Cascade Locks locals react after new lead prompts search in 1958 cold case

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As soon as a potential lead came in a decades-old cold case of a missing Portland family, it was the talk of town in Cascade Locks Thursday morning.

Buzz starting going around as soon as the story broke that a barge with a crane attached is soon set to pull what investigators believe to be the Martin family car out of the Columbia River.

People started sharing the news with friends and posting about it on their local social media pages.

Customers inside neighborhood coffee shop Thirsty Cafe were also asking around about the latest details in the search for the Martin family, who vanished in 1958.

Other customers told KOIN 6 News they had actually recently watched a 2008 documentary KOIN 6 anchor Jeff Gianola did on the subject, so the details of the case were more fresh in their minds.

Thirsty Cafe owner Meredith Wix added a lot of people in town are hoping to get some answers about what truly happened to the Martin family.

“We’re a quiet little town and so when anything ever happens, there’s rumors of everything,” she told KOIN 6 News. “So it’s very interesting to see what everybody’s chattering about. But really, they’re just trying to wonder what’s going on. A lot of people remember the story from what I’ve read. So hopefully something comes up.”

As the barge with the crane arrived from upriver, people around town gathered at the edge of the river trying to get the best view as possible.

Meanwhile, the Thirsty Cafe kept Hood River County Sheriff’s Office deputies caffeinated as they worked to excavate the evidence.

“It’d be cool if we got some clues on what actually happened,” Wix said.

People even traveled to Cascade Locks from the Washington side of the river just to see what might happen.

“It’s a historical event,” said Lori Call, who drove from High Prairie because she was curious to watch the developments with her own eyes. “Just the thought of this being such an old case and that this is what they’ve been waiting for to pull this car up to show how and what occurred back then.”

Other longtime Cascade Locks locals told KOIN 6 they’ve also been fixated by the mystery of the missing Martin family for decades.

“From some of the documentaries, sounds like the family could have been murdered before the car went into the river. So it is quite fascinating that we’ve had this right here in our own backyard and now it’s such a big deal,” said Cascade Locks Museum Board President Debora Lorang.

“Was there foul play involved? Was it just a plain accident? So it’ll be nice at least for some closure on it,” added Port Commission President Brad Lorang. “It’s taken 67 years to finally hopefully break this case.”

KOIN 6 News will continue to follow this story.