The Jamison family of Eufaula, Oklahoma, United States, consisting of Bobby, his wife Sherilynn, and daughter Madyson, mysteriously disappeared on October 8, 2009. The family was reportedly considering the purchase of a forty-acre plot of land near Red Oak, about 30 mi from Eufaula, at the time of their disappearance.[5] Their suspected remains were found in November 2013 and positively identified by the Oklahoma medical examiner on July 3, 2014. No cause of death was determined, and the circumstances surrounding their disappearance remains unknown.
Disappearance
The initial investigation into the Jamison family's disappearance indicated that they had probably not vanished of their own accord. The Jamisons' pickup truck was discovered within a few days, abandoned in Latimer County, Oklahoma, a short distance south of the town of Kinta.
The Jamisons' bodies were not found, but their malnourished dog, Maisie, was still in the truck. Also discovered were the Jamisons' IDs, wallets, mobile phones, a GPS system, and about $32,000 in cash. The Jamison’s were not known for carrying large amounts of cash with them. Another clue was the surveillance video from the family's home security system.
The footage, time stamped the day they left, showed the couple making several silent trips between their vehicle and home, as they methodically packed to leave. In the footage, the couple's movements were described as "trancelike".
The video also shows Sherilyn Jamison place a brown briefcase in the family pickup.
Former Sheriff Beauchamp remarked that he believed the briefcase could be an important clue. Indeed, both the briefcase and Sherilyn’s small-calibre handgun have never been recovered.
Discovery
The skeletal remains of two adults and one child were discovered by two hunters in a remote spot in Latimer County on November 16, 2013, more than four years after the family went missing, and less than 3 mi away from where the family's pickup truck had been abandoned. The remains were widely presumed to be those of the missing family, though the Oklahoma medical examiner's office had to use anthropological and forensic pathological testing to identify them. Officials confirmed on July 3, 2014, that the remains belonged to the Jamison’s. A cause of death was not determined due to the heavily decomposed state of the bodies.
So, what happened to this seemingly normal family on that fateful day?
Initially, Sheriff Beauchamp had thought that foul play was involved, but he left the service and the incoming Sheriff Jesse James told press when asked about the line of enquiry the case was following simply stated: “It’s a very strange deal, you know, the way this case has unfolded. We’re looking at a lot of things. A lot of things have crossed my mind.”
Later, after leaving the police force, Beauchamp said, “Normally, you can go through an investigation, and one by one, start to eliminate certain scenarios, we haven’t been able to do that in this case. With this family, everything seems possible.”
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.
Also, the Jamison’s truck was parked in such a way that it appeared that they were leaving and were stopped by somebody.
Murder-Suicide?
Sherilynn was known to own a .22 calibre 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 hasn’t the weapon been located? Perhaps it was removed by someone else who came across it?
The Jamisons Were Members of a Satanic Cult?
Sherilynn’s mother, Connie Koko tan, claims her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter was 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 Bios 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.
In the surveillance video where Bobby and Sherilynn were seen packing their truck in a trance-like state, the two also look thin, gaunt and unwell. Drugs would also explain the large sum of money found in the Jamisons’ truck.
Drug abuse could also explain the couple’s erratic behaviour. One theory is that the Jamisons came upon illegal drug activity, saw more than they were supposed to, and were killed to keep them quiet. But why didn’t the dealers search the truck and take the valuables?
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.
Bobby’s Dad Killed the Family.
The family had filed a protective order against Bobby’s dad, Bob Dean Jamison claiming that he had threatened to kill them over some business dealings. In the protective order filed in April 2009, Bobby alleged that his father had intentionally hit him with his car on November 1, 2008, and that he was a “very dangerous man who thinks he is above the law” and that he was involved in “prostitutes, gangs, and meth.”
Prior to his death, Bob Dean had a long running feud with his son. It came to legal action when Bobby accused his father of reneging on an agreement to give him half the proceeds from the sale of a gas station he owned. Bob used to get Bobby to work at the gas station. Bob threatened the family and there were also rumours he had connections to the Mexican Mafia.
Bobby’s father died two months after the family went missing in December 2009 at the age of 64 and Bobby’s uncle, Jack Jamison, said Bobby’s dad was “either in a hospital or rest home” at the time of the disappearance, and that he was a disturbed individual but not capable of murder. Even if he didn’t commit the murders himself, did he pay someone to do the crime? Investigators said Bobby Dean had a solid alibi and dismissed him as a person of interest.
White supremacist
Prior to 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 calibre pistol into the ground by his feet. Sherilynn pointed a gun at him and forced him to leave the house.
The man had a solid alibi, so police dismissed him as a suspect, but it’s at least possible he had true connections to white supremacists and that Sherilynn’s name wound up on a hit list.
Family kidnapped by paedophiles
Perhaps the family was kidnapped so that the kidnapper or kidnappers could get to Madyson?
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 it was not taken by Madyson's parents. '“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.