On a winter's evening in Astoria, Oregon, 32-year-old Martha 'Marty' Evans vanished, leaving behind a life and a mystery that has endured for decades. The day was February 10, 1990, and Martha had just served as a bridesmaid in her best friend's wedding. Following the ceremony, the wedding party continued the celebration at the High Climber Room lounge in the nearby town of Knappa.
At approximately 9:30 p.m., Martha informed her friends that she needed to make a quick trip to Warrenton, promising to return within the hour. She left without her purse, which she had secured in the trunk of the bride's car, and drove off into the night in a borrowed brown 1984 Ford Ranger pickup truck. She was never heard from again.
Martha was a divorced single mother of two who had recently moved back to the Astoria area. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a distinctive black backless bridesmaid dress, a short black leather jacket, and twisted gold hoop earrings. She was described as a Caucasian female, standing at 5'3' to 5'4' tall and weighing between 110 and 115 pounds, with dark brown, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. Martha had several notable tattoos: a tiger on her abdomen that covered scars from a prior surgery, seven roses with a banner reading 'Daddy' on her left shoulder, and a dragon with a banner that said 'Perry' on her right ankle. The brown Ford Ranger she was driving was also distinct, bearing numerous dents, a 7-Up sticker in the window, and Oregon license plate number PNB116. Neither Martha nor the truck has ever been located.
The initial response to Martha's disappearance was fraught with delays. Her family's attempts to file a missing person report were initially dismissed by law enforcement, who suggested she may have left voluntarily. An official report was not filed until 2005, fifteen years after she was last seen. Over the years, various theories have emerged, including the possibility that she may have been a victim of foul play or that she could have accidentally driven into one of the many deep sloughs in the rural, winding roads of the area. There was a reported sighting of her at a gas station outside of Astoria shortly after she left the lounge, where a witness claimed to see her on a payphone, visibly upset and crying; this remains the last potential sighting of Martha. The case is an overview of a distressing and unresolved disappearance that has left a family searching for answers for over three decades. The lack of an immediate investigation, coupled with the absence of both Martha and the vehicle she was driving, has created a void of information, leaving only lingering questions and the enduring pain of her loss.Last Seen: Feb 10, 1990
