Resolved IN- Michael W. Sewell, 16, Missing after 2 friends perished in mysterious cabin fire, State Road 135, Jackson County, 18 Dec. 1971 *New initiative"

[dotr]

June 28, 2022 rbbm.

Jackson County authorities reopen investigation into 1971 cold case

The case involves a mysterious cabin fire that happened Dec. 18, 1971, roughly a mile and a half south of Brownstown on State Road 135.

www.wthr.com

''JACKSON COUNTY, Indiana — Authorities in Jackson County have reopened an investigation into a deadly 1971 cabin fire in hopes of solving the more than 50-year-old cold case.
The case involves a mysterious cabin fire that happened Dec. 18, 1971, roughly a mile and a half south of Brownstown on State Road 135.
According to police reports from the time of the fire, two teenagers, 17-year-old Stanley R. Robison and 19-year-old Jerry Autry, were believed to have died in the fire at a make-shift structure which was used for camping.''


''A third teenager, 16-year-old Michael W. Sewell, was camping with the pair the night of the fire, but police reports from the time indicate only two bodies were found.
The two bodies were badly burned, and the only means of identification were class rings found, belonging to Robison and Autry.
Sewell was reported missing later that day and has not been seen or heard from since.
RELATED: Woman cracks 35-year-old Michigan cold case killing in just 4 days
“Several questions have been raised over the years adding to the mystery of the events of that evening,” Jackson County Sheriff's Department Lt. Adam Nicholson said in a statement. “After looking at everything and processing all of the old reports and evidence, the only additional thing we could do would be to exhume the remains of Mr. Autry and Mr. Robison to check for any additional DNA evidence.”
Several questions have been raised on the case over the years, including the possibility that Sewell may have died in the fire.
A family member reached out to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department with interest in having the case reopened, prompting the renewed efforts. The FBI is assisting in the investigation.''

''The Jackson County Sheriff's Department is asking anyone with information on the case to contact Nicholson at 812-358-2141.''

 

[dotr]

Search for answers continues more than 50 years after teens burned to death in cabin

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is trying to solve the mystery of what happened the night that two teens died in a fire and a third teen disappeared without a trace.

fox59.com

by: Jacob Burbrink -
Jun 28, 2022
BROWNSTOWN, Ind. — More than 50 years ago, police in Jackson County began investigating after a fire claimed the lives of two teens. Now, police are trying to figure out what happened that night, and what happened to a third teen who was with them the night of the fire.

In December 1971, Stanley Robinson, Jerry Autry and Michael Sewell left a party to spend the night at a cabin along White River. The cabin was a 9-foot by 15-foot make-shift structure built out of railroad ties. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office says it was made for camping.''

• 
  Jerry Autry
• 
  Stanley Robinson
• 
  Michael Sewell

Yearbook photos from Brownstown High School
''The boys left the party around 2 a.m. that Saturday. Six hours later, the cabin was found burned to the ground. All that was left of the boys in the smoldering remains were class rings that police were able to use to identify Autry and Robinson.''

Autry’s car was found on the scene. However, it appeared that it had been moved from before the fire to after the fire. Sewell was reported missing later that day and had not been seen or heard from since.

“Several questions have been raised over the years adding to the mystery of the events of that evening,” said Lt. Adam Nicholson with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.''

Deputy Coroner Victor Burkholder points out additional bones in the cabin ruins. (Photo//Jackson County Sheriff’s Office)

''Among the questions that police have included the possibility that Sewell was also lost in the fire that night. If he wasn’t what happened to him? The department said Sewell was only 16 at the time of the fire. They say it is difficult to imagine he would still be missing 51 years later if he ran away.


“To this day we still don’t know how the fire started. There are a lot of rumors out there. I still feel like there is somebody out there who knows something,” said Nancy Sterling, Robison’s sister, “and I think that when you’re 15- 16- 17 years old and maybe you’re afraid to come forward, maybe you’re afraid you’ll get in trouble, I’m not sure, but it just seems like there’s just so many missing pieces as to what happened.”

“People can be so cruel and the things that they said when it all happened was horrible and they pretty much ran us out of town,” said Sewell’s sister Linda Pack. “Anybody that knew him knew he couldn’t just set that fire and take off as close as he was to those boys.”

 

[dotr]

June 28 2022

 

[alb1on]

There are quite a few press cuttings from both 1971 and between then and now which offer bits of additional information. I attach some cuttings and the bits which are of most interest seem to be that Sewell's presence is based on the testimony of some other kids who say they left earlier - how reliable is this and how closely were the other kids questioned? Secondly, the third cutting mentions sightings of him (Sewell). How reliable were these (although the comment says they were believed).

 

[TootsieFootsie]

MSN

Authorities believe a teenage boy missing since he went camping with his friends in 1971 has been found.

 

[MarziPanda]

So he was in plain sight the whole time. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for his family to have people theorise that he killed his friends and fled. They were even run out of town because of it. Glad they have answers, even if they may never know how the fire started or if it could have been arson from an outside person. I'm not convinced the reports that the car was moved are accurate. Who saw the car before? And after? Is it possible one of the boys moved it after the witness saw it but before the fire? Is it possible they were mistaken and it wasn't moved after all?

We'll probably never know that part. But at least they know where Michael is. Having read the above newspaper articles, it's amazing how totally sure the coroner was that there wasn't a third body, and how wrong he was. Sad that the family were going to insist that another person look over the remains to be sure he wasn't there, but decided against it. If it had been allowed, maybe they would have been spared all the pain of not knowing and all the accusations. I wonder if two of the boys were perhaps sharing a bed and that's why the remains were mixed up, especially if the remains were in bad condition and mostly ash.

RIP Michael, Jerry and Stanley.

 

[dotr]

New Release-Answers Found in 1971 Cabin Fire Cold Case

SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT FINDS ANSWERS IN 52-YEAR-OLD CASE INVOLVING MYSTERIOUS CABIN FIRE Brownstown, IN - The Jackson County ...

www.jacksoncountysheriffin.org

06/16/2023 New Release-Answers Found in 1971 Cabin Fire Cold Case

SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT FINDS ANSWERS IN 52-YEAR-OLD CASE INVOLVING MYSTERIOUS CABIN FIRE (Brownstown, IN) - The Jackson County Sheriff's Department announced last June that they were working to solve a cold case from December 18th, 1971. Sheriff Rick Meyer assigned the cold case to Lieutenant Adam Nicholson and gave him the go ahead to purse a renewed investigation. The case involved a mysterious cabin fire that occurred on December 18th, 1971, in Jackson County, IN, about 1.5 miles south of Brownstown on State Road 135. The cabin was a 9' x 15' structure built from railroad ties and used as a hangout and camping site for teens. According to the original State Police reports, two teens, Stanley R. Robison, 17, and Jerry Autry, 19, were believed to have perished in the fire. A third teen, Michael W. Sewell, 16, was camping with Robison and Autry the night of the fire, but the original reports only indicated the remains of two (2) individuals were found. In addition, the reports describe the bodies as being badly burned and close to incineration. The only means of identification for Robison and Autry were done by class rings located at the scene. Later in the day, approximately two (2) hours after investigators left the scene of the cabin, Sewell was reported missing by his family and has not been seen or heard of since. "Several rumors and questions have been raised over the years adding to the mystery of the events of that evening," said Nicholson. "After taking a deep look at everything and processing all the old reports and evidence, it seemed logical to think Sewell also perished in the fire." "Other than the opinions of the original investigator there was no proof Sewell wasn't in the fire, and our focus is to prove he was or wasn't." "It was decided to exhume the remains of Mr. Autry and Mr. Robison to check for any additional evidence of a third person." "Sewell was only 16 years old and it's difficult to imagine he would still be missing 52 years later, if he had simply run away." Lt. Nicholson sought the advice and assistance of Dr. Krista Latham with the University of Indianapolis. Dr. Latham, a professor of Biology and Anthropology and Board-Certified Forensic Anthropologist, agreed to help with further investigation into the case. Dr. Latham and a team of Anthropologists assisted with the exhumation of Robison and Autry on June 21st, 2022, at Fairview Cemetery in Brownstown. After the exhumation Dr. Latham took possession of the remains and transported them to the University of Indianapolis Human Identification Center for analysis. The families of the deceased were notified beforehand and gave consent for the exhumation. The families also provided their DNA so it could be compared with the remains exhumed. ''Dr. Latham completed her analysis of the remains on November 22nd, 2022. Dr. Latham's report on the findings confirmed a minimum of three (3) individuals within the two (2) caskets that were exhumed. She came to this conclusion by identifying triplicate (3) copies of several bones. This is consistent with three (3) individuals being represented in the two (2) caskets. Dr. Latham noted there was no trauma observed that couldn't be attributed to the fire. Dr. Latham selected the least burnt bones as candidates for possible DNA extraction to compare with the DNA of the families. The selected bones were then submitted to the Indiana State Police Lab for DNA testing. The Indiana State Police Lab attempted DNA analysis on several bones but only one was in good enough condition to produce results. On June 12th, 2023, the State Police Lab completed analysis on DNA extracted from the bone. The result identifies one of the decedents as Stanley Robison. The lab will continue to look for possibilities of extracting more DNA with future technology. Nicholson said, "I'm pleased and very thankful for the help that Dr. Latham, the University of Indianapolis, and the Indiana State Police Lab provided." "The thorough analysis they provided has answered some questions for the families involved, which was well deserved and long overdue." Sheriff Rick Meyer said, "I'm glad we can finally give some closure to the families involved. I commend Lt. Nicholson and all the assisting agencies who helped find answers in this 52-year-old case." Assisting with the investigation: Jackson County Coroner Office, FBI, University of Indianapolis, and Indiana State Police Lab.''

 

[dotr]

 

[Melt71]

Charley Project record updated now, to Resolved

Michael William Sewell – The Charley Project