In the fall of 2009, a family of three drove into the rugged backcountry of eastern Oklahoma and simply ceased to exist. Bobby and Sherilynn Jamison and their eight-year-old daughter Madyson left behind a running truck, a starving dog, $32,000 in cash, their cell phones, and almost no explanation. Four years later, hunters stumbled upon their skeletal remains in the dense woods of Latimer County — less than three miles from where their truck had been abandoned. What had killed them, and why, has never been established. The Jamison family case remains one of the most bewildering unexplained deaths in modern Oklahoma history.

The Last Known Drive

Bobby Jamison, 44, his wife Sherilynn, 40, and their daughter Madyson were residents of Eufaula, Oklahoma. In October 2009, they were in contact with a real estate agent about purchasing a 40-acre parcel of land near Red Oak, in the San Bois Mountains of Latimer County — a remote, heavily wooded stretch of eastern Oklahoma about 30 miles from their home. On October 8, 2009, the family drove to the property to look it over. That was the last time anyone reported seeing them alive.

Several days later, their white Chevy pickup truck was found abandoned on a dirt road in Latimer County. The doors were unlocked. Inside were Bobby’s wallet, Sherilynn’s purse, both of their cell phones, and $32,000 in cash. The family’s small dog, a red heeler named Maisy, was found inside the truck, severely malnourished but alive. There was no note, no obvious sign of struggle, and no indication of where the family had gone.

What the Truck Contained

The contents of the truck raised more questions than they answered. The $32,000 in cash — a substantial sum by any measure — was left completely untouched. Investigators also found an angry, distressed letter written by Sherilynn to Bobby, though the contents were not made fully public. Surveillance footage from a gas station near the area, captured on the day of their disappearance, showed the family loading items into their truck. Observers noted that Bobby and Sherilynn both appeared strangely blank — moving slowly, staring ahead, seemingly detached from each other and from Madyson, who walked alongside them. The footage circulated widely and became central to public speculation about the family’s mental and emotional state at the time they vanished.

The Theories That Emerged

In the absence of answers, a wide array of theories proliferated. Investigators noted that the San Bois Mountains area where the family had been looking at property was well known for methamphetamine activity, and some speculated that the $32,000 may have been connected to a drug transaction gone wrong. Sherilynn’s mother raised a different possibility: that the family had become entangled with a religious cult. Among the items found in the Jamisons’ possession were materials associated with occult or spiritualist practices — their pastor had told investigators that both Bobby and Sherilynn had separately mentioned seeing spirits in their home, and that Bobby had reportedly been reading from The Satanic Bible. A “witch’s bible” and markings inside storage containers added to an already strange picture. Others suggested the family may have become lost in the remote terrain and died of exposure. Still others pointed to the distressed behavior on the gas station footage and wondered whether mental illness or substance use played a role.

The Discovery, Four Years Later

On November 16, 2013, two deer hunters in Latimer County came across skeletal remains in a heavily wooded area. The location was fewer than three miles from where the Jamisons’ truck had been found. The remains were those of two adults and one child. On July 3, 2014, the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed the identities: Bobby, Sherilynn, and Madyson Jamison. The condition of the skeletons, after more than four years of exposure to the elements, had severely limited what forensic analysis could determine. No cause of death was established. Investigators found no definitive evidence of gunshot wounds, stabbing, or blunt force trauma — though a small hole in the back of Bobby’s skull could not be conclusively explained. No charges were ever filed in connection with their deaths.

Where the Investigation Stands

The Jamison family case remains officially open as of 2025. The Latimer County Sheriff’s Office and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation have maintained the case in their files, but no new suspects have been publicly identified, and no physical evidence recovered from the scene appears to have shifted the investigation in a new direction. The case has attracted sustained attention from true-crime researchers, podcasters, and journalists — in part because the surveillance footage, the cash, and the remote location combine to create a mystery that resists easy resolution. Madyson’s death, in particular, has haunted those who follow the case; she was eight years old and had no conceivable role in whatever drew her parents to those mountains.

Why This Case Still Matters

The Jamison family disappearance illustrates the investigative challenges posed by remote geography, decomposed remains, and the absence of surviving witnesses. It also raises uncomfortable questions about the limits of forensic science: when a body has been exposed to the elements for four years in a wilderness setting, the story it can tell becomes almost impossibly compressed. The case has become a reference point in discussions about missing persons in rural America — where distances are vast, cell coverage is sparse, and a family can walk into the woods and leave almost nothing behind.

This piece discusses the death of a child. If you or someone you know is struggling, reaching out to a trusted person or local support line can help.

In a case defined entirely by what is not known — no motive, no cause of death, no confirmed perpetrator — the most persistent question may also be the simplest: what exactly happened in those few hours between the gas station footage and the moment the Jamison family disappeared from the world, less than three miles from where their bodies would eventually be found?