the Jamison family’s disappearance

On October 8, 2009 the Jamison family – consisting of Bobby (44), Sherilynn (40), and their daughter Madyson (6) – of Eufaula, Oklahoma mysteriously disappeared while reportedly on the way to see a 40-acre plot of land near Red Oak (about 30 miles [48km] from Eufaula) that they were considering to purchase.

The initial investigation into the Jamison family’s disappearance indicated that they had probably not vanished of their own accord. The family’s pickup truck was found abandoned in Latimer County, a short distance south of Kinta, a few days after their disappearance.

The Jamison bodies were not found, but their malnourished dog, Maisie, was still in the truck. Also discovered were the family’s IDs, wallets, mobile phones, a GPS system, and about $32,000 USD in cash. The Jamisons were not known for carrying large amounts of cash with them.

Footage from the family’s home surveillance system, time stamped the day they left their house, showed the couple making several silent trips between the truck and their house as they methodically packed to leave.

In the footage, the couple’s movements were described as “trancelike”. The video also shows Sherilynn place a brown briefcase in the truck. Former Sheriff Beauchamp remarked that he believed the briefcase could be an important clue. Both the briefcase and Sherilynn’s handgun have never been recovered.

The skeletal remains of two adults and a child were discovered by two hunters in a remote spot of Latimer County in November 2013, more than four years after their disappearance, and less than 3 miles (4.8 km) away from where their pickup truck had been abandoned. Following anthropological and forensic pathological testing the remains were confirmed as the Jamisons on July 3, 2014. A cause of death could not be determined due to the heavily decomposed state of the remains.

Before the remains were discovered, several different theories emerged about the family’s disappearance, such as that they had faked their own deaths, were in witness protection, were murdered, or had died by group suicide. Shortly before the disappearance, Bobby was involved in a bitter lawsuit with his father, Bob Dean Jamison, claiming that he had threatened the family and had struck him with his vehicle in November 2008. Bobby also alleged that his father was involved in meth and criminal activity. Police do not believe that Bob Dean was involved in the family’s disappearance.

Another popular theory was that the Jamisons themselves were drug dealers. Investigators cited the large amount of cash found in their truck, and the apparent strange behaviour exhibited by Bobby and Sherilynn shortly before they went missing. The Jamisons had reportedly told their local pastor Gary Brandon on separate occasions that they had seen spirits inside their home and that Bobby had allegedly claimed to have been reading from The Satanic Bible.

When police examined Bobby’s phone from the truck, they found a final picture of Madyson, taken up on the mountain. Friends and family believe Madyson’s parents did not take it. ‘“In the picture, Madyson is looking away from the camera; she looks unhappy and she has her arms crossed… if that had been Bobby or Sherilyn behind the camera, she would not have looked like that”. It is debatable whether she really looks unhappy enough to determine whether the photo proves anything.

popular theory’s

Lost in the woods: Perhaps the Jamison family decided to go for a quick hike in the woods and lost their way and died from hypothermia. The trouble with this theory is that the bodies were found lined up, side by side, with their faces down. It looked like they had been execution-style. They were also found 3 miles from their truck, and given Bobby’s back problems, it was unlikely he would have wanted to go walking in the hills.
Murder-Suicide: Sherilynn was known to own a .22 caliber pistol that she carried with her in the truck. The coroner found a small hole in Bobby’s skull that might have been from a bullet, but neither Sherilynn nor Madyson had any gunshot evidence. The gun has never been found. And if Sherilynn had used it to kill her family and then shoot herself, why hadn’t the weapon been located? Perhaps it was removed by someone else who came across it?
The Jamisons Were Members of a Satanic Cult: Sherilyn’s mother, Connie Kokotan, claims her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were on an Oklahoma cult “hit list.” “That part of Oklahoma is known for that…cults and stuff like that…from what I’ve been told and from what I’ve read. I was told (around the time of Sherilynn’s disappearance)…that she was on a cult’s hit list.” Connie didn’t provide the name of the alleged cult, nor have police found any links to one.
Drug Deal went wrong: The area of Oklahoma where the Jamison family lived, as well as the area they were hoping to move to in the San Bois mountains, is well-known for its drug activity, namely meth labs involving the drug methamphetamine. Bobby had recently reported someone in the local area for running one. […] Drug abuse could also explain the couple’s erratic behavior. […] But after a search of the house, police found no evidence they were taking meth or any other illegal substances. There was no drug-related paraphernalia.
White supremacist: Before the Jamisons’ disappearance, a handyman and family friend called Kenneth Bellows stayed with the family. In August 2009, upon finding out that Sherrilyn had Native American heritage, Bellow’s white supremacist leanings were uncovered. Arguments between the two broke out that resulted in Sherrilyn firing a .22 caliber pistol into the ground by his feet. Sherilynn pointed a gun at him and forced him to leave the house.
Family kidnapped by pedophiles: When police examined Bobby’s phone from the truck, they found a final picture of Madyson, taken up on the mountain. Friends and family believe Madyson’s parents did not take it. ‘“In the picture, Madyson is looking away from the camera; she looks unhappy and she has her arms crossed… if that had been Bobby or Sherilyn behind the camera, she would not have looked like that”. It is debatable whether she really looks unhappy enough to determine whether the photo proves anything.
Witchcraft and possession: The family’s pastor, Gary Brandon, told police during the initial investigation that the family had been involved in ‘spiritual warfare’ and that both Bobby and Sherilyn had told him they had seen spirits at their home. Sherilyn said the spirits of a long-dead family lived with them.

Bobby and Sherilynn spoke to a local pastor about their belief that dark spirits invaded their home and that an exorcism might be needed. This was because Madyson had started talking to an imaginary friend named Emily, and Sherilynn believed Emily was an evil entity. At one point, Bobby asked the pastor if he knew of anywhere he could purchase “special bullets” to shoot a handful of spirits whom he said were living on the roof of the family’s home. Bobby was also planning on trying to exorcise the spirits in the house with the help of a copy of The Satanic Bible that he had purchased.
An abandoned wreck of a vehicle was found near where the family truck was found. It was used for shooting practice by locals, and written on it were satanic messages.
A friend of Sherilynn’s told the police that she sometimes conducted seances with Sherilynn, though Sherilynn took them much more seriously than she did. A ‘witch’s bible’ was found in the house after their disappearance. Then strange messages were found written on the side of the container the family had planned to move into, sitting outside their house. One read: ‘3 cats killed to date by people in this area … Witches don’t like there (sic) black cat killed’. Sherilyn’s neighbors had been poisoning their cats, so she wrote on the container to scare them off.
Both friends and family agreed with the Jamisons that their home was haunted, and a few have shared that they, too, experienced odd things inside the house. Niki Shenold, Sherilyn’s best friend, said, “But in all seriousness, that house was haunted. I don’t want to sound crazy, but whenever I went there, I felt a horrible presence, I would leave feeling so down and depressed”.