Search Doesn’t Locate Woman

The search for a missing Princeton woman turned up “several items of clothing” Saturday, but no sign of the woman, the Latah County Sheriff’s Department reported.

Hazel Martin, 74, has been missing for 10 days. The sheriff’s department suspects foul play.

“This investigation now moves into the criminal phase …,” the department said in a press release. “… Interviews of persons likely to have information about Mrs. Martin are continuing and will continue to occur until she is located.”

The search was suspended at 7 p.m. Saturday. About 125 searchers spent the day combing the area along Highway 6 from the Washington border to the Benewah County line. The searchers included four dog teams.

It was the second extensive search around Martin’s tidy white clapboard home. Her car was found inside her garage. She lived alone - her husband Alvin lives in a retirement center.

Martin was last seen Friday, May 17 playing cards at a local Grange hall. She reportedly won $7 and drove home alone around 10 p.m.

Alerted by relatives who couldn’t find her Saturday afternoon, sheriff’s deputies found no signs of a struggle but noticed two sheets had been stripped from her bed.

The clothing found Saturday will be sent to the state crime lab for analysis.

, DataTimes