Witches, Magic, Murder, & Mystery · Megan and Kara

356. MYSTERY: The Martin Family Disappearance

·25 min·1 clip

They went to cut Christmas wreaths and never came home.

This episode covers the 1958 disappearance of the Martin family from Portland, Oregon, and the recent developments in the case. Hosts Kara and Megan, known for their conversational true crime deep dives, recount this decades-old mystery. The story focuses on Kenneth and Barbara Martin and their three daughters, Barbie, Virginia, and Susan, who vanished after a holiday outing. The family left to cut greenery for wreaths along the Columbia River Gorge in their red-and-cream 1954 Ford Country Squire. A gas station owner in Cascade Locks and a waitress in Hood River reported serving them that afternoon. After they failed to return home, police found their house undisturbed, with dishes drying and laundry mid-cycle. An abandoned 1951 Chevy was discovered near Cascade Locks with a bloody gun in the brush, traced to a Portland department store. The Martins' son, Donald, had once been accused of stealing from that same store years earlier. Two ex-convicts were arrested for car theft in the area around the time of the disappearance, seen in the same restaurant as the family. Searchers later found tire tracks and paint chips matching the Martins' car near a cliff at The Dalles. In May 1959, a drilling rig snagged something heavy in the river, and soon after, the bodies of Susan and Virginia Martin were recovered downstream. The official autopsy cited drowning, though initial reports speculated about bullet wounds. For over 60 years, Kenneth, Barbara, and Barbie remained missing with no sign of their car. In 2024, a diver named Archer Mayo, obsessed with the case, located a vehicle buried 50 feet down near Cascade Locks. By early 2025, a crane helped recover car parts, including an engine sent to a state crime lab. In late August 2025, divers reported recovering human remains from the vehicle alongside personal artifacts. A key piece of evidence was a camera case labeled with Ken Martin's name and address. Investigators are now processing the remains and car parts for definitive identification, though the sheriff stated there's no guarantee of ever fully understanding what happened. A surprising detail is that the car was found only about 50 feet deep in an area that had been searched multiple times over the decades. The hosts note the odd coincidence of the bloody gun found near an abandoned car, loosely connected to the family through a past shoplifting incident involving their son. They find it haunting that the family was likely in the river the entire time, just minutes from where searches occurred. The recent discovery underscores how perseverance by obsessed individuals can break cold cases, even after official investigations have ended. The tone is conversational, empathetic, and occasionally lighthearted, with the hosts joking about their own banter before delving into the somber story. Their style is educational but informal, weaving historical details with personal reflection on the nature of unsolved mysteries. Listeners who appreciate long-form, narrative-driven true crime with recent updates will find this episode compelling. Those irritated by casual banter or who prefer solely factual, fast-paced storytelling might want to skip it.

As heard by us

A river recovery brings two identifications, while three relatives and the car remain missing.

The episode treats the family disappearance as a river mystery, built around a trail that keeps breaking off just before it can explain what happened. In early May 1959, a drilling rig catches something heavy on the riverbed and loses it.

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Why you'd press play

You want a 1959 river mystery where two recovered girls answer only part of the disappearance.

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