Remains found in car submerged in Oregon river identified as family who mysteriously vanished in 1958
CBS News • • general
Key Points:
- DNA analysis has confirmed that remains found in a car submerged in the Columbia River belong to the Oregon Martin family, who went missing in 1958 while searching for Christmas greenery.
- The remains of parents Kenneth and Barbara Martin and their daughter Barbie were identified through forensic DNA testing conducted by Othram, a Texas-based lab, after the car was discovered by diver Archer Mayo in 2024.
- The Hood River County Sheriff's Office concluded its investigation with no evidence of foul play, resolving a decades-old mystery that had sparked national interest and speculation.
- Only partial remains and the car frame were recovered due to sediment encasement, and while Kenneth Martin was positively identified through DNA, remains of other family members were too degraded for analysis.
- Diver Archer Mayo expressed satisfaction that the case has been conclusively solved, bringing closure to a story that had remained unresolved for over six decades.
