Overview
- Hood River County authorities, in a Thursday announcement, said DNA identified Kenneth and Barbara Martin and their daughter Barbie and they closed the investigation with no sign of foul play.
- The Oregon State Medical Examiner worked with Othram, a forensic genetics lab, to build a SNP profile from one usable sample and match it to family reference DNA.
- Single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, are common genetic markers that help link unidentified remains to relatives when standard DNA tests fail.
- Private diver Archer Mayo found a Ford station wagon believed to be the Martins’ car in the Columbia River in 2024 after years of searching near Cascade Locks.
- Crews could pull only the frame and attached parts in early 2025 because the car was buried in sediment, and the diver later turned over nearby human remains that led to the identifications.