Martin was last seen departing from his family's residence on Samsonville Road in Kerhankson, New York at 10:40 p.m. on March 25, 1996. His brother said Martin climbed out of a window in his bedroom. He planned to meet two friends, Daniel Malak and Alexander R. Barsky, at the Schwabbie Turnpike, less than one mile from their home, to watch the Hyakutake comet. His friends said they waited for him at the site, but they left after he failed to arrive by midnight. Martin was reported as a missing person during the following morning. He has never been heard from again. Authorities did receive reports of sightings of Martin in the New Paltz, New York area in 1999, but the sightings were never confirmed.

In May 2008, authorities arrested Barsky and charged him with second-degree murder in Martin's presumed death. Photographs of Barsky are posted below this case summary. Investigators stated he confessed to Martin's murder. According to Barsky's account, he and Malak picked up some marijuana before they went to meet Martin to see the comet. The three boys went to a makeshift fort they had built and then Barsky and Malak beat Martin with a two-foot length of metal pipe. They struck him approximately four times before he died. After his death, they hid his body in a cave-length indentation in a rock. Several years later, Barsky returned to the site, removed Martin's bones, and dumped them in various trash cans in New York City. Authorities discovered forensic evidence to support Barsky's account, including some fabric at the site where he says he originally hid the body. The murder was supposedly committed in retaliation for some petty theft on Martin's part.

Barsky was 15 years old at the time of Martin's disappearance; Malak was 17. In 1997, Malak was charged with murdering a 62-year-old man in the victim's home. He was convicted the following year and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, and is still incarcerated. He has not been charged in Martin's case. Prosecutors plan to try Barsky as an adult for Martin's presumed killing.

Some agencies continue to classify Martin's case as that of an endangered runaway. He was a student at Rondout Valley High School in 1996, where he was on the track team. Martin enjoyed skateboarding in 1996. Foul play is suspected in his disappearance due to the circumstances involved.

Above: Alexander R. Barsky, circa 2008