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Divers salvaged part of a 1954 station wagon found submerged in Oregon’s Columbia River that may have belonged to a family of five that vanished just before Christmas in 1958.
The Martin family, who lived in Portland, disappeared after driving to the Columbia River Gorge that December, in search of a Christmas greenery to decorate their home, reported The Oregonian.
Authorities conducted an extensive search for the Martins, with local media speculating foul play was involved. The case gained national attention.
Months later, the bodies of the Martin family’s two youngest members — Virginia, 13, and Susan, 11 — were found floating down the river.
The remains of the other three, father Kenneth, 54, mother Barbara, 48 and oldest daughter Barbara Lee, 14, were never found.
The station wagon’s wreckage was discovered by a diver in February, at the bottom of a massive underwater pit he’d been searching for years, convinced it was where the family ended up.
On Friday, part of the vehicle was pulled out of the water by officials, according to The Oregonian. The decades-old metal began to disintegrate as it was lifted to the surface.
Officials did not find any human remains in the vehicle, and said the car was largely filled with rocks.
The car’s chassis and motor were retrieved Friday, and while officials suspect it belonged to the Martin family, they won’t know for sure until they’ve found a VIN number.
The Oregonian reported the car was located by Archer Mayo, a local diver whose interest in the decades-old case started in 2018, and inspired exploratory dives in the Columbia River.
In time, in the Cascade Locks canal, he came across a large section of the river bottom that was filled with debris. He recognized the section as a massive pit left from the canal’s construction and was convinced the car could have landed there and laid undiscovered for decades.
Authorities did not say if they plan to try to recover the rest of the vehicle.
