In the early morning hours of August 12, 1984, 13-year-old Eugene Martin got dressed and went

off to his job working as a newspaper delivery boy for the Des Moines Register.

Sometime after retrieving his papers, Gene disappeared in a startlingly similar fashion

to Johnny Gash, who had been abducted from the same streets just two years earlier.

For 36 years, the Des Moines Police and Gene's family have struggled with a lack of evidence

and leads, leaving only possibilities of what might have become of the teenager.

For their part, investigators conducted wide-ranging searches, questioned everyone in Gene's

life and in town, and through it all, were able to develop a partial description of a potential

suspect. This is Trace Evidence Episode 122, the abduction of Eugene Martin.

Welcome to Trace Evidence. I'm your host, Stephen Pacheco. Today we examine the haunting

abduction of Eugene Martin, before getting into the case just a few notes about the show.

Trace Evidence is a weekly true crime podcast focused on unsolved murders and disappearances.

You can follow the show on social media on Twitter, at Trace Ev Pod, Instagram, at Trace Evidence

Pod, or by searching Facebook for Trace Evidence. The show is also available on Mewee and

Mines. If you're interested in supporting the show and getting some Trace Evidence merch,

there's a Patreon available at patreon.com slash Trace Evidence, or you can donate via

Paypal. Visit Trace-evidence.com for all social media links, donation options, and contact

information. You can submit case suggestions directly through the website or email me at

Trace Evidence Pod at gmail.com. Just two years after Johnny Gosh was abducted, Eugene

Martin was taken under extremely similar circumstances, leading many to believe that the two cases

must be linked. This is episode 122, the abduction of Eugene Martin.

Early in the morning on Sunday, September 5, 1982, 12-year-old Johnny Gosh left his family's

...