Skeletal Remains Found In Car Submerged For 42 Years
Beresford, SD — Skeletal remains were found in a car submerged for 42 years in Brule Creek. The car was already linked to Pamella Jackson and Cheryl Miller, two teens missing since 1971.
The story is eerily familiar to that of two cars found submerged at the bottom of a lake earlier this month. The cars, from the 1960s and 1970s, contained six sets of skeletal remains likely of people missing for more than 40 years.
The Inquisitr reported on Tuesday that the car was linked to Jackson and Miller by way of the license place, which was still attached to the 1960 Studebaker Lark.
A passerby found the submerged car on Monday near the bridge over 310th Street, reports the Sioux City Journal. The car was pulled from its muddy grave on Tuesday and investigators discovered skeletal remains inside.
The remains have been submitted for an autopsy and other evidence inside the car was recovered for investigators to search through.
NBC News notes that the rusted Studebaker was discovered thanks to a recent drought that dropped the creek’s water level low enough for two tires to emerge.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley stated that it is too soon to tell if foul play was involved. Cheryl and Pamella were both juniors at Vermillion High School when they disappeared on their way to a party. The party was just half a mile from where the car was discovered on Monday.
An inmate serving time for a separate crime was indicted on murder charges in the girls’ disappearance in 2007. However, the charges were dropped when authorities found the informant in the case faked the confessions. The informant pleaded guilty to perjury in 2008.
The discovery of the Studebaker in Brule Creek, along with the human remains, kindled grief again for LuAnne Sorenson-Denke, who was friends with the two missing teens. She commented, “After 42 years, I’m still grieving and looking for closure. It’s very hard. But today, it’s another step closer to finding out what happened.”
If the skeletal remains found in the submerged car turn out to be Pamella Jackson and Cheryl Miller, part of the mystery surrounding their disappearance may be solved.
