Before their disappearances, Sherilynn (age 40) and Bobby (age 44) Jamison had been wanting to buy 40 acres of land in Red Oak in the Sans Bois area with their daughter Madyson (age 6), about 30 miles from their home in Eufaula, Oklahoma.
However, on October 8, 2009, the Jamison family went missing. During their initial absence, none of their friends felt any reason to worry because Bobby and Sherilynn were known to often fall off the radar every once in a while, and their daughter was already pulled from school.
But people started to worry when their truck was reported abandoned. When the police were notified, they found their truck in the woods with their dog still in it. Although the dog was very malnourished, it was still alive. When the police did a search of the truck, items in the truck indicated that the couple didn't plan to be away from the truck for long. In the truck they found:
1: IDS
2: wallets
3: Phones
4: Sherilynn's Purse
5: Family dog, Maisy
6: $32,000 in cash
There was no evidence that they were forced from the truck, and there was no sign of a struggle. After finding the truck, authorities set out a search party consisting of 400 volunteers, horses, mules, ATVs, 16 teams of cadaver dogs, and an unmanned drone. During the search, one of the dogs followed a scent to a water tower, and it was quickly drained. However, their search turned up no results.
No information was further found until about 4 years later in November of 2013. Hunters ended up stumbling upon three skeletal remains. The skeletal remains were of two adults and one child. Forensic testing proves that the skeletons were of the Jamison family, however do to the state of decomposition, the cause of death could not be determined. They were found 3 miles from where their truck had been abandoned. With the finding of their bodies, the investigation was opened up again.
During the authorities investigation, they found out some interesting information on the Jamison family. For one, Bobby and Sherilynn were both on disability at the time so authorities were wondering how they ended up with $32,00 in cash. Sherilyyn suffered from bipolar disorder and had been prescribed medication, but since her condition had been barely controlled, she often experienced periods of severe depression. In July of 2009, Sherilynn's ex-husband from her first marriage took custody of their son, and in September, she was hospitalized for a failed suicide attempt. Bobby had been in a car accident in 2003 that left him with chronic back pain. Second, they found out that Bobby suspected the house to be haunted by "two to four ghosts" that were on the roof. Sherilynn also believed this. She said that their daughter had an imaginary friend that she would talk to alot, named Emily. Sherilynn believed that Emily was a molevolent enitity. It was also found out that Sherilynn had bought a satanic bible, but only as a joke. However, Bobby had told his pastor that he had read it. This is lead many people to believe that witchcraft may have been a reason for their deaths. One of Sherilynn's friends said that she would regularly do seances with her, though Sherilynn took those seances much more seriously than her friend did. She had written graffiti on their storage container about her black cats that had apparently been poisoned. She believed someone in the neighborhood had killed them. She reportedly had said, "Witches didn't like it when their cats were killed.
When authorities started investigating again, they found surveillance footage from the night that the family disappeared. This was taken outside their home and it showed the couple going bakc and forth between the house and the truck, and they were packing up their belongings. Sherilynn's son from a previous marriage saw her two weeks before their disappearance and he said that she had made no mention of moving to the San Bois area. Even with all this information, nothing had come to light that shows why they dissapeared and how they ended up dead to this day.
Theories:
1. People did in fact look into the theory that their deaths had been a murder-suicide. During their investigation they uncovered an angry letter that was writttne from Sherilynn to Bobby, and it was eleven pages long. In this letter, she stated that Bobby didn't love her daughter and that she wanted a divorce. This letter led the authorities to believe that Bobby had drove his family into the woods to kill them, but this theory could never be proven.
2. Another theory was that Bobby's father had been involved. Bobby did have a protectove order againtst him, claiming that he had threatened to kill Bobby and his family. Bobby stated that they were afraid for their lives. Bobby's petition for the protective order paints the picture of a "very dangerous man who thinks he is above the law" and was involved in "prostitues, gangs, and meth." But Bobby's father died two months after the family went missing and had been in bad health for some time. His brother claimed that he was "either in a hospital or rest home" at the time and although he was a really disturbed person, he "was not capable of being involved" in the murders.
3. A third theory was that they were victims of a cult. Sherilynn's mother, Connie Kokotan, had told the police
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that she believed that they were somehow entangled with a cult, but she didn't have any evidence to back this up. She claimed that they were on an Oklahoma cult "hit list"
4. A fourth theory is that a former Border and white supremacist had done it. It is said that the Jamison family had once rented out a spare room they had to a handyman, and he didn't get along with Sherilynn. While he stayed with them, he muttered slurs and talked alot about white supremacy. Sherilynn didn't like this and ordered him off of the property at gunpoint. Theorists have said that police found a pill bottle in the truck with the name of the handyman on it, but this couldn't be proven.
5. A fifth theory is that the family had gone into witness protection program. This is believed the most because authorities found no sign of a struggle at the truck, making them believe that they went willingly with an unknown party. Theorists claimed this to be true because they believed that Bobby and Sherilynn could have been informants from a government case against local meth dealers, so they needed the protection after it was over.
6. A six theory is that this was a meth deal gone wrong. Reportedly, witnesses say that they saw the Jamison family in an area that was known for its drugs activity, more specifically, crystal meth. Theorists said that while Bobby and Sherilynn may not have been users themselves, they believe that they maybe saw something they shouldn't have and members of the oklahoma drug trade had killed them. This could never be confirmed because there was no evidence to back it up. Investigators found no traces of illegal drugs at theit home or in their truck.
7. The seventh theory is a simple one. It is believed that it was just an accident, that the family wandered from the truck, got lost, and died from the tough mountain elements. This could explain why all of their stuff was left in the truck, hinting at the fact that they planned to return. News reports indicated at heavy rains around the time of their disappearances.
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Even though their are so many theories, there are just no reasonable answers. to this day their deaths remain a mystery to investigators. I hope one day that this cade can be solved. WHat do you think? Do you believe any of these theories are more likely than others? Be sure to tell me what you believe!
