Mystery of family who vanished in 1958 has finally been solved
The mystery surrounding a family who vanished in their car almost 70 years ago has finally been solved.
The Martins, which included parents Kenneth and Barbara, and daughters Barbie, 14, Virginia, 13, and 11-year-old Susan, went missing in December 1958 in Oregon.
They were reported missing after Kenneth and Barbara failed to show up to work.
Virginia and Susan were found dead months after the family disappeared, but the other members had not turned up.
And Barbie and her parents have not been seen since – until a diver found their car.
A Ford station wagon was found in the Columbia River in 2024 by Archer Mayo, and it was pulled from the water with human remains inside last year.
DNA was tested, and they were confirmed to be the remaining Martin family.
Kristen Mittelman, chief development officer of genetics lab Ortham Inc, told KATU: ‘So many people worked for years to find and identify the Martin family and we are proud to have helped.
‘A mystery like this doesn’t just weigh on the family, it weighs on the entire community and hopefully this gives a lot of people the resolution they deserve.’
Their oldest son Donald, 28, who was living in New York at the time, said their deaths could not have been an accident and suspected foul play.
Despite this, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office say there is no evidence of any crime being committed.
They said: ‘The Martin family originally disappeared in December of 1958 while reportedly visiting the Columbia River Gorge to collect Christmas greenery.
‘The remains of Virginia and Susan Martin were found downstream months later, but the parents, Kenneth and Barbara, and oldest daughter Barbara (Barbie) were never found despite extensive searching and diving.’
Diver Archer Mayo, who had spent years searching for the family, said he believes their disappearance was a result of a tragic accident.
He said: ‘I think that they turned around in such a way that they kind of got stuck against a curb, put the car in reverse, and it wouldn’t move, it wouldn’t move, it wouldn’t move.
‘And then all of a sudden jolted and it went backwards in an uncontrollable way into the water, and that’s what they all do.
‘So, yeah, I have a theory. I mean, no one’s ever going to know if it’s right or not.’
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