A vehicle dredged up from the depths of a river could be the key to resolving a family’s disappearance that has puzzled investigators for over six decades. Police have implied a strong connection, claiming “everything matches” as they tentatively identify the Ford station wagon with the one driven by Ken and Barbara Martin back in 1958 in Oregon, US.
The Martins, along with their offspring, mysteriously vanished while on an expedition to gather Christmas decorations in that December. On Friday, the car tragically fragmented as a crane hoisted it from the Columbia River, leaving only a skeletal frame and wheels.
These remnants have been preserved and transported to a storage facility where forensic experts will delve into its history. Ian Costello, speaking on behalf of diver Archer Mayo, proclaimed: “This is a very big development in a case that’s been on the back of Portland’s mind for 66 years.” Mayo, joined by fellow divers, had long been on the hunt for the station wagon.
After receiving a tip-off, and with official consent, they inaugurated the search on Thursday, managing to recover the wreck by Friday afternoon, according to police reports. Hood River County Sheriff’s deputy Pete Hughes confirmed the findings, announcing: “Everything matches. It appears to be the colour, make and model of the Martin vehicle,” reports The Mirror.
A staggering $1,000 (now £775) bounty was put up for information when the Martin family disappeared without a trace. The mystery gripped the nation, with headlines in the US media posing the question: “Where do you search if you’ve already searched every place logic and fragmentary clues would suggest?” Despite the discovery of two of the three missing children’s bodies in the river back in 1959, the third child and the parents were never found.
Virginia, aged 13, and Sue, aged 11, were located 25 miles apart, but Barbara, 14, along with her mother and father, then 48 and 54 respectively, remained missing. This week, the family car was unearthed from beneath 50 feet of water, buried under mud, salmon remains, silt, and mussel shells.
Deputy Hughes remarked: “It’s been a high public interest case.”
After the family vanished, the only clue to their whereabouts was Mr Martin’s credit card being used at a local petrol station, yet extensive searches in December 1958 yielded no results. A contemporary news report speculated: “Police have speculated that Martin’s red and white station wagon might have plunged into an isolated canyon or river. The credit card purchase was the only thing to pinpoint the family’s movements.”
