Hood River County Sheriff’s Office, divers and construction crews assisted in the recovery of the vehicle believed to belong to the Martin family who mysteriously disappeared in 1958.
Hood River County Sheriff’s Office, divers and construction crews assisted in the recovery of the vehicle believed to belong to the Martin family who mysteriously disappeared in 1958.
CASCADE LOCKS — Authorities have retrieved the car frame believed to belong to the Martin family, who disappeared nearly 70 years ago. In December 1958, Kenneth Martin, his wife, Barbara, and their three daughters, Barbara “Barbie,” age 14, Virginia, 12, and Susan, 10, took a drive east through the Columbia Gorge to gather Christmas greens.
Two days later, the family was reported missing when Kenneth and Barbara failed to show up for work. Police struggled to find leads until the bodies of Sue and Virginia were discovered downriver in May 1959. The remains of Kenneth, Barbara, and their eldest daughter have never been found.
More than 65 years later, new information from independent diver Archer Mayo prompted the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office (HRCSO) to take action. Mayo has been studying this case for seven years and used predictive modeling to try and locate the vehicle. Mayo told Columbia Gorge News his own investigation into their disappearance began with understanding how the old locks in Cascade Locks were built.
Independent diver, Archer Mayo, used predictive modeling to try and locate the family’s missing car.
Contributed photo
‘The Pit’ reveals evidence
Upon closer inspection while diving, he discovered a feature in the canal at Cascade Locks, a pit which he estimated to be 83,000 cubic-feet in size. A visit to the Oregon Historical Society in February 2023 revealed exactly what Mayo had seen.
With the help of historians, he was able to look at designs for the original locks — which were completed in 1896. He says the moment he saw design, he knew the car had to be down there.
Right away, he secured permits from numerous organizations to begin dredging the pit. Decades since the family went missing, there were large amounts of mud, rocks and debris lodged where he thought the car had disappeared. Mayo said because of the constantly shifting riverbed sediment, he knew he only had one shot to find the vehicle. His own calculations put the car 6- to 10-feet under the surface of the riverbed.
In November 2024, he found the undercarriage of the vehicle that allegedly belonged to the Martins. He was able to see the rear wheel, gas tank, and rear bumper, and noted that the tailgate was also ajar.
Mayo said he “broke off” the license plate holder that still had the small metal registration tags attached. Before going to police, he carfeully measured what he could of the car’s dimensions. He continued to visit the site, but health problems limited his work. He notified authorities of his findings in February.
Mayo continues to be available to help, but commericial divers have assumed recovery efforts, he said.
“I have done hundreds of dives in this place,” Mayo said referrring to the Columbia River. “I can move around with zero visibility in this giant pit, because I’ve spent so much of my lifetime trying to solve this mystery.”
A tire is uncovered from the old locks in Cascade Locks.
Archer Mayo photo
Vehicle chassis recovered on Friday
The sheriff’s office said the car was located in the canal at the Cascade Locks Marine Park at a depth of about 50 feet.
Crews began inspecting the site on Thursday morning, March 6, and shut down the Cascade Locks Marine Park to the public. Crime scene tape secured the boat launch, and authorities would not confirm the car belonged to the family until forensic teams took a detailed look.
Recovery teams soon found that mud and “significant debris” was making it difficult to recover the car. The HRCSO issued a news release at 5:25 p.m. on Thursday, suspending efforts until Friday.
According to the HRCSO, on the afternoon of March 7, “while attempting to pull the vehicle out, the chassis detached from the rest of the vehicle due to the weight of the debris and condition of the vehicle.” Divers and crews from Advanced American Construction were eventually able to remove the chassis with the engine, which was then transported to a secure location for further examination.
The task now lies with investigators who are still working to confirm if the car did belong to the Martin’s, but there is no timeline on how long it will take.
“Investigators will now work on finding identification numbers from the engine and chassis of this vehicle to ensure it is in fact the Martin car,” said the HRCSO.
Investigators confirmed there were no human remains found in the vehicle and the case will stay as an active investigation until further notice.
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