Page 22 - 2025-01 Voices

Ongoing Series

Mapping a Murder

Harvey Schowe

The Martin family seemed like a typical Portland family from the nineteen-fifties. Then one
day in 1958 they set out to gather greenery for Christmas decoration and vanished. What
happened to this picturesque family? Theories range from accidents to foul play. This case
has been investigated by many professional and amateur sleuths over the years.

If you have played the popular board game Clue which allows simulating a detective, you
know one of the goals to solving a murder is determining the location of the dirty deed.
Traditional Clue has a house with several rooms to choose from. Imagine though a game of
Clue that encompassed miles of highway and wilderness. This is the Martin Family mystery.

The family left their home at 1715 NE 56th Avenue, in Portland late Sunday afternoon,
December 7, 1958. They stopped for gas in Cascade Locks and then dinner at the Paradise
Snack Bar, 1313 Oak Street in Hood River. From there they disappeared like the setting sun.
Mapping their entire route establishes a timeline and allows for decerning if they fell in with
nefarious characters.

The Study of maps, documents, locations of ferns, pine tree branches, and small firs was used
to estimate where the Martin family could have stopped along the Hood River to the Moiser
Old Columbia Highway Loop. Using Goggle Earth to plot the locations of ferns and small
fir trees, two general areas were identified where the Martin family may have stopped for
cutting a tree and gathering ferns. Both plant groups were located near each other. Based
on observations of ferns, pine trees, and small fir groups along the roadside, the family had
to make at least two and up to three stops to gather the greens. These plants were readily
accessible from the road.

Fern groups and small fir tree groups are separate and not found together. In other words,
they live in different habitats. Ferns live in moist shady in areas with a 394-foot to 459-foot
elevation along the road because of the availability of moisture. The more elevation the more
moisture. Fir trees become less predominate and pine trees become more predominate the
further east you go. Past the east side of the Moiser tunnels trees are spaced further apart
because of less moisture the grass and brush become more predominate. The Moiser Creek
Road has an elevation at the 19th site equal to 269 feet. At lower elevations a drier climate
makes fern growth less probable except near a creek. Moiser Creek could provide moisture
for fern growth but that’s less accessible from the road. This information further eliminates
Moiser Creek Road as an option for a site where the family could have cut the greens. The
old wayside area on Hood River-Moiser Loop had many small fir trees that could provide the
family with a Christmas tree. The family could have stopped to gather pine tree branches and

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