheriff's Office rented a crane to recover the vehicle from the water. However, the vehicle was in such poor condition that the bottom broke off, leaving the rest of the vehicle in the river.

Nevertheless, investigators believed they had found sufficient evidence to confirm that the vehicle was the Martin family's Ford station wagon. However, this was not enough for Mayo. He returned to the site in August 2025 and this time found human remains.

Solving the Mystery of the Missing Martin Family

The local coroner's office contacted Othram, a company specializing in solving cold cases through DNA analysis. The skeletons found near the vehicle were sent to Othram's laboratory in Texas. Scientists were able to recover DNA from only one of the three sets of remains - but that was enough.

According to a statement from the Hood River County Sheriff's Office, "Through this process, Kenneth Martin was positively identified, and based on the totality of the circumstances surrounding the conditions in which the remains were found and the anthropological assessment of the remains, Barbara Martin and Barbie Martin were also identified."

Finally, after 67 years, the mystery of what happened to the Martin family had largely been solved.

Multnomah County Sheriff's OfficeA missing persons notice from December 1958 offering a $1,000 reward for information about the Martin family.

Authorities stated that there were no signs of foul play and that the deaths of Kenneth, Barbara, Barbie, Virginia, and Sue were part of a tragic accident. Mayo's theory about the tragedy closely aligns with that of investigators.

"I think they turned in such a way that they got stuck on a curb, put the vehicle in reverse, and couldn't move," the diver told KATU 2. "And then suddenly it jolted and went back into the water uncontrollably... [T] There was a completely unprotected parking area at Cascade Locks in the '50s where something like this could happen."

The sheriff's office thanked Mayo and Othram for solving this decades-old cold case, writing, "This identification reflects a coordinated effort, scientific partnership, and ongoing advancements in forensic genetic genealogy."