View Full Version : SD SD - Pam Jackson, 17, & Cheryl Miller, 17, Vermillion, 29 May 1971
mysteriew
09-03-2005, 09:52 AM
It's been a year of digging, searching and studying the evidence, all in hopes of solving a 34-year-old cold case. In May 1971, Vermillion High School juniors Cheryl Miller and Pam Jackson disappeared.
A year ago this week, South Dakota's new cold case unit took on the three decades old mystery, and started looking for answers at a farm near Beresford, South Dakota.
But it's 1971 that would change everything. That year, Miller finished her junior year with Pam Jackson, who knew Lykken through church activities. The two left for a end-of-the-year party, just a few miles from Lykken's home. They never showed up.
A year ago investigators came out to an area near Beresford to search the farm where David Lykken grew up.
http://www.ktiv.com/News/NewsDetail64.cfm?Id=26,9340
SewingDeb
09-03-2005, 02:13 PM
Hmmm....David Lykken is serving a 227 year sentence for a 1990 rape. No wonder they are searching the Lykken farm again.
Richard
04-29-2006, 06:10 PM
35 years ago....
Cheryl Kay Miller
Missing since May 29, 1971 from Vermillion, Clay County, South Dakota.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Date of Birth: November 16, 1953
Age at Time of Disappearance: 17 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8" - 5'10", 130 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; blue eyes.
AKA: Sherri
Pamela Ann Jackson
Missing since May 29, 1971 from Vermillion, Clay County, South Dakota.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Date of Birth: January 24, 1954
Age at Time of Disappearance: 17 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8"; 150 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; hazel eyes.
Circumstances of Disappearance
Cheryl Miller and Pamela Jackson were last seen on May 29th, 1971. Thery were on their way to a party. The two 17-year-olds were both from the Vermillion area and no trace of them has ever been found.
On the evening of the 29th, the two high school juniors visited Miller's grandmother in the hospital. After that, they stopped and talked to some boys at a church near the Spink exit and asked them for directions. Miller and Jackson started following the the car full of boys to the party at a gravel pit about 15 miles south of Beresford, but when the boys looked back in their rear-view mirror, Miller and Jackson had vanished. To this day, there has been no sign of them or their car. The car is described as a 1960 beige Studebaker Lark, SD license 19-3994.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation Cold Case Team (605) 773-3331
Source Information:
Keloland Television
KTIV News
The Doe Network: Case File 1468DFSD and Case File 1469DFSD
Links:
Cheryl Miller
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1468dfsd.html
Pamela Jackson
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1469dfsd.html
smile22
04-29-2006, 06:59 PM
how could they just disapear in the car if they were following the boys like it was said were the boys being truthfull did they take a wrong turn somewhere and got lost and ended up with foul play? you just dont follow someone to a party then just vanish they would have had to find something like a car or something very strange disaperance is their anymore info on it?
HesterMofet
04-30-2006, 04:17 PM
I think there are a few possibilities in this case:
1) If this was an area with a lot of gravel pits, perhaps the girls lost control of the car and drove into one. If it was very deep and filled with water, unless they dredged with hooks, it may have been impossible to find them back then. Now they have devices to look for large objects, but it wasn't possible back in the 70s.
2) Another possibility is that the boys are lying. Perhaps drugs or alcohol were involved and something got out of hand. Maybe the girls were sexually assaulted and killed and the car pushed into a deep quarry.
3) Maybe they stopped for someone by the side of the road and that person ended up being a killer. (Highly unlikely on the road following the boys as the car full of boys would have most likely seen anyone loitering.)
4) The girls changed their minds about going to the party, turned around and scenario 1 or 3 happened.
Hester
Eoanthropus Dawsoni
06-07-2006, 08:45 PM
I believe that parts of the car have been found on a farm owned by the suspect's family.
Eoanthropus Dawsoni
06-07-2006, 09:04 PM
The suspect, David Lykken, is serving a 227 year sentence in the SD state penitentiary for rape and kidnapping.
A couple of years ago authorities served a search warrant on the farm owned by his family. They did a lot of digging and recovered some "items of interest" including bones, clothing, and a purse. That was in late 2004, I have not heard much since then.
wondering22
06-07-2006, 10:03 PM
The suspect, David Lykken, is serving a 227 year sentence in the SD state penitentiary for rape and kidnapping.
A couple of years ago authorities served a search warrant on the farm owned by his family. They did a lot of digging and recovered some "items of interest" including bones, clothing, and a purse. That was in late 2004, I have not heard much since then.
Thanks for sharing this, I've often wondered how this pair simply vanished. I hope that they release more information to the public soon.
wondering22
06-07-2006, 10:05 PM
I believe that parts of the car have been found on a farm owned by the suspect's family.
I'm very surprised that this info hasn't been added on their doenetwork or charley project pages.
That is simply chilling, after all these decades to learn something so terrible.
Eoanthropus Dawsoni
06-07-2006, 10:21 PM
Here is a link to an article about the suspect, related to a different case:
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050401/NEWS03/504010327/1001
A family whose Alcester, S.D., farm was searched during an investigation into the unsolved 1971 disappearance of two teen girls has sued six South Dakota law enforcement agents for the emotional and physical damages they left behind.
The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court by 84-year-old Esther Lykken and her son, Kerwyn, asks for at least $400,000 in reimbursement. The Lykkens named former South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation Director Kevin Thom and current Assistant Director Trevor Jones, as well as a Vermillion, S.D., police detective, among the defendants.
Attorney General Larry Long said he hadn't seen the lawsuit and that the state Office of Risk Management would be dealing with it.
Sherri Miller and Pamella Jackson, both 17 and of Vermillion, were last seen on May 29, 1971, driving on a rural Union County road. In August 2004, a state Cold Case unit began a search at the farm for any remains of the 1960 Studebaker Lark the girls were last seen driving and of the teens themselves. Items of interest that were unearthed included two chrome-plated hubcaps, a red purse, rubber gloves and clothing -- as well as bones which investigators have so far declined to identify as human.
More than two years later, no arrests have been made.
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/03/03/news/local/96e31208387a6a62862572930012d7b2.txt
Richard
03-04-2007, 10:29 AM
A family whose Alcester, S.D., farm was searched during an investigation into the unsolved 1971 disappearance of two teen girls has sued six South Dakota law enforcement agents for the emotional and physical damages they left behind.
The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court by 84-year-old Esther Lykken and her son, Kerwyn, asks for at least $400,000 in reimbursement. The Lykkens named former South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation Director Kevin Thom and current Assistant Director Trevor Jones, as well as a Vermillion, S.D., police detective, among the defendants.
There is a very similar story about the family of a prime suspect trying to sue Prince Georges County Maryland for similar complaints. See the thread on Kimberly Christine Mileo's 1983 disappearance. That suit was thrown out as frivilous.
More than 36 years after they disappeared on their way to a party, Pam Jackson and Sherri Miller's accused killer has been charged.
David Lykken, 52, faces 6 different charges based on 1971 law, in the deaths of the two Vermillion girls. Lykken is already in prison on an unrelated rape charge. Lykken lived on his family farm near where the girls disappeared.
http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail6162.cfm?Id=0,58472
Mr. E
07-04-2007, 04:31 PM
Wow...I used to live in Vermillion. It is where the University of South Dakota is. The area is very much prairie and farmland, although the town of Vermillion itself is a little oasis of trees and shade. I hope that the girls' families find closure with these new charges.
Oscar and Adele Jackson hold the last picture taken of their daughter Pamella since she disappeared in 1971.
Adele Jackson, Pam's Mother, "Her friend came to pick her up and they went for a ride, and we just never saw them again."
The friend Pam left with was Cheryl Miller. The two were headed for a party.
Adele Jackson, "When she wasn't there the next morning we notified the authorities."
From that moment on... the Jackson's only had pictures and memories of their daughter... without even a body to bury.
Adele Jackson, "Always busy sewing... she was getting ready for the high school concert, she was a singer too."
For the past 3 years, the family farm of David Lykken has been searched for evidence in this case. Today he's serving 227 years for rape and kidnapping, crimes committed 20 years after the disappearance of the two girls. This week a grand jury indicted Lykken for the murders of Cheryl and Pam, which sits well with Adele and Oscar, but they say no judge can sentence Lykken to the punishment he deserves.
Oscar, "He ought to be locked up in solitary confinement.... where he wouldn't see anybody... give him bread and water the rest of his days."
Adele, "We're all going to meet a judge higher up one day and we'll have to give an account of everything we've said and done. And he will too."
http://www.ktiv.com/News/index.php?ID=14730
Richard
07-07-2007, 10:02 AM
...
For the past 3 years, the family farm of David Lykken has been searched for evidence in this case. Today he's serving 227 years for rape and kidnapping, crimes committed 20 years after the disappearance of the two girls. This week a grand jury indicted Lykken for the murders of Cheryl and Pam, ...
http://www.ktiv.com/News/index.php?ID=14730
One can only wonder how many others there were in the intervening 20 years.
Here is a case in which the Death Penalty, if allowed and awarded, following a successful trial would certainly have proven an effective deterrant.
Richard
01-04-2008, 09:59 AM
Does anyone have an update on this case. Last summer a long time suspect was charged in the disappearance and death of these two girls. Has that case gone to trial yet?
olympicprincess
01-04-2008, 03:27 PM
I know this is all after the fact since they got him :clap:...
Did it say anywhere: how did he get to them if they were following the boys in the car? Did they stop?
What happened to their (the girls) car?
How did they know to look at this guy or the farm? Was it his past or the location of the farm? (a couple articles are old & the links don't work)
ASU2USC
01-04-2008, 04:41 PM
Crazy that this thread was bumped today - I just found this article that was published today:
http://argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080104/NEWS/80104030
Apparently he is going to trial in March.
Five women testified Thursday that they were physically and sexually abused by the man charged with killing two Vermillion girls 37 years ago.
The women were the first witnesses during a planned two-day hearing to determine what evidence will be allowed at the March trial of David Lee Lykken, 53, on six alternate counts of murder.
Prosecutors accuse him of killing high school juniors Cheryl Miller and Pamella Jackson, both 17. They were last seen May 29, 1971, driving a 1960 Studebaker Lark on a rural Union County road on their way to a party.
Investigators also suspect Lykken of being involved in the cases of at least three other people whose names have not been released, according to a warrant authorizing an August 2004 search.
Lykken's former wife and three ex-girlfriends said he choked, strangled, raped and beat them, that they often feared for their safety, and that he stalked them after they tried to end relationships with him.
Another woman said she refused to date Lykken and he raped her.
http://yankton.net/stories/011808/new_237705587.shtml
meggilyweggily
02-23-2008, 10:59 AM
Oh. My. God.
http://www.kxmc.com/News/212195.asp
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) The South Dakota prisoner who reportedly posed as another inmate is serving a life sentence for murder out of Florida.
Attorney General Larry Long says murder charges will be dropped against David Lykken (LIHK'-uhn), who's accused of killing two Vermillion girls missing since 1971.
Another inmate, Aloysius (al-uh-WISH'-uhs) Black Crow, testified that Lykken confessed to the crime.
But Long says the secret recording was of a third inmate who pretended to be Lykken....
It's simply terrible that a person would behave that way to frame another individual, and even worse that it got as far as it did. Worst of all, though, is that David Lykken may well have murdered those two girls. But after this fiasco, they will never be able to build a case against him.
meggilyweggily
02-23-2008, 11:08 AM
Note to everyone: Aloysius Black Crow also provided info in Amanda Gallion's case: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/gallion_amanda.html He said a cellmate had confessed to killing her. Though it isn't reflected in Amanda's casefile yet, the cellmate was later convicted of another murder. He was never charged in Amanda's disappearance.
I wonder if Black Crow was lying about that confession too?
MaryLiz
02-24-2008, 06:47 PM
There were several women he abused that testified against him as per the posting by Rle7 on 1/18.
This is an excerpt from an article published on Feb. 12 by KXMC:
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) A former girlfriend of the man charged with killing two Vermillion girls in 1971 could testify about an alleged statement he made regarding a girl buried on his farm. According to a court document, she will be allowed to testify that Lykken told her a young girl was buried on his family's farm if prosecutors show it's relevant.
I just can't believe they found out he was set up and now the charges against him are dropped! I still think he is guilty in this case.
alknon
06-27-2010, 02:35 PM
These photo's strongly resembling the missing Cheryl Miller & Pam Jackson were found by police in serial killer Rodney Alcala's storage unit
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Serial-Killer-Rodney-Alcalas-Photos-Released-Can-You-ID-Any-Of-These-Women-91752849.html
tatertot
09-24-2010, 07:02 AM
News article: The Lykken's suit against the investigators who searched their farm in 2004 was unsuccessful.
http://www.kcautv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13194971
amber1
09-28-2010, 09:59 AM
my prayers are with these girls.
how long must these families wait for answers?
This case has always been on the minds of a lot in SD. I grew up in SD, although this happened a decade before I was born. In my opinion, Lykken is guilty... And it's unfortunate that he'll get away with it.
dogperson
11-14-2011, 03:51 PM
Why does LE even bother with prison snitches? Crow has possibly ruined this whole case and I have never really felt that using inmates as witnesses to supposed confessions was worth much. If I were on a jury I don't know how much faith I'd put in the testimony of another convicted felon.
I think Lykken probably did this but unless LE can definitively link the objects found on the farm to the missing car or the missing girls, he will probably never be prosecuted for this one.
Just wanted to add the following links to this thread:
Charley Project - Cheryl Kay Miller (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/miller_cheryl.html)
Charley Project - Pamella Ann Jackson (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/j/jackson_pamella.html)
NamUs - Cheryl Kay Miller (https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/4431/0/)
NamUs - Pamella Ann Jackson (https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/4429/0/)
Even though it's been over 40 years, I'm still hoping for some closure for the families of these two teenage girls.
Also, not sure which moderator to contact, but the thread title is wrong. The girls went missing in 1971, not 1979.
amber1
03-12-2012, 01:05 PM
http://www.ktiv.com/News/NewsDetail64.cfm?Id=26,9340
Vermillion Cold Case: One Year Later
08/26/2005
Vermillion Cold Case: One Year Later
It's been a year of digging, searching and studying the evidence, all in hopes of solving a 34-year-old cold case. In May 1971, Vermillion High School juniors Cheryl Miller and Pam Jackson disappeared.
A year ago this week, South Dakota's new cold case unit took on the three decades old mystery, and started looking for answers at a farm near Beresford, South Dakota.
In Beresford High's 1970 yearbook, David Lykken smiles for the camera, his sophomore year ahead of him. Glance across the page and you'll see his classmate, Cheryl Miller. But it's 1971 that would change everything. That year, Miller finished her junior year with Pam Jackson, who knew Lykken through church activities. The two left for a end-of-the-year party, just a few miles from Lykken's home. They never showed up.
A year ago investigators came out to an area near Beresford to search the farm where David Lykken grew up.
Former Vermillion Detective Ray Hoffman says, "I was hoping something would've come up, but it's been a year."
In the time since, South Dakota's cold case took on the mystery, searching Lykken's family farm twice, mostly recently in November with a search warrant listing David Lykken and looking for the girls' bodies, or remains, their car, a wheel barrow and a feed grinder.
For folks who know the three decade old case, waiting and wondering is understandable.
Ray Hoffman says, "Law enforcement's job is to look at all the evidence, but sure the person who's guilty is guilty and see what the evidence says."
Ray Hoffman, a former Vermillion Police Detective who worked the case in 1990, knows processing evidence can take time.
Ray Hoffman says, "The hope of solving the case is good. It never should go away."
Nobody has been charged in the case of Miller and Jackson. David Lykken is serving a 227 year sentence at the South Dakota State Penitentiary for raping a church secretary in 1990.
The South Dakota Attorney General's office says the investigation is "on-going."
amber1
03-12-2012, 01:05 PM
http://www.kcautv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13194971
Ruling Upheld on Search Involving South Dakota Cold Case
A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that investigators did not violate the constitution during searches of a family's Alcester, South Dakota farm.
Esther and Kerwyn Lykken sued investigators on grounds that they did thousands of dollars in damage when they searched the farm in 2004 and falsely accused the family of not cooperating.
Esther and kerwyn are relatives of David Lykken who was charged in the 1971 disappearance of two Vermillion teens.
Those charges were dropped, though Lykken is serving a prison sentence for an unrelated crime.
http://www.kcautv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13194971
Ruling Upheld on Search Involving South Dakota Cold Case
A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that investigators did not violate the constitution during searches of a family's Alcester, South Dakota farm.
Esther and Kerwyn Lykken sued investigators on grounds that they did thousands of dollars in damage when they searched the farm in 2004 and falsely accused the family of not cooperating.
Esther and kerwyn are relatives of David Lykken who was charged in the 1971 disappearance of two Vermillion teens.
Those charges were dropped, though Lykken is serving a prison sentence for an unrelated crime.
The Lykken's sued? Ridiculous. IMO Lykken is responsible for both of the disappearances. Grrrr....
amber1
03-16-2012, 01:05 PM
there's been no justice for these girls:(
Sallust
03-18-2012, 04:49 AM
I think the "boys" in the car know a great deal more than they've let on to police.
amber1
03-19-2012, 10:07 AM
I agree. They were the last ones to have seen them. If the girks' car did go into the river, wouldn't the boys have noticed and said something??
They were following these boys straight to the party, so these boys have got to know something. The fact that they never arrived also makes me wonder, maybe the boys led them elsewhere??
It's hard for me to believe Lykken did this, I wish the boys were looked at more, I just wonder how would have Lykken intercepted the girls from the church to the party they never arrived at?
This case baffles me because it's almost as if the girls vanished within their car!
I've wondered about the boys too... It does seem odd that they would lose sight of the girls. I grew up in SD (although, it was a decade after this happened), and I could have sworn that LE found evidence linking Lykken to the girls... I could be wrong though... I need to review the case again further.
I really wonder where their Studebaker (the car) is located. The car has never been located.
Also, the girls traveling to the party were no where near the Missouri River. If you go to Google Maps, and search for Alcester, SD, that is the approximate location of the party.
necco
03-20-2012, 01:26 AM
Ok. I'm confused about something. If my math is right, Lykken would have been 16 when the girls went missing. Was he one of the boys in the car?
Ok. I'm confused about something. If my math is right, Lykken would have been 16 when the girls went missing. Was he one of the boys in the car?
He was 17, and no, he was not. I don't think the identities of the boys in the other car have ever been released.
To my knowledge, I have to add!
amber1
03-20-2012, 02:28 AM
I wonder if maybe the boys could have lead the girls else where? Maybe their car is hidden in the woods, where its all wild life and no one ever goes. Are there any gorges or cliff like landscapes by that area? Say the boys lead the girls somewhere else, maybe their car went off something like that, or maybe into a different body of water. I read an article that a woman's car (she was missing in the '70s) was pulled out of a river five years ago. (i will try to find the article). apparently she accidentally drove in and was found for over 3 decades. it's possible with the girls (i wonder when the boys last seen the girls vehicle)? it is so odd for the car to not have been found. some may say this would indicate maybe they ran away but i disagree greatly. maybe the reason the vehicle hasnt been found is because major evidence in it, such as the girls themselves?
What troubles me is the fact they never ended up at the party...so where did they end up at???How would Lykken have intercepted them?
Eoanthropus Dawsoni
03-21-2012, 01:40 AM
I wonder if maybe the boys could have lead the girls else where? Maybe their car is hidden in the woods, where its all wild life and no one ever goes. Are there any gorges or cliff like landscapes by that area? Say the boys lead the girls somewhere else, maybe their car went off something like that, or maybe into a different body of water. I read an article that a woman's car (she was missing in the '70s) was pulled out of a river five years ago. (i will try to find the article). apparently she accidentally drove in and was found for over 3 decades. it's possible with the girls (i wonder when the boys last seen the girls vehicle)? it is so odd for the car to not have been found. some may say this would indicate maybe they ran away but i disagree greatly. maybe the reason the vehicle hasnt been found is because major evidence in it, such as the girls themselves?
What troubles me is the fact they never ended up at the party...so where did they end up at???How would Lykken have intercepted them?
Parts of the car have been found on the Lykken farm.
amber1
03-21-2012, 12:23 PM
It's too bad he never mentioned where they could be. I still wonder how he intercepted them. Do you have a link to this info? Did they just find parts of the car or did they have evidence from the girls themselves on his farm (hair cells, skin cells, clothes, personal belongings, etc)?
Parts of the car have been found on the Lykken farm.
Do you, by chance, have a link to that? I have only read that "items of interest" have been found.
Eoanthropus Dawsoni
03-22-2012, 01:21 AM
Do you, by chance, have a link to that? I have only read that "items of interest" have been found.
It was all over the news in 2004, but the news sites do not hold stories that long. As I recall they found a purse, bone fragments, a bible, pieces of clothing, Studebaker Lark hub caps, and part of a license plate. The stuff had been buried on the farm.
Authorities have no doubt that he did it, but apparently they do not believe they have enough to risk a trial. He was charged, but when they found out that their key witness was bad they dropped the charges rather than risk an acquittal. So they wait. He is not going anywhere, he will be in prison for the rest of his life even without the convictions for this kidnapping and murders.
Eoanthropus Dawsoni
03-22-2012, 01:28 AM
I have a lot of information on this case, but it is on a hard drive on a dead computer. I can get into the drive but I had the files protected and can't access the documents. At one time I had been working on a book project on murders in the Dakotas and this was one of the cases I was researching.
amber1
03-22-2012, 02:00 PM
Were the bone fragments found human?
It was all over the news in 2004, but the news sites do not hold stories that long. As I recall they found a purse, bone fragments, a bible, pieces of clothing, Studebaker Lark hub caps, and part of a license plate. The stuff had been buried on the farm.
Authorities have no doubt that he did it, but apparently they do not believe they have enough to risk a trial. He was charged, but when they found out that their key witness was bad they dropped the charges rather than risk an acquittal. So they wait. He is not going anywhere, he will be in prison for the rest of his life even without the convictions for this kidnapping and murders.
I remember that too. I lived in Sioux Falls during that time. My memory is just bad! I remember the hubcab and the purse being found.
The KELO (Keloland) News in Sioux Falls is VERY good at keeping links up-to-date.
If you go to this link: Keloland Search (http://www.keloland.com/SearchKeloland.cfm)
And search for "Pam Jackson" or "Cheryl Miller", with the dates between 2004 (the farthest back they go) and now, there is a ton of links. I'll try and sift through them when I get a chance. Just wanted to throw that out there.
That being said, it's very apparent who is responsible.
amber1
04-01-2012, 12:09 PM
i wonder where he would have put these girls! is he responsible for any other disappearances/murders?
i wonder where he would have put these girls! is he responsible for any other disappearances/murders?
KELOLAND - Sister, Informant Will Testify In Lykken Trial (http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=65414)
According to that news article in 2008, Lykken's sister, Nancy, actually remembers a car on the property, with the two girls "slumped forward". She also remembers the bodies in a wheel-barrow and the car being buried. Keep in mind, this is his own sister. The SD DCI searched the Lykken property (which led to a lawsuit), but they didn't find that car.
Lykken is serving a 227 year sentence for rape and kidnapping at the SD State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.
The rape/kidnapping involved a church secretary... after that multiple former girlfriends came forward to say he raped/beaten/threatened their lives.
While the girls have not been found, at least that creep is in prison for the rest of his life.
amber1
04-02-2012, 10:20 AM
Agreed, he seems like the type who'd do it again if not caught.
Eoanthropus Dawsoni
04-02-2012, 12:39 PM
I found this on another site. Post #2 has some detailed information on what was found in the farm search.
Pamela Jackson/Cheryl Miller, 1971, South Dakota - Cold Case Investigations
scriptgirl
09-02-2012, 09:16 AM
This case doesn't make sense to me. No one will say how and why Lykken came to be the chief suspect. There are other things I wonder-Lykken was a classmate-were other classmates of Lykken and the girls interviewed-do they remember the girls being friendly with Lykken? Did the girls ever talk about him to their parents? Was Lykken hassling girls back then, in school?
More importantly, were those guys the girls talked to questioned thoroughly? Did they know Lykken? Where are they now? How did those girls disappear so quickly?
amber1
09-03-2012, 10:51 AM
I, too, have always wondered how they could have vanished while following those boys in their car-how did Lykken intercept them?
scriptgirl
09-03-2012, 06:17 PM
Yeah, it makes NO sense. I mean, yeah, they found the car on the lykken property, but that doesn't necessarily mean he did it. Morgan Harrington was found on a farm in VA and the farmer didn't kill her.
It doesn't make sense that the boys said one minute the girls followed them and the next, the car was gone. Either the boys were involved with the murder or the timeline is wrong. Where ARE those boys?
This case doesn't make sense to me. No one will say how and why Lykken came to be the chief suspect. There are other things I wonder-Lykken was a classmate-were other classmates of Lykken and the girls interviewed-do they remember the girls being friendly with Lykken? Did the girls ever talk about him to their parents? Was Lykken hassling girls back then, in school?
More importantly, were those guys the girls talked to questioned thoroughly? Did they know Lykken? Where are they now? How did those girls disappear so quickly?
Lykken knew Pamela Jackson through her church and school (Lykken, Jackson, and Miller all attended Beresford High School, and it was and is a small enough school where everyone knows everyone). He, at the time, was the same age as them.
In my opinion, he did something to them, or knows what happened to them. But, I don't know anything about the boys that were following the girls. It would be interesting to know if those boys were friends with Lykken. If the boys went to Beresford High School, they would for sure know Lykken.
Unfortunately, I think those boys may possibly know something, but they have never been identified (to my knowledge).
Also, Lykken has a long history, including assault, rape, and burglary.
scriptgirl
09-04-2012, 12:04 PM
I am withholding judgement on Lykken until we find out more about these boys. I think they are guilty too.
Odyssey
01-26-2013, 06:56 PM
I wonder if maybe the boys could have lead the girls else where? Maybe their car is hidden in the woods, where its all wild life and no one ever goes. Are there any gorges or cliff like landscapes by that area? Say the boys lead the girls somewhere else, maybe their car went off something like that, or maybe into a different body of water. I read an article that a woman's car (she was missing in the '70s) was pulled out of a river five years ago. (i will try to find the article). apparently she accidentally drove in and was found for over 3 decades. it's possible with the girls (i wonder when the boys last seen the girls vehicle)? it is so odd for the car to not have been found. some may say this would indicate maybe they ran away but i disagree greatly. maybe the reason the vehicle hasnt been found is because major evidence in it, such as the girls themselves?
What troubles me is the fact they never ended up at the party...so where did they end up at???How would Lykken have intercepted them?
I wish I knew where that farm was, exactly. I think it would be interesting to search the surrounding area on Google Earth. From searching David's mother's name, it looks like the farm was in Alcester, which is a very small town.
I also found it interesting that the warrant mentioned a red Studebaker Lark, while the casefile states they were driving a beige Studebaker Lark. Could be a typo somewhere.
It was also mentioned in one of the articles linked on page 2 of this thread (the one that gives details of the items found in the search) that the boys missed their turn and had to double back, and then they couldn't find the girls. I'm not sure what that means. If I were following someone because I didn't know how to get somewhere, and they missed the turn, I would miss the turn as well. I wonder where the party site was, and what the roads looked like, and how close it was to Lykken's farm.
Eoanthropus Dawsoni
02-02-2013, 02:41 PM
I wish I knew where that farm was, exactly. I think it would be interesting to search the surrounding area on Google Earth. From searching David's mother's name, it looks like the farm was in Alcester, which is a very small town.
47345 307th St
Alcester, SD 57001
47345 307th St
Alcester, SD 57001
On Google Maps, that address is an empty field. Would the residence be just to the west, maybe?
Here is where I think it is: http://goo.gl/maps/NDaWK
I am withholding judgement on Lykken until we find out more about these boys. I think they are guilty too.
I'm starting to think that more... I'm starting to think that Lykken was one of "the boys". He would have been around Pam's & Cheryl's age and went to Beresford High School.
Eoanthropus Dawsoni
02-03-2013, 01:18 AM
On Google Maps, that address is an empty field. Would the residence be just to the west, maybe?
Here is where I think it is: http://goo.gl/maps/NDaWK
That is it. Bing shows it in the correct location.
The "vehicle enabled" sexual homicide was a phenomenon that emerged in the 1970's. Law Enforcement was not prepared to deal with the problem and many homicides or disappearances remain unsolved. Many were dismissed as "runaways".
I suspect many of the predators were later convicted of other rapes, murders or abductions. The logical place for any cold case detective to start would be anyone who had any connections to one of these cases who
subsequently was convict of a related crime. David Lykken would be a perfect "suspect". This doesn't prove anything; they still have to find evidence linking the suspect to the crime. I'm not so sure they have anything. I haven't read anywhere that anything found on the farm can be tied to the missing girls.
Anytime someone "disappears" along with their vehicle, you have to consider the chance that they either deliberately took off or they drove into a body of water. It is very rare for a sexual predator to dispose of both the victim's body and their vehicle. Vehicles are much harder to conceal. there is little benefit in concealing the vehicle, and there is the logistic problem of moving second vehicle if you have one of your own.
From what I can see on Google Earth, there is a river and some ponds along the SD/Iowa border that could harbor a sunken vehicle. People who know the area would have a better idea. Apparently the Missouri River is a more likely place for a vehicle to disappear in but the girls were not in that area when they were last seen.
Odyssey
02-03-2013, 05:47 PM
The "vehicle enabled" sexual homicide was a phenomenon that emerged in the 1970's. Law Enforcement was not prepared to deal with the problem and many homicides or disappearances remain unsolved. Many were dismissed as "runaways".
I suspect many of the predators were later convicted of other rapes, murders or abductions. The logical place for any cold case detective to start would be anyone who had any connections to one of these cases who
subsequently was convict of a related crime. David Lykken would be a perfect "suspect". This doesn't prove anything; they still have to find evidence linking the suspect to the crime. I'm not so sure they have anything. I haven't read anywhere that anything found on the farm can be tied to the missing girls.
Anytime someone "disappears" along with their vehicle, you have to consider the chance that they either deliberately took off or they drove into a body of water. It is very rare for a sexual predator to dispose of both the victim's body and their vehicle. Vehicles are much harder to conceal. there is little benefit in concealing the vehicle, and there is the logistic problem of moving second vehicle if you have one of your own.
From what I can see on Google Earth, there is a river and some ponds along the SD/Iowa border that could harbor a sunken vehicle. People who know the area would have a better idea. Apparently the Missouri River is a more likely place for a vehicle to disappear in but the girls were not in that area when they were last seen.
I think that there was some evidence that pointed to Lykken. IIRC I saw somewhere that his own sister said she had seen the car on their property with the two girls "slumped over" inside. They also supposedly found Studebaker Lark hubcaps when they dug on the property.
You are right, though, a car would be difficult to dispose of on land. I thought that maybe by searching Google Earth it could be spotted abandoned in some woods somewhere, although I know it's a total long shot.
The whole thing about the boys strikes me as odd, though. If the boys were innocent, I don't understand how they became separated from the girls for long enough for this to happen - and what a coincidence that this Lykken character happened upon them in the few minutes that they could have been separated?
I read that Law Enforcement did find "auto parts" and a hub cap but I could find no verification that they came from a Studebaker Lark. I also read that the sister was going to be a prosecution witness (before the charges were dropped when the prison snitch testimony went bad). It is not clear exactly what she had to say. Lykken is a bad guy and I think the rest of us are a little safer as long as he is locked up, but I need a little more information before I conclude that he killed Pam and Cheryl.
scriptgirl
02-04-2013, 12:55 PM
What is vehicular enabled sexual homicide?
amber1
02-04-2013, 01:10 PM
I think it's safe to say Pam and Cheryl are gone, and I do think the streets are safer with Lykken behind bars, but I wish they could find the girls' remains, or at least the car...I think it's possible they even still be in the car-I know there have been some cases where to perp. hides the victim's vehicle, but that would take a lot of work, so it's kind of rare, I really haven't read up on too many of those, although I know they are out there...usually the vehicle is just left abandoned somewhere or along the side of the road. I'm sure there was great motive for making the car disappear along with the girls.
He had to have good reason to hide it like he did, if he is the one who did it.
Maybe the girls are in there or maybe it's the crime scene? Either way, if it's ever found, I sure feel there would be some pretty damning evidence still present inside, even decades later.
It does seem very likely LE has their man, they just need to find the girls now.
amber1
02-04-2013, 01:16 PM
Here are some other interesting cases where the women's cars also were never found...makes you wonder how a person can keep something like that concealed for decades, although it's possible (not saying they are connected to Cheryl and Pam's case):
Carrie Culberson
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/culberson_clarissa.html
Laney Gwinner: remains found, car still missing
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-05-20/justice/grace.coldcase.gwinner_1_ohio-river-bowling-alley-car-wound?_s=PM:CRIME
Eoanthropus Dawsoni
02-04-2013, 01:54 PM
I think that there was some evidence that pointed to Lykken. IIRC I saw somewhere that his own sister said she had seen the car on their property with the two girls "slumped over" inside. They also supposedly found Studebaker Lark hubcaps when they dug on the property.
You are right, though, a car would be difficult to dispose of on land. I thought that maybe by searching Google Earth it could be spotted abandoned in some woods somewhere, although I know it's a total long shot.
The whole thing about the boys strikes me as odd, though. If the boys were innocent, I don't understand how they became separated from the girls for long enough for this to happen - and what a coincidence that this Lykken character happened upon them in the few minutes that they could have been separated?
If the car still exists above ground it almost certainly would have been spotted by now. Hunters, particularly during deer and pheasant seasons, walk almost every square foot of wooded area. Even land that is posted "No Hunting, No Trespassing" will eventually be covered by someone who ignored or did not see the signs.
Abandoned cars are not unusual in tree rows and old over grown farm yards. Farmers will often will often park them in the trees so they are out of the way. But the Studebaker Larks were never as common as other cars and now are sought after by collectors. Someone would have noticed a 1960 Lark.
I believe that if the car had gone into the river either by accident or deliberately it is also likely that it would have turned up by now. Over the last 40 years the river has been very high but also very low. Things tend to turn up eventually.
The girls left the hospital at 9:30, which was a half hour after sunset. They were last seen near St Mary's Church which is on Highway 48 one mile east of Exit 31. That is about 15 miles from the hospital so it was rather dark by that time. They asked the boys for directions to the party at a gravel pit and started to follow the boys. However the boys missed their turn to the party and had to back track. By that time they lost sight of the girl's car.
There is a gravel pit directly across the road from the church however that pit looks rather new. And since it is across the road from the church I think it can be ruled out as the arty destination.
I need to make another try at getting into my old hard drive so I can access my research. As I recall Pamela had been acquainted with Lykken through church and both of the girls attended school with him. The Lykken farm is only about eight miles from the church, so it is very possible that he may have been in the area on his way to the party. I believe that it is quite plausible that if the girls had encountered Lykken after loosing sight of the boys they had been following, they may have be willing to follow him if he had offered to lead them to the party.
Lykken never became a suspect until decades after the girls vanished, and other than dragging the river, law enforcement did not conduct a very extensive search of the area. Therefore it is possible that he had plenty of time to dispose of the girls and vehicle. When LE did start searching the farm, more than 30 years after the girls had gone missing, they did target specific buildings and other areas on the farm. I do not know what leads may have given them reason to be interested in specific areas.
What is vehicular enabled sexual homicide?
That would be any situation where a vehicle was part of the Perp's M.O. What I had in mind was the type of sexual homicide where the Perp uses his vehicle to abduct his victim and then uses it to transport the body where it will either never be found or not found for a while.
While the automobile has ben uses in committing crimes, including sexual crimes, since they were invented, the phenomenon of theses murders took Law enforcement by surprise in the late 1960's. Ted Bundy was the first Serial Killer who got famous using this MO but he was hardly the first.
The increasing role of the automobile in American life certainly played a role in the increase of this type of crime but two additional changes that occurred in the late 1960's were major contributors: the widespread practice of hitch-hiking and the emergence of prostitution "strolls" where hookers would stand at a roadside and were picked up by Johns in their cars.
If the car still exists above ground it almost certainly would have been spotted by now. Hunters, particularly during deer and pheasant seasons, walk almost every square foot of wooded area. Even land that is posted "No Hunting, No Trespassing" will eventually be covered by someone who ignored or did not see the signs.
Abandoned cars are not unusual in tree rows and old over grown farm yards. Farmers will often will often park them in the trees so they are out of the way. But the Studebaker Larks were never as common as other cars and now are sought after by collectors. Someone would have noticed a 1960 Lark.
I believe that if the car had gone into the river either by accident or deliberately it is also likely that it would have turned up by now. Over the last 40 years the river has been very high but also very low. Things tend to turn up eventually.
The girls left the hospital at 9:30, which was a half hour after sunset. They were last seen near St Mary's Church which is on Highway 48 one mile east of Exit 31. That is about 15 miles from the hospital so it was rather dark by that time. They asked the boys for directions to the party at a gravel pit and started to follow the boys. However the boys missed their turn to the party and had to back track. By that time they lost sight of the girl's car.
There is a gravel pit directly across the road from the church however that pit looks rather new. And since it is across the road from the church I think it can be ruled out as the arty destination.
I need to make another try at getting into my old hard drive so I can access my research. As I recall Pamela had been acquainted with Lykken through church and both of the girls attended school with him. The Lykken farm is only about eight miles from the church, so it is very possible that he may have been in the area on his way to the party. I believe that it is quite plausible that if the girls had encountered Lykken after loosing sight of the boys they had been following, they may have be willing to follow him if he had offered to lead them to the party.
Lykken never became a suspect until decades after the girls vanished, and other than dragging the river, law enforcement did not conduct a very extensive search of the area. Therefore it is possible that he had plenty of time to dispose of the girls and vehicle. When LE did start searching the farm, more than 30 years after the girls had gone missing, they did target specific buildings and other areas on the farm. I do not know what leads may have given them reason to be interested in specific areas.
Thank you for this... I'm familiar with the area... and you hit on many points.
I didn't realize the boys missed the turn... That is a crucial part.
I bet the girls ended up on Lykken's property after that.
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