Ep 9. Gone in the Night
- August 8, 2022
- 43 min
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(11)
In episode 9 of season 6 of the captivating true-crime series, People Magazine Investigates takes a deep dive into the case of a mother and son who mysteriously vanished in the middle of the night from their small town in Oklahoma.
Titled "Gone in the Night," the episode follows the story of Loretta Jackson and her son, Junior, who went missing from their home in Eufaula, OK on a chilly December night in 1978. Despite the community's unyielding search efforts, the pair seemed to vanish without a trace.
The episode features interviews with Loretta's sister, Carolyn Poster, who describes the night of the disappearance and the moments leading up to the family's sudden departure. She reveals that Loretta's husband had left town that same night to work a job in Texas, leaving her and Junior alone at their home.
Though the family initially assumed that Loretta and Junior may have departed on their own, leaving their belongings behind, as days passed without any contact, they became increasingly worried. Soon, the community organized a massive search party to scour the surrounding wilderness for any sign of the missing duo.
Despite the scale of the search operation, no evidence was found, and the case eventually went cold. But decades later, a new lead emerged after Carolyn received a letter from a stranger claiming to know what happened to Loretta and Junior.
The episode delves into the details of the lead and the subsequent investigation, with interviews from the detective assigned to the case and updates from Loretta's family members. As the episode unfolds, viewers will see how the once-cold case starts to gain momentum, leading to some unexpected revelations.
Overall, "Gone in the Night" presents a gripping and emotional look at a baffling disappearance case that haunted a community for decades. Through interviews, archival footage, and vivid reenactments, the episode captures the agony of those left behind and the tireless efforts of experts to shed light on what happened to Loretta and Junior.
