Echo of Distant Water: The 1958 Disappearance of Portland's Martin Family($8.30Value)

Description

A haunting true crime story of a family's disappearance and the decades-long search for answers in the Pacific Northwest. In December 1958, the Martin family vanished, leaving behind a mystery that gripped Oregon for decades. J.B. Fisher meticulously reconstructs the events surrounding their disappearance, drawing on police reports, witness interviews, and the notes of Detective Walter E. Graven. Was it a tragic accident, or a sinister crime involving family secrets and civic corruption? Echo of Distant Water explores: The intricate web of clues and red herrings - The impact of the disappearance on the community - The enduring quest for truth in a cold case Perfect for readers of true crime and Pacific Northwest history. JB Fisher  teaches writing at Portland Community College. He holds a doctorate in English Renaissance literature and was a Shakespeare professor before returning to Oregon, where he is now researching some of the state's most intriguing unsolved cases. Echo of Distant Water The 1958 Disappearance of Portland's Martin Family By J. B. Fisher Trine Day LLC Copyright © 2019 J.B. FISHER All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-63424-240-0 Contents cover, Title Page, copyright page, Dedication, AUTHOR'S NOTE, ABOUT THE TITLE, Map, Prologue: Dusk Falls, Part One: Then, 1) Sunday at Martin Manor, 2) Gone, 3) Into the Gorge, 4) Seeing the Martins, 5) The River Reveals, 6) Graven's Trail, 7) Stranded in Time, Photographs & Documents, Part Two: Now, 8) Scant Presence, 9) Reverberations, 10) The Big Fix, 11) Silent Water, 12) The Bridge of the Gods, 13) Fugitive, 14) Watery Moonlight, Epilogue: Riverview, Acknowledgements, Timeline, Author Information, Index, Contents, Landmarks, CHAPTER 1 Sunday at Martin Manor In the early morning hours of that same Sunday December 7th, 1958, all was quiet at the Martin family home. Draped over a wingback armchair by the fireplace in the living room was a large red and white Santa Claus suit and next to it, a woman's pioneer costume in drab brown complete with a cream-colored bonnet and matching apron. On the table in the adjoining dining room was a small wicker basket filled with Christmas candies wrapped in green, red, and gold paper, filberts and walnuts in their shells, and about a half-dozen small oranges. Amber-colored cellophane covered the basket, which was tied at the top with a dark green velveteen bow. Around 8:00 a.m., a small girl with blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a light complexion carefully opened the door of the "bunk room" that she shared with one of her sisters. She tiptoed down the back hall so as not to wake her parents sleeping in the next bedroom, crossed the living room silently, and stopped directly in front of the basket on the dining room table. She began to wriggle her small hand carefully under the cellophane, which crackled loudly in response. "Suzie, what are you doing?" she heard from behind her. "Mother said we are to wait until the Evans come and we'll open it then," Gina (pronounced Jenna ) said matter-of-factly. Suzie raised her shoulders slightly but didn't turn around. "Well, mother does not need to know." Her sister Gina was just a couple of inches taller than Suzie and two years older at twelve. She wore brown bangs, dark framed glasses, and had a medium complexion. "Come on Suzie, let's read until everyone is up. Mother is returning the books on Wednesday and you still haven't finished that Ramona and whatever her name is book you're reading." "Beezus," Suzie corrected it for her. " Beezus and Ramona. " She was walking through the archway joining the dining room to the living room and she paused briefly by the front door to retrieve a library book from a wooden apple crate overflowing with books. Then she crossed the small living room in several short strides and plopped herself onto a striped grey davenport against the wall perpendicular to the fireplace. Gina followed behind her, having picked a book of her own out of the box. She joined Suzie on the davenport, her foot nudging the costume-draped chair ever so slightly toward the fireplace so that she could have a little more legroom. She picked up her book, which was called The Secret of the Andes, and began to read when Suzie interrupted her. "Haven't you already read that one?" Suzie inquired. "I like it" was Gina's curt reply. Suzie persisted: "It seems with so many books out there you might read something new." Just then, Mrs. Martin came into the room. Heavy-set and matronly, she wore a dark grey bathrobe and small spectacles. An outside observer might have mistaken her for the girls' grandmother. "Good morning girls," she said. "Good morning mother," they both chimed, not quite in unison. "Girls, the Evans will arrive with their children around 10:30 and we'll go look for Christmas greens after that." Suzie and Gina put their books down. "Can we go to Larch Mountain?" Gina asked eagerly. "Joyce hasn't been th