‘No absolute certainty’ Martin Family car found in Cascade Locks

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The mystery surrounding what happened to the Martin Family continues after deputies revealed they could not match car parts pulled from the depths of the Columbia River to the family’s station wagon with “absolute certainty.”

After removing parts of a 1954 Ford station wagon

on March 7, officials said they could not find the vehicle identification number because only a portion of the car had been retrieved. Officials also said they’re “suspending any further recovery efforts.”

“Investigators were unable to locate a vehicle identification number (VIN), however, which in 1954 was just starting to be common practice, though not always placed in a consistent location on the vehicle,” officials said. “For those reasons, investigators cannot say with absolute certainty that it is the vehicle.”

The sudden disappearance of the Martin Family in 1958 remains one of the “most baffling” cold cases in Oregon history.

Earlier in March, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office announced they had received information from a local diver who claimed to have found the long-lost vehicle in the Columbia River.

After matching a partial plate, officials said they were 99% sure this was the Martins’ car, which was found upside down 50 feet beneath the water with debris on top of it.

KOIN Previous Coverage: Martin Family 1958 disappearance

But when officials attempted to retrieve the car, they said only a part of it had come out of the river. They did retrieve the engine, but were unable to spot a VIN to make the official match.

“They said that that thing is crumbling,” Hood River Sheriff Matt English said. “This is something that we kind of anticipated could be a reality. It’s been in there for 66 years. And so, you know, it’s really rusty and really falling apart and so I think they’ll do more of a debrief with the professionals. But it sounded like whatever is left there is full of rocks and buried […] They can’t even tell if the whole body is there, frankly, of the car.”

The car parts that were pulled from the water had the following characteristics that matched the description of the Martin family car: It was a 1954 Ford 4-door station wagon painted cream with red trim and matching serial numbers to records from the Ford Motor Company at the time.

“Given what was found and the location in which it was found, HRCSO investigators have every reason to believe that what was recovered belonged to the Martin family vehicle,” officials said.

However, without a matching VIN, they cannot call it a certain match, and the sheriff’s office said it will not re-attempt to pull out what remains of the vehicle under the water.

“Due to the difficulties associated with retrieving the chassis, and the corroded condition that it was in, HRCSO does not feel that expending further time or resources on the retrieval of the remainder of the vehicle would be prudent, nor would it be guaranteed of success,” officials said.