PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — December 1958: The typical holiday season in Portland, Oregon was full of caroling neighbors, school holiday pageants, and the hustle and bustle of gift buying.
On Dec. 7, it become something else entirely.
Ken Martin, his wife Barbara told family members and their Northeast Portland neighbors that the family was going to spend Sunday afternoon in the Columbia River Gorge collecting Christmas greenery. The two Martin parents and three young girls, Barbara, Virginia and Susan would never return.
As the city of Portland is coming to grips with the news that five members of the same family have vanished, a witness helps investigators determine that the Martins were likely the victims of a terrible accident.
Meanwhile, Detective Walter Graven keeps finding clues that don’t jive with the geography of the official explanation.