Authorities said Thursday that they planned to pull a station wagon from the Columbia River believed to have belonged to an Oregon family of five who disappeared nearly 70 years ago while they were out searching for Christmas greenery.

The search for the Martin family dominated regional headlines at the time and led some to speculate about the possibility of foul play.

Salvage efforts continued into the afternoon Thursday and authorities did not know if they would be able to pull out the vehicle before dark.

The station wagon thought to belong to Ken and Barbara Martin was found last fall by Archer Mayo, a diver who had been looking for it for seven years, said Mayo’s representative, Ian Costello. Mayo pinpointed the likely location and dove several times before finding the car upside-down about 50 feet deep, covered in mud, salmon guts, silt and mussel shells, said Costello, who announced the find Wednesday.

“This is a very big development in a case that’s been on the back of Portland’s mind for 66 years,” Costello said.

— The Associated Press