MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF: The Jamison Family

The gist

On October 8, 2009, Bobby, Sherilyn, and six-year-old Madison Jamison disappeared while viewing property on Panola Mountain in Latimer County, Oklahoma. Their abandoned truck was discovered days later with $32,000 in cash, their dog locked inside, keys in the ignition, and a seven-page letter from Sherilyn to Bobby discussing marital problems and abuse. In 2013, their remains were found 2.6 miles away with no clear cause of death and no murder weapon recovered. The case remains officially undetermined, but former Sheriff Israel Beauchamp believes they were murdered, suggesting investigators "follow the money."

Key takeaways

• The family was financially troubled despite a $32,000 settlement from Bobby's 2007 car accident lawsuit; they also had a mysterious $32,000 in cash under the truck's seat on the day they vanished
• Sherilyn had severe mental health issues (bipolar disorder, major depression, ADHD) and stopped taking her medication in late summer 2009; she attempted suicide in September and was hospitalized for three weeks
• The family had recently become obsessed with the supernatural, telling their church pastor about alleged hauntings and Bobby's search for "special bullets to kill demons"
• Bobby was in an active lawsuit against his own father, Bob Jamison, and had obtained a protective order against him in May 2009 for alleged attempted murder
• Surveillance footage from their home on the morning of October 8 shows them walking back and forth to their truck for 30 minutes with nothing visible in their hands, before departing
• Only two people definitively knew the family was going to that specific remote location that day: realtor Peggy and local landowner Dan Clemens, who had spoken extensively with the Jamisons about the property
• Dan Clemens was later arrested in 2017 for a 1997 homicide in California (shooting death of David McLeod); his arrest record mentions he lived under a fake name in Oklahoma but this wasn't noted in the original Jamison investigation files
• The brown briefcase Sherilyn allegedly carried to the truck was never found, nor was a .22 caliber gun she owned; their remains were discovered 2.6 miles from the truck in a location requiring a difficult half-day hike even for someone in good health

Notable quotes

• Sheriff Israel Beauchamp: "Follow the money" (his cryptic explanation for who he believes killed the Jamisons)
• Sherilyn's letter to Bobby: "You are a very toxic person. You contaminate everyone that you are around...I fear for your soul."
• Tim Graham's wife (upon finding the remains): "Oh my goodness. I believe we just found that family that was missing."

Worth a full listen?

Listen if you want a thoroughly researched case that defies easy explanations—the hosts carefully dismantle popular theories (murder-suicide, misadventure, accidental death) to argue for foul play, and their reporting uncovered the suspect's prior homicide conviction that never appeared in original case files.