Disappearance Of Eugene Wade Martin [Update 2025]

Case Details

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This person was missing Missing Since 08/12/1984

Missing Since:
Missing Since 08/12/1984
Missing From:
Missing From Des Moines, Iowa
Classification:
Classification Non-Family Abduction
Gender:
Male
Race:
Race White
Date of Birth:
Date of Birth 08/17/1970 (54)
Age:
Age 13 years old
Height and Weight:
Height and Weight 5’0, 110 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description:
Clothing/Jewelry Description A gray and white striped midriff t-shirt with red sleeves, blue jeans and blue Trax sneakers with white diagonal stripes.
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Eugene has a scar on his right knee. One of his wrists has a healed fracture. His nickname is Gene.
Details of Disappearance:
On August 12, 1984, 13-year-old Eugene disappeared in Des Moines, Iowa. He was last seen around 5:30-6:00 a.m., getting ready for his newspaper route. Usually, his older stepbrother went with him, but he wasn’t there that day.

Someone saw Eugene talking to a nicely dressed man in his 30s around 5:00-5:15 a.m. near southwest 12th Street and Highview Drive. The man has never been identified.

Around 7:15 a.m., Eugene’s boss called his family because Eugene hadn’t picked up his newspapers from the corner of southwest 14th and Highview Streets. The boss called again 15 minutes later to say the papers were still there. Eugene’s dad then contacted the police.

Eugene vanished from the same general area where another boy, John Gosch, disappeared in 1982. Police don’t know if the cases are connected, but both boys delivered newspapers in Des Moines.

Eugene liked football, fishing, skating, TV, and video games. His parents divorced after he disappeared, and both are now deceased. His case is still a mystery.

Agency:
Des Moines Police Department 515-283-4864
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