Cascade Locks, Ore. – On Friday, March 7th, 2025, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office successfully retrieved a portion of a vehicle that investigators believe likely belonged to the Martin family. Due to the challenges presented in attempting to recover any more of the vehicle, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office is suspending any further recovery efforts.
Having disappeared in December of 1958 after a day trip from Portland to the Columbia River Gorge, the Martin family disappearance has gathered a lot of attention over the years. After a private diver presented to the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office (HRCSO) compelling evidence that he had located the Martin family car, HRCSO engaged the services of a professional diving and salvage company. The car that had been located was in a basin within the original lock system in Cascade Locks, Oregon. The vehicle was upside down and buried, nose first, in 66 years of packed sediment and rock, about fifty feet below the surface.
Beginning on March 6th, 2025, and continuing through March 7th, the divers worked to remove as much packed sediment and rock as possible. Due to the fact that the interior of the vehicle was believed to also have filled with sediment, only the chassis and engine of the vehicle was recovered from the riverbed. The chassis was taken to a secure facility and processed.
The Martin family vehicle was a 1954 Ford 4-door station wagon, cream in color with red trim. After processing the chassis and attached engine and parts, and comparing the serial numbers to records from the Ford Motor Company, HRCSO investigators believe that what was recovered from the riverbed did belong to a 1954 Ford 4-door station wagon, and small bits of the vehicle body that were still attached to the chassis matched the color of the Martin family vehicle. 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. 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. For those reasons, investigators cannot say with absolute certainty that it is the vehicle.
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. The location, difficult underwater conditions, and the sediment and rock which encase the remainder of the vehicle present significant challenges. For those reasons, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office is suspending all further recovery efforts.