Echo of Distant Water: The 1958 Disappearance of Portland's Martin Family

by J.B. Fisher

In December 1958, Ken Martin, his wife Barbara, and their three young daughters left their home in Northeast Portland to search for Christmas greens in the Columbia River Gorge—and never returned. The Martins' disappearance spurred the largest missing persons search in Oregon history and the mystery has remained perplexingly unsolved to this day. For the past six years, JB Fisher (Portland on the Take) has pored over the case after finding in his garage a stack of old Oregon Journal newspaper articles about the story. Through a series of serendipitous encounters, Fisher obtained a wealth of first-hand and never-before publicized information about the case including police reports from several agencies, materials and photos belonging to the Martin family, and the personal notebooks and papers of Multnomah County Sheriff's Detective Walter E. Graven, who was always convinced that the case was a homicide rather than an accident and worked tirelessly to prove it. Graven, however, faced real resistance from his superiors to bring his findings to light. Used as a trail left behind after his 1988 death to guide future researchers, Graven's personal documents provide fascinating insight into the question of what happened to the Martins—a path leading to abduction and murder, an intimate family secret, and civic corruption going all the way to the Kennedys in Washington, DC.

Genres: True Crime, History, Nonfiction, Mystery

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 5, 2019

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you were a kid in Oregon when the Martin family disappeared, you will want to read this well researched book. Most of us who were the Martin girl’s ages that Christmas are still haunted into our 70’s by this mystery that has always been open to speculation but never solved. The author looks deeply into the many theories that surfaced over the years and even to date and lets you draw your own conclusions. You won’t get rid of the feeling of dread when you drive up the Gorge but it will give you some ways to settle some of that stuff that’s been running around in your head all these years.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waiting for the waters to give up its dead...

A strong start meanders to a muddled conclusion. Aptly. Highly enjoyable for true crime buffs and those familiar with the region.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good true crime

No one is sure what happened to the Martin family. But this true crime book is a detailed look at the evidence and speculation from 1957 onward.

The writing is clear and the story is intriguing. Great research and I appreciate all the photos. Very highly recommend.

[Brynn Rieder · Rating 3 out of 5]

My grandma wanted me to read this. Mad bc it still ends unsolved, but lots of research clearly went into this book. This book brought back memories of my Portland trip.

[Bill Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Echo of Distant Waters refers to Celilo Falls, which were flooded by The Dalles Dam two years before the story occurs. For many decades my wife and I have referenced “The Missing Martins” whenever we have ventured out on a weekend jaunt from our Portland-area home. The Martin family of Northeast Portland did just that on Sunday, December 7, 1958. I had attended the same elementary school, Rose City Park, as the three Martin girls, although my parents had moved further west with their six boys to the Irvington neighborhood by this time. Even at the age of twelve, I was rattled by the disappearance of a family that had gone out to get Christmas greens and mysteriously disappeared. The story dominated the news for weeks.

The missing Martins are every bit a part of Portland lore, as is DB Cooper and are remembered every Christmas and Thanksgiving, respectively. There has been a constant ebb and flow of interest in the Martins, sometimes decades apart. Portland’s well-known newspaper and television personalities have done research on the family. Just as there is no definitive answer to what happened to DB Cooper, this book gives no definitive answer to what happened to the Martins. However, this must be the most complete account ever documented and does pose a very viable explanation. The research is remarkable.

Dozens of names appear that Portlanders living in the 1950s and 1960s would recognize. The Columbia River Gorge setting will be familiar to all Portlanders. To those unfamiliar with the Pacific Northwest, the names would be enchanting; Cascade Locks, Hood River, Crown Point, Larch Mountain, The Bridge of the Gods, The Dalles, White Salmon and Mount Hood.

The author focuses on a four-to-six-hour time slot on one of the shortest days of the year in the cloudy Northwest. My wife is a true crime fan. She has read all of Ann Rule’s books, so I picked it up when I saw this sitting on display at Borders just before Christmas. It has become a source of constant debate. This is a great book.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on an obscure case but the analysis of the link between the two felons and Wayne was a little fuzzy to me.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1958 in Portland, Oregon, an entire family with mom, dad and three daughters drove off to buy some Christmas greenery and were never seen again. Nor was the car. What happened to them? I don't want to post spoilers so you'll just have to read it yourself! The case has never been solved but I'm not sure I agree with the author's conclusion completely despite all of his evidence. I feel there are other scenarios that could explain the disappearance of the Martin family.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much speculation written with too much conviction.

I think the real problem is that there just isn't enough information for a book. In that sense the speculation is understandable, but off-putting.

Not great, but if you are interested in this case, it is the most complete source out there, and still with not that much known or likely to be discovered.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I saw the story about the possibility the Ken Martin family and their car had been found deep in the Columbia River, I started googling to what I could learn. I think this book pulls together a lot of the different threads and lets you see what you think. Now that part of the auto frame has been pulled up, I am
So curious tp see what is found, if at all helpful

[Michelle Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery still unsolved.

Until the car is finally found we may never know what happened to the Martins, but this was a well researched book, that gave a compelling avenue of investigation. Great read, would recommend to any true crime readers.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating!!

I so wish I had a Time Machine to land at The Dalles on that fateful day in 1958!!!
Mr. Fisher makes a solid case for his hypothesis of what may have happened. We’ll probably never know sadly!

[Suzann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This case has long fascinated me. I'm thrilled to find a book about it. Although the book isn't top notch, it marks a solid effort by a new author. It does add a lot of minor details to what most of us know. I would loved to have seen different theories compared.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

🖊 Haunting. Haunting and shockingly interesting disappearance of the Martin family from Oregon in 1958. The black and white photographs are fascinating.

🎨Illustrated.

જ⁀🟣 Kindle.
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[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story!

I really liked learning about this true crime story of the Martin family. I would love to know what really happened!

[Julie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Annie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely riveting. Couldn't put it down. I'm sorry there wasnt a great Eureka moment by the end but maybe one day we'll know what happened to these unfortunate people.

[Kriswolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

UPDATE as of March 2025: They found the car in the Columbia. It was on the news and hopefully there will be answers.

[Lailah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The research is good, the writing mediocre at best. The biggest problem is that the detective assigned to the case in 1958 based his speculative conclusions largely on confirmation bias, and the writer followed suit. The writer then enlarges on the original police work, resulting in wild conjectures and conspiracy theories that make little rational sense. Now that we know what happened to the car (and apparently the family also), Occam's razor should have been applied here: the simplest explanation is generally the one closest to the truth. Put differently, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[John Dutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid writing and excellent research went into this book about a local unsolved missing persons case from 60 years ago. For 60 years it has stumped all the professionals, so the author too may not have solved the case, but he presents some new insights and compiles past investigative findings in a way that leads readers to be able to draw their own opinions should they choose. An interesting read for sure but after reading and re-reading several sections I'm still stumped ;(

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad that there’s no closure for this family...