Vanished in Vermillion: The Real Story of South Dakota’s Most Infamous Cold Case

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

“Readers who enjoy procedural true crime will appreciate the well-researched, linear narrative, while readers interested in cold-case true crime will take satisfaction in the forensic storytelling.” —Booklist