The Vanishing at Smokestack Hollow: A Missing Family, a Desperate Plan, an Unsolved Mystery

Journalist Anderson (Gone at Midnight) unravels a confounding missing persons case in this rigorously researched account. In October 2009 on Oklahoma’s Panola Mountain, a hunter discovered an abandoned truck with cell phones, a starving dog, and $32,000 cash locked inside. The vehicle belonged to Bobby and Sherilyn Jamison, who, along with their six-year-old daughter, Madyson, had been missing from their home in nearby Eufaula for several days. It wasn’t until November 2013 that another group of hunters stumbled on the family’s skeletal remains, which were too degraded to indicate a cause of death, in an area of Panola called Smokestack Hollow, a few miles from their truck. Despite a vigorous investigation, the mystery of what happened to the trio eluded law enforcement and true crime fans alike. Anderson digs into various theories, which include a drug deal gone bad, a grisly murder-suicide, and—as suggested on some far-flung corners of Reddit—a Big Foot attack. Interviewing police, friends and family of the Jamisons, and a laundry list of internet sleuths, Anderson leaps down rabbit holes and chases red herrings. Eventually, he comes to believe the Jamisons meant to withdraw from society and raise Madyson on the mountain, but he acknowledges that their cause of death remains unknown. Despite the lack of closure, true crime devotees will admire Anderson’s thoroughness and gift for page-turning pacing. (Oct.)