The Case of Cheryl Miller and Pamela Jackson
Okay, guys, I’m going to cover the short series on ID called Gone. This is the second episode, and it’s titled ‘Troubled Waters.’
Two 17-year-olds disappear in 1971.
Background
Cheryl ‘Sherri’ Miller and Pamela Jackson had just finished their junior years in the small town of Vermillion, South Dakota.
Cheryl was described as tall and beautiful. She had a lot of ambitions, but had been through a lot of difficulty in her life. Her mother struggled with an addiction to alcohol, and Cheryl chose to live with her grandparents most of her life.
Pamela lived on a farm, about 15 miles outside of town. She was described as more outgoing than Cheryl. Pamela was very close to her parents, who were older and conservative, but loved her so much.
Pamela Jackson and Cheryl Miller
The Disappearance
On May 19, 1971, Cheryl left her home in her grandfather’s beloved 1960 Studebaker, around 6:30pm. She told her family that she was going to pick up Pam Jackson, and that the two of them were going to go rollerskating.
Pam had told her parents the same thing, but they were actually planning to go to a party hosted by the senior class, near the gravel pits. The two girls didn’t drink or do drugs, but they wanted to find something different to do.
By 4am, Pam’s mom noticed that the light was still on. Pam’s parents would often leave the light on for Pam to turn off when she arrived home. The light was still on, and Pam was not in her bed.
By 7am, Rita, Cheryl’s sister, said that there was a lot of chaos in their home. The phones were ringing, and both families were concerned about their children.
By 3pm, the families tried to file a missing persons report, but were told that they had to wait until the girls had been missing 24 hours. An official missing persons investigation was officially launched on May 21.
The Party
Before the girls left to go to the gravel pits, they had stopped at the hospital to visit Cheryl’s grandmother. Cheryl and her grandmother were very close, and Cheryl told her that she’d see her again soon.
The police spoke to other classmates of the girls, and discovered that the girls had met with three boys on the way to the party. One of these boys was named Mark Logterman, who was a talking head in this episode.
He said that he and his two friends had stopped at a nearby church because they needed more cups. The church was unlocked, and there was a kitchen in the basement. While they were there, Pam and Cheryl pulled up, and asked for directions. The boys then told them to follow them to the party.
Mark said he remembers that both cars went up a hill, but they had missed the turn to go to the gravel pits. The boys then stopped to turn around, and didn’t see the girls behind them. He said he figured that the girls had seen the turn, and were already at the party.
However, they never made it the party or made it home.
Possible Theories
The story that the boys had told the police was believable, and they were never considered to be suspects.
The police went out to search for the Studebaker. The first theory was that the girls had gotten into an accident, and drove into the Missouri River. They were unable to do any searches due to the currents and visibility. The police didn’t find any tire tracks on the road or grass.
A rumor spread that Cheryl and Pam had runaway, and became hippies. Rita said her sister had dreams of being a model, and wanted to travel. This theory was at the top of the list for quite awhile.
Another rumor was that Cheryl and Pam went to California to stay with one of Cheryl’s relatives. But, there was no evidence that the girls had even left town. They hadn't even cashed their paychecks, so the families believed that they didn’t runaway.
A Possible Suspect
The police were convinced that the girls had runaway. That was until they received a tip from one of Pam’s neighbors. He said he had overheard Pam talking on a party line, which is when multiple houses share the same phone line. The neighbor said he overheard Pam talking to a man named David, who wanted to take pictures of her.
The case went cold. An investigator named Ray Hoffman used new ground penetration technology to search the gravel pits, but his search came up empty.
The case went cold again until 2004, when the South Dakota State Attorney General’s office created a cold case until. They then came across the 1971 report from Pam’s neighbor.
The search for this mysterious ‘David’ led them to a man named David Lykken. David also grew up on a farm, and was close in age to the two girls.
In 1990, David was convicted of rape and kidnapping, and was sentenced to 227 years in prison.
Many people who knew David were interviewed. One woman said she had seen the Studebaker on David’s farm, and had seen two woman inside the car. One was slumped over the steering wheel, and the other in the passenger seat.
A search warrant was obtained in August 2004. On David’s property, they did find women’s clothing, jewelry and a purse. However, none of it was connected to Cheryl or Pam.
The Informant
Two years went by, and David was still a person of interest.
A cellmate of David’s came forward, and said that David had confessed to him that he killed the two girls. The informant agreed to wear a wire, and returned a full taped confession to the police.
David was charged with murder and kidnapping, and was set to go on trial in March 2008.
Just a few weeks before the trial began, it was discovered that the informant had fabricated the recording. He had another inmate give the confession, and the charges were dismissed.
David Lykken
The Truth is Revealed
The case went cold yet again, until 2013.
Oscar Jackson, Pam’s dad passed away at the age of 102. Five days after Oscar’s death, on September 23, 2013, a local man out fishing saw what looked like tires coming out of the water in Bruley Creek.
The car being pulled out of the water
The police were called, and were able to match the visible license plate to the Studebaker belonging to Cheryl’s grandfather.
The license plate
There were also remains in the car, and DNA confirmed that it was the bodies of Cheryl and Pam. There was no evidence of foul play. The gear was still on, one of the tires was low, and the headlights were on.
The case was ruled as an accident. The police believe that they had been following the boys to the gravel pits, when they lost control of the car, and went into the water. It was less than a mile from where the party had been.
The police returned the items found in the car to the families. Inside the car, was Cheryl’s still intact drivers license, a purse, a bobby pin and Cheryl’s watch that had stopped at 10:20pm.
Cheryl’s drivers license
FINAL THOUGHTS
This case is truly heartbreaking. The girls had been right under everyone’s noses for 42 YEARS. I’m not knocking the investigators and police, because they did everything they could with what technology and resources they had at the time.
The girls wanted to do something different for once, and they lost their lives. My condolences go out to the families, and I hope that they are at peace now.
Sources
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-dakota/cheryl-miller-pamella-jackson-disappearance-sd/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-27055888
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/16/south-dakota-girls-1971-car-crash-mystery
https://www.plaintalk.net/local_news/article_da43158e-af33-55a2-a4ee-e8818312f2ab.html
