Disappearance of Martin family

Disappearance

1954 Ford Country Squire, the same year and model of the Martins' car

On the evening of December 6, 1958, Kenneth and Barbara Martin attended a Christmas party before returning to their home on Northeast 57th Avenue in the Roseway neighborhood of Northeast Portland, Oregon.^[2] The couple had made plans for a day trip into the country for the following day. In the late morning of December 7, Kenneth and Barbara left their home with their three daughters: Barbie, Susan, and Virginia, in their 1954 cream and red-colored Ford Country Squire station wagon.^[2] Barbie, the eldest daughter, was a freshman at Grant High School.^[3] The family's eldest son, Donald, then aged 28, was in the U.S. Navy and stationed in New York at the time.^[2]

The family headed east for a drive into the Columbia River Gorge, where they intended to gather greenery to make Christmas wreaths and decorations.^[2] The knowledge of where the Martins were specifically throughout the day is sparse. Dean Baxter, gas station proprietor, reported that he encountered the family when they purchased gasoline from his store in Cascade Locks around 4 p.m., approximately 40 miles (64 km) from their home in Portland.^[4] According to Baxter, he recalled their car continuing east after they had purchased gasoline.^[4] The family was seen again shortly after at a restaurant in Hood River, approximately 20 miles (32 km) east of Cascade Locks. Other reports from passing motorists indicated that the family was seen in an unspecified location on the north bank of the Columbia River, in Washington state, at dusk.^[1][2][5]

According to eyewitnesses who saw the family that day, Kenneth was reportedly wearing a tan zip-up jacket and dark slacks,^[2] while Barbara wore a navy blue coat, a plaid jacket, and a black print dress.^[6] Barbie was reportedly dressed in jeans with rolled cuffs and a beige coat.^[7]

Investigation

Martins' Portland home

Hood River

The Dalles

The Martins were last seen in the Hood River area, though tire tracks indicate their car may have been in The Dalles along the Columbia River.^[2]

After Kenneth Martin failed to report to his job at an electric company on December 9, 1958, the family was officially reported missing.^[4] Police investigated their residence for any signs of foul play.^[2] The house had been left undisturbed; a load of laundry was still in the washing machine, and dishes from the previous day were left on a drying rack in the kitchen; there was also a substantial amount of money in the Martins' bank accounts.^[2]

Searches were undertaken by both Multnomah County and Hood River County police, but neither were able to produce substantial leads. A stolen white Chevrolet registered in Venice, Los Angeles, California was found in Cascade Locks the day of the Martins' disappearance, but was dismissed by police as it did not match the Martins' vehicle.^[5]

On December 28, 1958, a women's glove was discovered near the site of the abandoned car, which family stated was "similar" to a glove Barbara Martin "would wear"; however, it could not positively be identified as belonging to her.^[8] Also found near the car was a .38 Colt Commander handgun that had been stolen from a Meier and Frank department store,^[4] and the subsequent arrest of two ex-convicts for car theft in Hood River County on December 8 raised further suspicion.^[4] Whether these incidents were in any way connected to the Martins' disappearance could not be determined. On December 31, 1958, a man called police reporting he had seen a vehicle matching the Martins' speeding on the Baldock Freeway. Police were alerted along the freeway, but the car could not be located.^[5]

Three months after the family's disappearance, a volunteer searcher found tire tracks leading off of a cliff near The Dalles, Oregon, which reportedly matched the tires on the Martins' Ford Squire.^[2] This conflicted with the eyewitness reports that had placed the family on the north bank of the river at nightfall, which would indicate that they had crossed the river into Washington state in either Hood River via the Hood River Bridge, or in Cascade Locks, via the Bridge of the Gods, 24 miles (39 km) and 42 miles (68 km) west of The Dalles, respectively.^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Discovery of Susan and Virginia

Virginia's body was discovered near Bonneville Dam (pictured), approximately 46 miles (74 km) from where the family was last seen

On May 1, 1959, three months after the tire tracks were reported, a river drilling rig near The Dalles reportedly hooked something of substantial weight to its anchor; however, it became dislodged before it could be pulled to the surface.^[2][9] On May 3, the body of Susan was discovered on the north bank of the Columbia River, near Camas, Washington, roughly 70 miles (110 km) from The Dalles.^[1] The following day, the body of Virginia was discovered near Bonneville Dam, roughly 46 miles (74 km) from The Dalles.^[1]

Susan's body was taken to the Clark County medical examiner's office before being transferred to Multnomah County in Portland for autopsies on both bodies to be performed. One of the technicians who had taken fingerprints prior to the autopsies indicated to the medical examiner what they believed to be bullet holes in the heads of each of the girls' bodies; however, according to the medical examiner's report, no such injuries were found, and the cause of death for both of the girls was officially declared as drowning.^[1]

Rupert Gillmouthe, the sheriff of Hood River County at the time, suspected that the drilling rig had overturned the Martins' car at the bottom of the river, and dislodged one of the doors, allowing the bodies of Susan and Virginia to escape and surface downstream. Further searches of the water were undertaken by both sonar and helicopter, but were unfruitful. The search for Kenneth, Barbara, and Barbie was subsequently suspended after a search diver nearly drowned.

Susan and Virginia were interred at Rose City Cemetery in Portland, in the same neighborhood as the family's home.^{[10][11][lower-alpha 2]}