Reward offered for information in 1974 cold case homicide

Crime Stoppers of Oregon is offering a reward for information regarding a cold case homicide from 1974, or for information that helps investigators track down the victim’s then-boyfriend.

The boyfriend is not a suspect, but investigators with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office’s cold case unit think he can help sort out what happened to 17-year-old Martha Morrison, a Portland girl whose body was found in rural Clark County two months after she disappeared. Her remains weren’t identified until 2015.

Morrison’s family can’t remember the name of the young man Morrison was dating at the time. They met him briefly in 1974, then later, when he was looking for her after she went missing.

Morrison met the man at a job-training program in or near Phoenix, when she was living with relatives there, according to the sheriff’s office. The two traveled through Eugene, Ore., on their way to Portland, but family members did not know where they lived in Portland.

The family said the young man may have been African-American, was slim and about 5 feet, 7 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall. He said he was going to work as a welder in a Portland shipyard or dock.

Morrison was about 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighed about 140 pounds. She had thick, long brown hair and psoriasis everywhere except on her face.

Tipsters can remain anonymous. Information about unsolved homicides can lead to a reward of up to $2,500 cash, and other unsolved felonies are eligible for cash rewards of up to $1,000.

Submit anonymous tips online at CrimeStoppersOfOregon.com or call 503-823-HELP (4357).

Tipsters also can contact sheriff’s Detective Craig Marler at 360-397-2108 or craig.marler@clark.wa.gov, or call the agency’s cold case tip line at 360-397-2036