Proof emerges that solves mystery of family who disappeared more than 60 years ago

The discovery of a car and human remains has finally solved the case of a family who vanished 68 years ago.

On 7 December 1958, US family Kenneth, 54, and Barbara Martin, 48, left their home in Portland, Oregon, with their three daughters, Barbie, 14, Susan, 13, and Virginia, 11. The family had headed out to gather greenery and pick up Christmas wreaths, heading along the Columbia River Gorge, which lies on the border of Washington and Oregon, with eyewitnesses seeing the family stop for fuel and food in the area.

This would be the last time anyone saw the family alive.

When the family failed to show up for work and school the following Monday, an investigation into their disappearance was opened, with police pursuing scenarios of both foul play and an accident.

The Martin family vanished in 1958 (KOIN Archives)

The bodies of younger sisters Susan and Virginia would later be recovered from the river in May 1959, however the rest of the family remained unaccounted for.

For years, the case would remain a mystery, with several people suspecting foul play. This included the couple's eldest son, Donald, who was away studying in New York at the time of their disappearance.

Breakthrough in the Martin family disappearance

The whereabouts of the missing Martin family members and their car would remain a mystery until 2024, when diver Archer Mayo believed he'd located Ken's Ford station wagon on the riverbed.

Parts of the vehicle were lifted out of the water in March 2025 alongside several personal items, including a camera, toys and a possible firearm.

Human remains were later recovered and turned over to the state examiner for forensic identification, which Hood River County Sheriff’s Office has now confirmed belong to Ken, Barbara and Barbie.

Younger sisters Virginia and Susan were later recovered, but Ken, Barbara and Barbie remained missing (KOIN Archives)

The Sheriff's office added that an investigation into the case had concluded, with officers ruling there was no evidence of a crime.

The remains were confirmed to belong to the family through extensive testing conducted at Othram, Inc in Texas.

Speaking about the investigation in an interview with KOIN, Othram employee Colby Lasyone explained that researchers had identified the family after finding a living DNA match for Ken.

"Skeletal remains that have been submerged in water for decades can be particularly challenging to work with," he explained.

"Unfortunately, the skeletal remains for the other individuals were too degraded and couldn’t be worked with."

The family were last seen in the Columbia River Gorge area, where the car would be located in 2024 (Getty Stock Images)

Despite only being able to identify Ken, investigators were confident to make the call for Barbara and Barbie based on other evidence collected.

"With the contextual information and the anthropological examination of the other remains, there was enough information to be able for the medical examiner to be able to make final identifications on all three individuals," he added.

"So many people worked for years to find and identify the Martin family and we are proud to have helped," Kristen Mittelman, chief development officer of genetics lab Ortham Inc, added to KATU of the development.

"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."