Overview
- The state medical examiner in April 2026 identified remains as Kenneth and Barbara Martin and their daughter Barbie, and the Hood River County Sheriff's Office closed the case with no signs of a crime.
- Archer Mayo, a local diver, located the family’s Ford station wagon in the Columbia River in May 2024 with human remains inside.
- Investigators recovered vehicle parts and personal items, including a film camera and toys, then sent the remains to Othram, a Texas lab that specializes in extracting DNA from degraded samples.
- Othram scientists matched Kenneth Martin through DNA from a living descendant, and examiners identified Barbara and Barbie using anthropological review and evidence from the recovery site.
- The finding ends a decades-long mystery for relatives and the community and shows how modern genetics can resolve even very old cold cases.