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Vanished in Vermillion
Vanished in Vermillion: The Real Story of South Dakota's Most Infamous Cold Case | Lou Raguse
7 posts | 5 read | 8 to read
The result of hundreds of interviews, Vanished in Vermillion is a cold case story that flips the script on a typical investigation narrative, revealing the biggest law enforcement embarrassment in South Dakota history. In May 1971, Pam Jackson and Sherri Miller were two seventeen-year-olds driving to an end-of-the-school-year party in a rundown Studebaker Lark when they seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. Police back then didn’t do enough to try and find them. Investigators thirty years later did too much. Two families endure decades of pain as they await answers of what happened to their girls. When a third family is pulled into the mystery, they quickly learn their nightmare is just beginning. “Lou’s terrific storytelling and investigative skills give the reader a front-row seat as he unravels this bizarre case, chock-full of twists and turns.” —Caroline Lowe, veteran crime journalist and member of the FindJodi team
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TorieStorieS
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This #TrueCrime book hardly paints a flattering portrait of law enforcement in #SouthDakota! For over 40 years, the disappearance of two teens- Pam Jackson and Sherri Miller went unsolved. The 1971 investigation is paltry at best— they are assumed to have runaway (without cash, clothes or medication) but the cold case‘s reopening decades later feels more like a witch hunt with a laser focus on one theory. The author himself performs the audio!

dabbe Lovely coloring! 💙💚💙 1y
TorieStorieS @dabbe Thank you!! 🥰 1y
57 likes2 comments
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AprilMae
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Today's #bookhaul !! True crime, history and thrillers, so excited to read these!!

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EadieB
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Pickpick

#AwesomeApril #BookSpinBingo

In May 1971, Pam Jackson and Sherri Miller were two seventeen-year-olds driving to an end-of-the-school-year party in a rundown Studebaker Lark when they seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. Police back then didn‘t do enough to try and find them. Investigators thirty years later did too much. Two families endure decades of pain as they await answers of what happened to their girls.

EadieB When a third family is pulled into the mystery, they quickly learn their nightmare is just beginning. This is a bizarre case full of twists and turns. In the 70's the police hardly did nothing to find the girls just chalking it up as a runaway case. It would take over 40 yrs. for the truth to finally come out. This is a highly researched book that kept me reading until the very end. 2y
EadieB If you like true crime that reads like a thriller then you would love this book. 2y
Andrew65 Excellent review. 2y
See All 6 Comments
EadieB @Andrew65 Thanks! 2y
TheAromaofBooks So is this a true crime where in the end you actually find out what happens, or one of those where in the end it's still a mystery? I don't like getting invested and then finding out that we still don't know what happened!! 2y
EadieB @TheAromaofBooks It does come to a conclusion and they do figure out what happened. The book is a bit confusing as it goes back and forth and could be shorter but I still enjoyed it. 2y
46 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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nitalibrarian
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I read 11 books in March.

Favorites were:
Vanished in Vermillion
The Secret Service of Tea and Treason
Happy Place

But none were a dud. It was a great reading month for me.

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nitalibrarian
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How is it already Sunday night? Too fast of a weekend. I'm in the mood for true crime, so starting Vanished in Vermillion.

22 likes2 stack adds
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nitalibrarian
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#bookmail

This true crime I would consider local for me - east South Dakota. I'm planning on reading it in March.

22 likes1 stack add
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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In May 1971, 17-year-olds Pam Jackson & Sherri Miller visited Sherri's grandmother in hospital, then set off to an end-of-the-school-year party being held out of town. They couldn't find the spot where it was being held, so when they ran into three local boys they knew, they asked where the party was. The boys told them to follow their car & they headed out of town with the girls following in their rundown Studebaker Lark. (Continued)

OutsmartYourShelf At some point (recollections afterwards varied) the cars got separated & the girls disappeared. The boys thought they had either gotten lost or headed home, but the girls never returned home.

When their families reported them missing, the local sheriff wanted to write it off as two girls having gone off for an adventure. This was just the start of professional incompetence from several different agencies.
2y
OutsmartYourShelf A third local family, the Lykkens, would be drawn into the story due to their son, Peter, who was jailed later on for attacking several of his ex-girlfriends. Where Pam & Sherri went missing was not far from the Lykkens' family farm, did the then sixteen-year-old Peter have something to do with their disappearance? It would take over 40 years for the truth about what happened that night to be revealed. 2y
OutsmartYourShelf This is one for all true crime fans out there. It's a compelling, well-written account of the twists & turns that this strange story took on the journey towards the truth finally being revealed. It sometimes strays into giving maybe a little too much background on some aspects which slows down the narrative, but on the whole,. it keeps the attention well. I must say that it doesn't give one much faith in the competence of law enforcement at times. 2y
OutsmartYourShelf Well researched & well worth reading. 4.5🌟

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Post Hill Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Read: 18th-21st Feb 2023

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5126376557
2y
30 likes2 stack adds4 comments