Carl 'Marty' Dane Martin III was a forty-nine-year-old resident of Crane, Missouri, known for his love of the outdoors and his dedication to his family. Born in Wichita, Kansas, to Carl and Mary Martin, he built a life in Stone County where he worked in the maintenance department at Cox Hospital in Springfield. Friends and family remembered him as a fun-loving individual who enjoyed camping, fishing, hunting, and swimming with his children.
He was a father to a son, Richard, and a daughter, Becky, and had been united in marriage to Paula Kelly during his lifetime.
On July 9, 2016, tragedy struck the Martin household when a shooting incident occurred at his residence. Law enforcement officers from the Stone County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene following reports of gun violence. Upon their arrival, they discovered that Marty had sustained fatal injuries. The specific circumstances leading up to the discharge of the weapon were not immediately detailed in public reports, but the event was classified as a homicide by responding agencies.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, deputies took a woman into custody at the scene. She was detained as investigators worked to piece together the events of that Saturday. However, shortly after her arrest, the woman was released from custody without being formally charged. Local news outlets reported at the time that while one person had been dead and one detained, prosecutors did not immediately file charges, leaving the investigation open as authorities continued to review the evidence surrounding the fatal encounter.
