The remains of three members of an Oregon family who disappeared in December 1958 have been identified after their submerged vehicle was recovered from the Columbia River last year.
Police had been able to narrow the search area for the family after records showed Kenneth Martin had used a credit card to purchase fuel at a gas station near Cascade Locks, a small city along the Columbia River roughly 40 miles east of Portland, where the Martin family had lived.
After decades without answers, a private diver named Archer Mayo was able to find what he believed to be the Martins's 1954 Ford station wagon, along with other submerged cars, in the Cascade Locks area of the Columbia River in the fall of 2024.
The vehicle was found upside down roughly 50 feet below the surface, buried in mud and other debris. Since the car was encased in sediment, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office was only able to pull out the frame and some attached pieces of the vehicle in early 2025 using a crane.
"Analysis of those items along with other items retrieved by the diver allowed investigators to conclude that this was in fact the Martin car," officials said.
Mayo found human remains in the river later that year, which were turned over to the sheriff's office. Investigators worked with Othram Inc., a forensic genetics laboratory, to analyze the remains using advanced DNA sequencing techniques. One viable genetic profile was developed and compared with reference samples from known relatives of the Martin family, and Kenneth Martin was positively identified.
"Based on the totality of the circumstances in which the remains were recovered, and the anthropological assessment of the remains, Barbara Martin and Barbie Martin were also identified," officials said.
The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office said the department has concluded its investigation and determined that there was no evidence of foul play.