Ep. 174 An Enduring Mystery

The Martin Family loaded into their cream-and-red station wagon for a trip up the highway on December 7, 1958. The family was on the hunt for a Christmas tree and greens to make wreaths. From Portland, they drove east into the Columbia River Gorge. Parents Ken(54) and Barbara(48, I know) were in the front, with Ken driving, and their daughters Suzie, Virginia, and Barbie were in the back.

As night fell on the Martins' block, a few neighbors noticed the family hadn't returned. The station wagon wasn't parked under the carport, and the lights inside the home were out. No one was home, and they would never be home again. Five members of the Martin family vanished that day, most of them without a trace.

Episode Host: Josh McCullough

The Martin Family, photos from All That's Interesting and KOIN

Missing Poster, photo from All That's Interesting

The Martin Family Car, photo from FactsChology

Richard Allen Hunt, Photos from FBI and Ancestry

Lester K Price, photos from Ancestry.

Clifford Bennett, photos from Ancestry

Sources

Echo of Distant Water | Independent Publishers Group | Special documentary 50 years after Martin family's disappearance | What happened to the Martin Family? | KOIN.com | Martin family's 1958 disappearance remains a mystery | 114. Richard Allen Hunt — FBI  | Columbia River Highway | Columbia River Gorge | Wonders of the Columbia Gorge | Oregon Department of Transportation : History and Photos : Regions | Cascade Locks, OR population | THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE | Don't Try This At Home (Anymore) | Shocking Discovery About This Vintage Christmas Classic | The Christmases of the 40s, 50s and 60s | Peacock Lane - Wikipedia | Martin family disappearance - Wikipedia | Sheriff of Cochise Wins Big Acclaim at Kid Show | Mountain Searched for Family | Search For Martin Car Has No Luck | Portland Locale May Miss Santa  | Giant Candy Canes Are Absent in Martin's Neighborhood | Skindivers Seek Car Of Martins | Stolen Car Said Clue To Martins | Police To Seek Complaint Against Martin Suspect | Pair In Cafe Recall Serving the Martins | Abandoned Car, Glove New Clues In Mystery | Officer Offers Search Idea  | Equipment Readied for River Search For Missing Ken Martin Family Auto | Electronic Gear Breakdown Disrupts River Search for Martin Family Car | Oregon State Daily Barometer, January 13, 1959 - Search for Martin Family Halted | Oregon State Daily Barometer, January 28, 1959 - Martin Estate Problems Told  | Oregon Stater, February 1959 - Alumnus and Family Missing | Oregon, U.S., State Marriages, 1906-1971 for Owen O Sabin 1959 | BULLETIN | Fugitive's Parents Guarded in Salem | Posse Poised To Hunt For Gunman | Friend's Pickup Stolen | Ken Martin and Family Take Drive Dec. 7, Vanish Without Clue From Face Of Earth | Oregon State Daily Barometer, May 5, 1959 - Bodies Found In Columbia | Sheriff Plans Search From Small Boats in Hunt for Martin Car | New Clue Found To Missing Family | Winds Halt Search For Martin Auto  | Martin Family 'Rendezvous With Murder' Clues Studied | Church Crowded at Memorial Service for Missing Kenneth Martin Family | Surviving Martin Son Suspects Foul Play | Richard Hunt Back In Albany Jail | Hunt Starts Life In State Prison | Hunt Begins Life Term for Police Chief Shooting | New clue in Martin case is reported | Life Sentence Shortened For Linn County Convict | Behind The Mike | Icy Klickitat River May Hold Key To Martin Family Disappearance | Five of Oregon | Family Charged in Theft RIng; Ex-Police Chief Among Suspects | Many Feel Sure Martins Victiims Of Crime | What Really Happened To The Martins  | Cold waters of the Columbia cradle secrets closely | Still missing, after all these years | Troubling allegations surface in Martin family disappearance | Deputy remembers identical holes in girls' skulls | PEACOCK LANE BEGINS PREENING TO CELEBRATE YULE'S LIGHT SIDE | COLUMBIA KEEPS ITS SECRET DESPITE DIVES, PERSEVERANCE | COULD DETECTIVE'S THEORY UNLOCK MARTIN MYSTERY? | Charles Maynard Cody | Paradise snack bar owner | Oregon, U.S., State Prison Records, 1854-1946 for Charles Maynard Cody | Wife Beating Perils Parole | Washington, U.S., State Corrections and Jail Records, 1877-1970 | FindAGrave.com- Charles Maynard Cody | Ancestry.com- Charles Maynard Cody Tree | Ancestry.com- Cody, Charles Maynard Prison Records | Maynard C Cody in the California, U.S., Voter Registrations | Medford Mail Tribune June 12 1941- Brothers Nabbed By Local Police; Wanted in South | The Columbian May 16 1944- Driver Pleads Innocent | Ancestry.com- Clark County Jail records- 1940-1947 | The Spokesman-Review June 15 1950- Widow's Estate Benefits Clubs  | Ancestry.com Report of Movement of Population | Charles Maynard Cody in the Washington, U.S., State Corrections and Jail Records, 1877-1970 | Ancestry.com- Repot of Movement of Population | Ancestry.com Record of Prisoners Committed to County Jail | Milwaukie's Wayne Sabin continues lifelong track and field love affair | Sports | milwaukiereview.com | RICHARD ALLEN HUNT, 26 | Fugitive's Offenses Span Years | Hunt, Public Enemy, Has Varied Facets | Wanted Chance To Shoot It Out | Ancestry.com Richard Allen Hunt Tree | Ancestry.com Montana State Prison Prisoner Descriptions | Ancestry.com Montana Prison records- Descriptive life of the prisoner | News of Record - Circuit Court | Richard A Hunt in the Washington, U.S., Marriage Records, 1854-2013 | Kidnaper Draws Term  | Clarence A. Hunt obituary | In Memoriam: Richard Hunt (Aug. 1, 1932 – May 19, 2023) - The Canyon Weekly  Lester Price in the Washington, U.S., State Corrections and Jail Records, 1877-1970 | Washington, U.S., State Corrections and Jail Records, 1877-1970 | Ancestry.com- Washington State Corrections and Jail Records | Ancestry.com Washington State Corrections and Jail Records- Report of Movement of | Population | Guilty Pleas Of 19 Heard In Federal Court  | Lester Price, 21, Draws Sentence For Theft of Car | All Washington, U.S., State Corrections and Jail Records, 1877-1970 results for "Lester Kenneth Price" | 33 Indictments Will Be Heard In Court Here  | FBI, city police nab wanted man here  | Man Better Off in Prison  | 6 Soldiers Indicted By Jurors | Circuit Court | Ancestry.com Washington State Convict Record | Ancestry.com Washington State Corrections and Jail Records 1942 Ancestry.com- | Lester K Price Tree Quiz Asks Elkins-Schrunk Showdown  | Court Drops Indictments  | How Terry Schrunk emerged from 1950s bribery, perjury allegations as Portland's 'virile and popular mayor' | Unpublished Pictures - JB Fisher, author | Hominy News-Republican Aug 13 1943- Hendrix-Bennett | Ancestry.com- La Grande Observer- July 10 1957- Schrunk Bribery Charge Dismissed | The News Tribune- Nov. 10 1962- Pari Held On Mann Act | Capt. Vayne Gurdane, Safe Cracking Training - 1952 | Oregon State Police | Let Me Say This About That | Kudos for 'In the crosshairs of conscience': Letter to the editor - oregonlive.com | Daughter of Gary Haugen's first victim speaks out - oregonlive.com