Account
Jun 14, 2013
Jan 08, 2024
Kenneth
Martin
120
54
70 inches
72 inches
185 lbs
200 lbs
White / Caucasian
Male
On a chilly Sunday, December 7, 1958, 54-year-old Kenneth Martin, his wife Barbara, and their three daughters, Barbie, Virginia, and Susan, left their Portland, Oregon, home in their 1954 Ford Country Squire station wagon. It was meant to be a festive outing, a trip into the Columbia River Gorge to gather greenery for their Christmas decorations. They were seen late that afternoon after purchasing gasoline, but the family of five never made it back to their residence. Their eldest son was not with them, as he was serving in the U.S. Navy and stationed in New York at the time. When Kenneth and Barbara didn't show up for work, friends became worried and reported them missing, sparking what would become one of Oregon's most perplexing and heartbreaking mysteries. The initial search for the Martin family was extensive, involving multiple law enforcement agencies, yet yielded no immediate answers. Theories ranged from a tragic accident to foul play, a suspicion fueled by the discovery of a stolen handgun and the arrest of two ex-convicts in the vicinity around the time the family vanished. A significant break in the case, however grim, came in May of 1959. The bodies of the two youngest daughters, 11-year-old Susan and 13-year-old Virginia, were discovered in the Columbia River. They were found about 30 miles apart from each other, downstream from where the family was last seen. The discovery confirmed the family's tragic fate was tied to the river, but the whereabouts of Kenneth, Barbara, and their eldest daughter, Barbie, remained unknown, deepening the mystery that haunted the community for decades. For over 60 years, the case remained cold. The community and investigators were left with unanswered questions and a sense of profound loss. The mystery began to unravel in late 2024 when a private diver, Archer Mayo, who had independently been investigating the case, discovered the family's Ford station wagon submerged in the Columbia River near Cascade Locks. In 2025, recovery efforts began, and human remains were found within the vehicle. In April 2026, it was officially announced that through DNA analysis, the remains had been identified as those of Kenneth Martin, his wife Barbara, and their 14-year-old daughter Barbie. The Hood River County Sheriff's Office stated that they found no evidence of a crime and concluded their investigation. The resolution of this long-standing case finally brought a measure of closure to a tragedy that had lingered in the public consciousness for generations, confirming that Kenneth and his family had perished in a tragic accident in the river on that cold December day.
Dec 07, 1958
Portland
Oregon
Multnomah County
No
22618
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
Portland
Oregon
Multnomah County
97214
Keith Krafve
Detective Sgt.
501 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, Suite 350, Oregon
5039884300
County
Law Enforcement
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
05/30/2026
