Key facts
- Name: Andrew Jon Lufkins (“A.J.”)
- Born: ~1987
- Age at disappearance: 23
- Last seen: April 7, 2010, between 9:00 p.m. and midnight
- Location: American Legion Post 50 bar, 9 8th Avenue East, Sisseton, South Dakota
- Height / build: Young man, 23
- Status: Still missing — South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation active case; foul play suspected
- Investigating agency: SD Division of Criminal Investigation — (605) 773-3331
The fight at the Legion
Sometime between 9 p.m. and midnight on April 7, 2010, 23-year-old Andrew “A.J.” Lufkins was last seen leaving the American Legion Post 50 bar in Sisseton, South Dakota. He’d gotten into a fight inside — with as many as three other men, by his family’s account — and taken a serious beating.
He never came home. He was never seen again.
The first alarm wasn’t a missed curfew or an unanswered door. It was a missed class: A.J. was working on his GED, and when he didn’t show up the next day, his family knew. “He always, always called me, no matter what. Three, four times a day, I don’t care, he always called me no matter what,” his mother Sheila Lufkins told KELO. “So I knew something was wrong when he didn’t call me, you know.”
His family has always maintained he didn’t walk out of that bar on his own — that he was beaten badly and taken out by the other men. Sixteen years later, no one has ever been charged.
Who A.J. was
Andrew Jon Lufkins was 23, living in Sisseton — a small town in the northeastern corner of South Dakota, minutes from the North Dakota and Minnesota lines. He was working toward his GED, calling his mother three or four times a day, living the kind of ordinary young life that doesn’t generate headlines until it stops.
What his disappearance generated instead was a federal case — though not the kind his family wanted.
The lie that became a federal case
On October 1, 2011, a man named Michael Todd Never Misses A Shot called an FBI agent with a story: on April 8, 2010, two individuals had come to his house and confessed to assaulting and killing A.J. Lufkins — beating him, burning the body, disposing of the remains in the Missouri River. Specific details. A complete narrative.
None of it was true. Never Misses A Shot later admitted he’d invented the whole thing to divert the FBI’s attention from someone else agents had recently interviewed in connection with the disappearance. He pleaded guilty to making false statements to federal agents and was sentenced to 36 months in prison — the appeal reaching the Eighth Circuit in 2013.
The episode did two things: it showed how desperately the family and investigators wanted a break, and it poisoned the well. Every tip since has had to be weighed against the knowledge that at least one person already manufactured a body for this case.
The investigation
The case was eventually turned over to the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. His mother has said DCI conducted one search in the span of ten years. DCI says the case remains an active investigation and that all leads are being pursued.
Foul play is suspected. Beyond that, the public record is thin: a fight, a beating, a young man who never called his mother again. No body, no crime scene beyond the bar, no witnesses who’ve put the rest of the night together in sixteen years.
Theories: what might have happened
Beaten and killed the night of the fight. His family’s account — that A.J. was badly beaten and removed from the bar by the men he’d fought — is the core of the case. A beating that went too far, a body disposed of in the night. What undercuts a charge: no body, no forensic evidence publicly tied to anyone, no witness who’s talked in sixteen years.
The Missouri River story. The one detailed disposal narrative ever offered turned out to be a federally prosecuted lie. It can’t be credited — but its specifics (beating, burning, river) reflect what people in Sisseton believed had happened, which is its own grim data point.
He left voluntarily. Nothing supports it. A young man who called his mother three or four times a day, mid-GED, doesn’t vanish without a word for sixteen years.
Have information?
Contact the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation: (605) 773-3331. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- ~1987 — Andrew Jon Lufkins is born.
- April 7, 2010, 9 p.m.–midnight — Last seen leaving the American Legion Post 50 bar in Sisseton after a fight with several men.
- April 8, 2010 — Fails to show up for his GED class; family realizes something is wrong.
- 2010–2011 — Case turned over to the SD Division of Criminal Investigation.
- October 1, 2011 — Michael Todd Never Misses A Shot gives the FBI a fabricated confession story about Lufkins’ murder.
- 2013 — Never Misses A Shot’s false-statement conviction affirmed by the Eighth Circuit; 36-month sentence.
- Today — Still missing. DCI says the investigation remains active.
FAQ
Is Andrew Lufkins still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, A.J. Lufkins has been missing for more than 16 years. The South Dakota DCI says the case remains an active investigation.
Was Andrew Lufkins ever found?
No. Neither A.J. nor his remains have ever been located.
What happened at the bar?
According to his family, A.J. got into a fight with as many as three men at the American Legion bar in Sisseton, was badly beaten, and was taken out of the bar by the other men. No one has ever been charged.
Was the Missouri River confession real?
No. In 2011, Michael Todd Never Misses A Shot told the FBI that two men had confessed to killing Lufkins and disposing of his body in the Missouri River. He later admitted the entire story was fabricated, pleaded guilty to making false statements, and was sentenced to 36 months in prison.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Anyone with information should contact the SD Division of Criminal Investigation at (605) 773-3331.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation — (605) 773-3331; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, No. 12-3267 (USA v. Michael Todd Never Misses A Shot, 2013).
- News: KELO (via disappearedblog.com case summary, statements from Sheila Lufkins).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.