51-year-old Brownstown cold case is reopened

Photo Provided / Jackson County Sheriff's Department Lt. Adam Nicholson

The cabin fire that happened on December 18, 1971.

By: Jazlyn Gomez

JACKSON COUNTY — Lt. Adam Nicholson of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department has taken the lead in continuing the investigation of a cold case dealing with a mysterious cabin fire that occurred 51 years ago.

“A family member reached out to me and expressed interest in having the case reopened with the hope that we can provide some answers to decades-old questions,” Sheriff Rick Meyer said. “I took this information to Lt. Nicholson, and gave him the go-ahead to pursue a renewed investigation.”

The cabin fire happened on December 18, 1971, in Jackson County, a mile and a half south of Brownstown on State Road 135.

Deputy coroner showing remains.png — The Deputy Coroner pointing at the remains in the cabin fire.

The cabin was a make-shift structure built out of railroad ties with dimensions of 9' by 15'. It was used for camping.

Two teenagers, Stanley R. Robison, 17, and Jerry Autry, 19, were believed to have perished in the fire, according to the initial police reports. A third teen was also camping with Robison and Autry, Michael W. Sewell, 16, but the police reports only indicate that the remains of the two teenagers were found.

Drug Task force arrest.png — From left to right, Stanley R. Robison, 17, Jerry Autry, 19, and Michael W. Sewell, 16.

“Several questions have been raised over the years adding to the mystery of the events of that evening,” Nicholson said. “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.”

One of the questions that have been asked throughout the years is if Sewell was also lost in the fire that night. If he was not in the fire, what happened to him?

Nicholson sought out help from Dr. Krista Latham, a professor of Biology and Anthropology at the University of Indianapolis. Together, they are working to further the investigation into the possibility of more than two people dying in the fire.

The FBI will also be assisting in the investigation and will help to process the remains to extract DNA and compare that to the families of the deceased.

cabin remains.png — The remains of the cabin fire that happened on December 18, 1971.

Autry and Robison's remains were exhumed on June 21, at Fairview Cemetery and taken to the University of Indianapolis for analysis. The families of the deceased were notified and gave consent for the exhumation.

Nicholson hopes to solve this case and bring resolution for the families involved.

“Although this is expected to be a long process, we are hopeful in getting long-overdue answers for these families and thank them for bringing attention back to this unsolved case,” Nicholson said.

The Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone with information that would help solve this case, please contact Lt. Nicholson at 812-358-2141.