Part Two:
The disappearance of 13-year-old Eugene Wade Martin remains one of the most troubling unsolved missing-child cases in Iowa history. The Des Moines boy vanished in the early morning hours of August 12, 1984, while carrying out what should have been an ordinary Sunday routine — delivering newspapers along his route for The Des Moines Register. He left home around 5 a.m., reportedly alone that morning because his stepbrother, who often accompanied him, was not there.
Witnesses later told investigators they saw Eugene near the intersection of Southwest 12th Street and Highview Drive in Des Moines. He was folding newspapers and speaking with a clean-cut white man believed to be in his 30s. Observers described the interaction as calm and even friendly, resembling a casual conversation between a father and son. It would be the last confirmed sighting of him.
Sometime between 6:10 and 6:15 a.m., Eugene’s newspaper bag was discovered on the ground with roughly ten folded papers still inside, indicating he had not finished his route. The discovery was made after customers reported missed deliveries, prompting concern from his route manager. Authorities were not contacted until around 8:40 a.m., when both his family and the paper staff realized he was missing and alerted the Des Moines Police Department.
Investigators focused heavily on the unidentified man last seen with Eugene. He was described only as neat in appearance and in his 30s, but despite witness statements and public bulletins, police were never able to identify him. No physical evidence tied to the boy — including his bicycle or belongings — has ever been recovered. From early on, officials treated the disappearance as a likely abduction and pursued thousands of leads, yet none produced a definitive breakthrough.
Over time, observers have noted similarities between Eugene’s case and other Des Moines-area child disappearances, including those of Johnny Gosch and Marc Allen. Despite speculation, law enforcement has never confirmed any direct connection among the cases. Eugene’s disappearance remains officially classified as a non-family abduction and is still considered open by both local authorities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
At the time he vanished, Eugene was described as a white male with brown hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet tall and weighing around 110 pounds. He had a scar on his right knee and a previously fractured wrist. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a gray-and-white striped shirt with red sleeves, and blue Trax sneakers with white diagonal stripes. Age-progression images created in later years depict what he might look like as an adult.
Today, more than four decades later, the case remains unsolved. Eugene would now be in his mid-50s if alive. No confirmed evidence has ever surfaced to show what ultimately happened to him, but investigators and missing-persons advocates continue to hope that new information or renewed public attention could finally bring answers to a mystery that has lingered for generations.
