Oregon’s Most Haunting Missing Family Mystery Was Finally Solved

About this episode

The episode recounts the chilling true story of the Martin family's disappearance in 1958 and the decades-long search that finally revealed the mystery.

In December 1958, the Martin family left their home in Portland, Oregon to pick up Christmas decorations in the mountains. Ken and Barbara Martin packed their three daughters into the station wagon for what should have been a simple holiday outing. They never came home. For decades, the disappearance haunted Oregon. Investigators found strange tire tracks near the Columbia River, witnesses reported seeing unknown men around the family’s car, and theories ranging from kidnapping to murder spread across the country. But despite massive searches, the Martin family’s station wagon was never found. Then, 66 years later, a diver searching the Columbia River made a discovery buried deep beneath the sediment. Hidden inside was the answer to one of America’s oldest missing family mysteries. This is the chilling true story of the Martin family disappearance and the decades-long search that finally uncovered what happened that night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Amy Townsend, Chris Nathan

Topics covered

• missing persons
• true crime
• family mystery
• cold cases
• Oregon history
• investigation

Keywords

• Martin family
• disappearance
• Oregon
• Columbia River
• true crime
• missing family
• investigation
• cold case
• 1958

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Portland, Oregon, Columbia River

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