After She Was A Bridesmaid In Her Best Friend’s Wedding, She Vanished Later That Night: Neither Her Nor Her Pickup Truck Was Ever Found
February 10, 1990, was supposed to be a day of love, laughter, and quality time for thirty-three-year-old Marty Benthin Evans.
The divorced mother of two had been asked to be a bridesmaid in her best friend’s wedding. She was a bit nervous about the role but accepted it, and her sister made her gown.
And come the day of her best friend’s wedding, Marty accessorized with baby’s breath in her updo and attended the event at the High Climber Room Lounge in Knappa, Oregon. But, what exactly happened that night following the ceremony and reception has remained a mystery for over thirty-two years– because Marty was never seen again.
What we do know is that after the wedding, Marty stopped by her mother’s house. She had been living there with her ten-year-old son, Andrew after they moved back from Ashland. Marty’s daughter had been staying with her ex-husband, who lived locally.
Then, while there, Marty reportedly had emotional conversations both with an unknown man on the phone and her ex.
“Crying and crying on the phone,” Gloria White, her mother, recalled to KOIN 6 News.
Once Marty calmed down, though, her family tried to give her some gas money. Afterward, she borrowed her brother’s pickup truck– a 1984 Ford Ranger– to meet friends at a Knappa bar known as The Logger. Marty arrived still wearing the bridesmaid gown and, according to friends, still seemed upset.
Marty then left the bar later on and drove to a convenience store and gas station that was located on Highway 30. Gloria explained how Marty got gas while there but only put four dollars in the tank– because that was all the money Marty would accept from her family.
Facebook; pictured above is Marty
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
So, when Marty went to pull out of the gas station, the truck would not start. This forced her to call one of her brothers, who arrived and got the car running again.
And finally, Marty’s brother watched as his sister pulled out on Highway 30 and headed toward Astoria. Then, no one ever heard from Marty again.
“It was like she turned, and he just saw her go. Nobody saw her again. He was the last one in our family to see her,” said Linda Benthin-Weirup, Marty’s sister.
Marty was supposed to meet up with her sister at a restaurant in Astoria that night, but she never showed. Then, once Marty did not return home the following day and failed to call her family, everyone knew something was terribly wrong.
After all, Marty’s son, Andrew, was left behind at home– something Gloria believes her daughter would have never done.
“She would have never left Andrew. Never. And if you could talk to him, he’d say the same thing: ‘Mom would have never left me,'” Gloria said.
So, Marty’s family immediately called the police and began searching for both Marty and the truck. Fliers were posted, and authorities combed the area– but, unfortunately, neither Marty nor the pickup truck was ever found.
Now, it has been over thirty-two years since Mary disappeared. And for her family, never getting answers and having to live with the constant “what-ifs” has been torturous.
Whenever Gloria drives through her town, or any town for that matter, and spots a dark-haired woman, she gets that same glimmer of hope that they might be her daughter.
“You’re always looking, always, and you never quit looking. Your heart and mind tell you to keep going,” she said.
Marty’s family members also have a few different theories about what happened to her. Some believe that Marty may have crashed while driving down the winding roads that lead to Gloria’s house– even though there was no evidence of a car accident at the time.
Although Marty’s sister, Linda, believes that foul play was involved.
“Somebody intervened with her, took her somewhere, did something with her. She didn’t do this on her own,” she said.
“Could you go very far if you have three dollars in gas and a pop and not even your purse with you?”
Linda also adamantly believes that someone in the community knows something and pleads that they stop withholding.
Marty was between five foot three and five foot four and weighed about one hundred and fifteen pounds. She had brown eyes and brown shoulder-length hair and was last seen wearing a black bridesmaid dress.
Marty also had several tattoos, including a tiger on her abdomen, and was driving a 1984 Ford Ranger pickup truck with an Oregon license plate number PNB116 at the time of her disappearance.
If you have any information regarding Marty’s disappearance or whereabouts, you are encouraged to contact the Oregon State Police at (800) 442-0776.
If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe
The Son He Had From A One-Night Stand Wants Him To Pay For His College Education, But He Said No Way
While Talking About Her Wedding, She Accidentally Shaded Her Sister-In-Law’s Wedding Rules
More About:True Crime
Read This Next
