BROWNSTOWN, Ind. — In June 2022, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department reopened its investigation into a deadly 1971 cabin fire in hopes of solving it.
One year later, investigators believe a third teen, who was previously unaccounted for, died in the fire.
It 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 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," Jackson County Sheriff's Department Lt. Adam Nicholson said in a statement. "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."
On June 21, 2022, the remains of Autry and Robison were exhumed from Fairview Cemetery in Brownstown, with consent from the families, and transported to the University of Indianapolis for analysis. The families also provided DNA so it could be compared with the remains exhumed.
Dr. Krista Latham, a professor of biology and anthropology at UIndy and board-certified forensic anthropologist, completed her analysis on the remains Nov. 22, 2022.
Her report on the findings confirmed a minimum of three individuals within the two caskets were exhumed. This conclusion was made by identifying three copies of several bones.
According to Latham, there was no trauma found that couldn't be attributed to the fire.
Latham selected the least burnt bones to compare with DNA provided by the families, but only one bone was in good enough condition to produce results.
On June 12, the Indiana State Police Lab completed analysis on DNA extracted from the bone, which was positively identified as Robison.
"I'm glad we can finally give some closure to the families involved," Jackson County Sheriff Rick Meyer said. "I commend Lt. Nicholson and all the assisting agencies who helped find answers in this 52-year-old case."
Brownstown is roughly 70 miles south of downtown Indianapolis.