Vanished in Vermillion

The Real Story of South Dakota's Most Infamous Cold Case

By: Lou Raguse

Narrated by: Lou Raguse

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.

©2023 Lou Raguse (P)2023 Tantor

Much better than most

Very well written and narrated book.Gives a bad image of authorities. Inept job done when girls go missing.Shows how disgracefully families of suspects are treated
..Just so you.know I'm not some liberal I'm a life long Republican. Something
must be done to stop police from lying. There should be strict laws concerning searches. I never had a family member accused of anything but still feel our constitution should deal with these matters.

Incredible

I was drawn to this book due to my connection to the University of South Dakota, which is located in Vermillion, but even without that connection I would have enjoyed it. This book is incredibly well researched and well told. The overarching story is about the disappearance of two high school girls in 1971, and the inept initial response by law enforcement. This story is compelling and heartbreaking by itself. Beyond that overarching story line is a horrific cold case investigation that should be embarrassing for the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation ("DCI") and others that have defended their debacle of an investigation, but unfortunately it doesn't sound like they have any shame. To be fair, this story includes multiple people in positions of power who did the right thing as best they could, regardless of the consequences. As other reviewers note, this audiobook pretty quickly becomes a "page turner", where you want to pause everything else in life until you're finished. If anyone is considering purchasing this book I would highly encourage you to do so, you won't be disappointed.

Very good story

Crazy this went on for 42 years but good story. I hope you dive into more cold cases.

Great book

Great listen. Kept us engaged and interested even though the story was heart breaking and police work was frustrating

A very good story, well told.

Great story very well told in an unbiased way. I loved it, especially since my grandparents lived in Vermillion.