MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF: The Jamison Family

Episode of Crime Junkie · May 25, 2026 · 52 min

Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat examine the 2009 disappearance and unexplained deaths of Bobby, Sherilyn, and Madyson Jamison in Oklahoma's Sans Bois Mountains.

Summary

Ashley Flowers recounted the case of the Jamison family, who vanished on October 8, 2009, after visiting land for sale in the Sans Bois Mountains of Latimer County, Oklahoma. Their locked truck was found days later with a starving dog inside, keys in the ignition, a BlackBerry with GPS data, roughly $32,000 in cash, and a seven-page letter from Sherilyn to Bobby accusing him of abuse. Flowers described the couple's background of prescription painkiller addiction, Sherilyn's mental illness, lawsuits including one against Bobby's father, claims that their home was haunted, and surveillance footage showing the couple walking repeatedly to the truck, which she said has been sensationalized and whose original was reportedly destroyed in a flood.

The family's remains were found by hunters in November 2013, about 2.6 miles from the truck, in terrain Flowers said the family was unlikely to have reached on foot. The hosts weighed murder-suicide, misadventure, and foul play; Flowers argued that only foul play fit most of the evidence, and Prawat agreed the discovery undermined the murder-suicide theory. Flowers noted that retired Sheriff Israel Beecham had said he believed the family was murdered and advised to "follow the money."

Flowers reviewed potential suspects, including Bobby's father and a former boarder, both cleared, and local landowner Dan Clemens, whose account contained timeline gaps and who the show found may share the identity of a man later convicted in a 1997 California killing. She also discussed rumors about another mountain family. Flowers said the case sits in limbo because the medical examiner ruled the deaths undetermined. The episode closed with a listener story about pursuing forensic nursing.

Chapters

0:33
Introduction and YouTube milestone
Flowers celebrates 500,000 YouTube subscribers and introduces the Jamison case as one full of red herrings and supernatural lore.
2:45
The abandoned truck
Deputies find the Jamisons' locked truck on Panola Mountain with a starving dog, cash, IDs, and Sherilyn's accusatory letter.
5:52
The land visit and Madyson's photo
GPS data and a candid photo show the family explored the property before returning to the truck, which was pointed downhill.
10:36
Background: addiction, lawsuits, and conflict
Flowers details the couple's addiction, mental health struggles, financial trouble, and litigation against Bobby's father.
14:58
Hauntings and apocalyptic beliefs
The family told a pastor their home was haunted, and a friend recounted seeing a gray mist in their house.
17:18
October 8 and the surveillance footage
Flowers reviews the realtor call, the footage of the couple walking to the truck, and the missing brown bag.
21:40
Money, drugs, and the missing gun
The hosts debate what the bag contained and why the family carried so much cash.
30:18
Remains discovered
Hunters find the family's skulls in 2013, 2.6 miles from the truck in rugged terrain.
32:42
Weighing the theories
The hosts assess murder-suicide, misadventure, and foul play, with Flowers favoring foul play.
37:53
Persons of interest
Bobby's father and former boarder Kenneth Bellows are cleared, and Beecham's 'follow the money' remark is discussed.
41:14
Dan Clemens
Flowers examines the local landowner's timeline, his delayed response to the truck, and a possible prior manslaughter conviction.
48:52
Other mountain residents and case limbo
Flowers discusses rumors about Anne-Marie Duhon's family and explains that the undetermined ruling leaves no active homicide investigation.
52:16
Listener story
Prawat reads a listener's account of switching to nursing to pursue forensic nursing and SANE credentials.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Ashley Flowers
Flowers argues that if the Jamisons were killed, someone is getting away with murder because the undetermined deaths are no longer actively investigated.
“then someone is getting away with murder because these undetermined deaths are no longer being actively worked”
Listen from 1:59 · Cold case investigations
Ashley Flowers
Flowers reports that the show's FOIA request for the full surveillance video was denied because the original was reportedly ruined in a flood.
“when we tried to FOIA them, we were told that the original no longer exists because apparently a flood at the department where it was stored ruined it”
Listen from 17:18 · Freedom of Information Act
Ashley Flowers
Flowers argues the surveillance footage has been sensationalized by claims that the couple appeared to be in a trance.
“this video has become hugely sensationalized because this idea has kind of gotten perpetuated that the way they were walking was like they were in a trance”
Listen from 19:46 · Surveillance video evidence
Ashley Flowers
Flowers argues that the family's stops at other properties indicate the land purchase was genuine rather than a ruse.
“which suggests to me that this idea of buying the land and the reason they're going up there isn't some ruse”
Listen from 20:32 · Disappearance and deaths of the Jamison family
Ashley Flowers
Flowers concludes that the missing bag likely did not contain drugs, since no illegal drugs were found in the home or truck.
“So I don't think that it was drugs in Sherilyn's bag”
Listen from 26:46 · Disappearance and deaths of the Jamison family
Brit Prawat
Prawat argues that leaving the dog locked in the truck makes no sense in a planned scenario because it condemned the animal to a slow death.
“it doesn't make sense to me, at least, why you'd leave your dog locked in the car. Like, that's a prolonged death sentence for the pup”
Listen from 27:57 · Disappearance and deaths of the Jamison family
Linked moment · 30:18Skip to 30:18 using a listen link in the info box.
Ashley Flowers
Flowers relays Beecham's assessment that reaching the remains site would take a fit hiker half a day, making it unlikely the family got there on their own.
“it would take like a half day for someone who is in great shape to hike, which makes this location all the more strange”
Listen from 32:13 · Sans Bois Mountains
Brit Prawat
Prawat argues that the location of the remains rules out murder-suicide and points to foul play.
“And this completely nixes the murder-suicide theory. Like, it has to be foul play”
Listen from 32:36 · Murder–suicide
Ashley Flowers
Flowers argues that unless both parents cooperated, a murder-suicide would have required a quick method like a gun, which was never found.
“unless mom and dad were in on this together and, like, quite literally drinking the Kool-Aid, you have to do something quick like a gun”
Listen from 33:44 · Murder–suicide
Ashley Flowers
Flowers argues that foul play is the only theory in which most of the known evidence fits together.
“This is the only theory that I think works because it's the only one where most of the pieces we have fit together”
Listen from 37:02 · Disappearance and deaths of the Jamison family
Ashley Flowers
Flowers reports that retired Sheriff Israel Beecham said in a 2020 podcast interview that he believes the family was murdered and thinks he knows the killer.
“he said in no uncertain terms that he believes the Jamesons were murdered and he even thinks he knows who killed them”
Listen from 39:03 · Latimer County Sheriff's Office
Ashley Flowers
Flowers questions Dan Clemens's timeline, noting an unexplained gap of roughly an hour and a half between his conversation with the family and their GPS arrival at the land.
“why does their GPS say that they make it to the land at 215? Where are they for the like hour and a half in between?”
Listen from 41:14 · Disappearance and deaths of the Jamison family
Brit Prawat
Prawat argues that the family's multiple trips and conversations about buying the land make a planned murder-suicide even less plausible.
“if all of Dan's statements are true, like, this makes the murder-suicide theory even less plausible”
Listen from 43:13 · Murder–suicide
Ashley Flowers
Flowers reports that the show found a man with Dan Clemens's name and age who was arrested in 2017 for a 1997 killing, and that a family friend identified his mugshot.
“A man with the same name and the right age was arrested in 2017 for killing a man back in 1997”
Listen from 47:20 · Disappearance and deaths of the Jamison family
Ashley Flowers
Flowers says that if someone on the mountain killed the family, she believes money was the motive.
“Now, if anyone on the mountain did it. I have to believe the motive was money”
Listen from 48:52 · Disappearance and deaths of the Jamison family
Ashley Flowers
Flowers explains that because the medical examiner ruled the deaths undetermined, no homicide investigation is open.
“the ME classified these deaths as undetermined, so there is no homicide that is being investigated”
Listen from 48:52 · Cold case investigations

People

In the conversation

Ashley FlowersCreator and host of the true crime podcast Crime Junkie and founder of Audiochuck
Brit PrawatCo-host of Crime Junkie, introduced in the episode as 'Britt'

Discussed

Israel BeechamFormer Latimer County, Oklahoma, sheriff who led the Jamison investigation
Bobby JamisonMissing father whose remains were found in 2013
Sherilyn JamisonMissing mother whose remains were found in 2013
Madyson JamisonSix-year-old daughter of Bobby and Sherilyn Jamison
Bob JamisonBobby Jamison's father, sued by his son over a gas station; died December 2009
Dan ClemensLandowner on the mountain who said he spoke with the family before they vanished
Kenneth BellowsFormer boarder at the Jamison home who was cleared by investigators
Jake AndersonAuthor of The Vanishing at Smokestack Hollow
Tim GrahamHunter who found the family's remains in November 2013
Anne-Marie DuhonFormer mountain resident questioned by deputies and subject of local rumors
Delia D'AmbraHost of the true crime podcast Park Predators

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From the publisher

Bobby, Sherilynn, and 6-year-old Madyson Jamison went to the Sans Bois Mountains in southeastern Oklahoma in search of a fresh start. The family planned to live off the land in a remote, rugged area of Latimer County. But on Oct. 8, 2009, they vanished – leaving behind their truck with all their belongings inside. Their remains were found four years later, less than 3 miles from where the truck was abandoned. Now, more than a decade later, the circumstances surrounding their deaths remain a mystery.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: True Crime