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| Brandon Swanson - Taunton, MN Missing since 5/14/08 (See poster.) |
Brandon Swanson, 19, was last seen on 5/14/08 in Canby, Minnesota. Swanson had finished his last day of classes at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Canby, where he was enrolled in a wind turbine program. Later that evening, he was visiting friends to celebrate.
On his way back home to Marshall, MN, Swanson was driving alongside a washed out field when he accidentally drove his vehicle into the ditch and became stuck. He made a cell phone call to his parents, Annette and Brian, at 12:30 a.m. for help. The Swansons left their home to meet him.
Source: KROC.com, 2 Feb 2024. https://kroc.com/brandon-swanson-minnesota-missing/
Was drinking involved?
That night, Brandon hit up two parties in celebration of the end of the spring semester. One party was in Canby and the other was in Marshall. There have been mixed reports about Swanson drinking on the night he disappeared, but all seem to agree that he was not impaired. According to the Charley Project, investigators do not believe that Swanson was impaired. Brian Swanson also told the Marshall Independent that his son did not sound intoxicated or incoherent. He added that there was no way that Brandon would have been able to fake his way through a 47 minute phone call with his dad.
Officials have said there is no evidence foul play, nor any indication that Brandon would have staged his own disappearance. According to the Charley Project, some authorities believe that Swanson accidentally fell into the Yellow Medicine River while walking in the dark. Brandon wore glasses and was legally blind in his left eye. The river was also high at the time with a strong current. Still, Brandon's family and many friends and volunteers have no plans to give up searching.
The Search for Brandon
After the Lyon County Sherriff's department officially called off the search, the Swanson family continued to fund and organize volunteer searches on their own. They conducted multiple ground and water searches of the area, and also the nearby Yellow Medicine River.
On March 20, 2009, almost a year after his disappearance, the Marshall Independent reported that Jeff Hasse of Search Rescue and Recovery Resources of Minnesota was the new search organizer for the Swanson family. Hasse told the Independent that a distance of 5.6 miles (100 square miles) is a common distance to cover in 95 percent of searches, and the Swanson search had covered about 60 of those 100 square miles. Previous searches had not yielded any physical or investigative clues, however 134 canine cues (scents) have been found that point toward the northwest, toward Porter. Hasse determined that searches for Swanson the previous summer didn't go far enough in distance.
In March 2010, Hasse wrote on the official search page:
"This has been an exceptionally difficult and frustrating search. While there have been consistent and reliable indications that human remains are present in the area, we have yet to pinpoint the source (Brandon’s remains).
There are several possible explanations for this.
One of the main reasons why this is such a difficult search lies in the fact that the region receives nearly constant winds which can come from any direction. These winds move scent from the source and deposit it into “scent pools” such as wind breaks around farmsteads, tall grass in CRP land, and along ditches and creeks. When the dogs alert on an area of “hot” scent, it is often very difficult to differentiate whether we are near the remains or searching yet another scent pool.
We also may be facing the difficulty of locating remains that have been moved and/or scattered over a wide area. It is possible that predators such as coyotes, raccoons, and the like have scattered the remains. It is also possible that they have been inadvertently scattered or moved by human activity such as farmers tilling their fields or baling hay or cornstalks.
We also have some access issues. We can’t search everywhere we would like to search. We are very careful to protect landowner’s property and have generally avoided searching fields with crops in them even though there is a fair chance that Brandon ended up in a field. This leaves spring and fall available to us to search the many fields in the area. With the wet weather we had last fall and our early start this spring, we ended up searching very wet fields. This is miserable work. To effectively search a single 160-acre field, the team must walk in excess of ten miles in difficult footing.
In addition, we haven’t been able to search many pastures because of the cows. Even though the dogs are well trained to be around other animals, we avoid working around cows, especially during calving season. This leaves gaps in our search coverage and makes it difficult to eliminate an area from further consideration.
It is also possible that Brandon attempted to seek shelter from the wind near the end of his journey and crawled into an outbuilding or under old machinery and perished there. Because we are trying to avoid disrupting landowner’s lives as little as possible, we have only searched a few farmsteads."
These are only a few of the issues that make this a very difficult search."
- Jeffe Hasse, Search Manager, SRRMN (March 2010).
Because of the length of time that Brandon had been missing, the search efforts began to focus on finding Brandon's remains.
In March 2010, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) became the lead investigating agency on the case. The BCA has received 75 tips from March 2010 - May 2013. The last official search was conducted in October 2011.
On the five-year anniversary of Brandon's disappearance, Twin Cities.com discussed the scale of the search for Brandon. "More than 500 volunteers, including 34 dog handlers from nine different states, spent more than 120 days searching for Brandon and covered part of 120 square miles, said Jeff Hasse, the search manager."
'It's by far the biggest search I've ever been involved in terms of length of time, number of missions and number of searchers involved," he said.
He added, "I think time favors the search," Hasse said. "I think eventually something will be found. I am hopeful."
Jeff Hasse is the founder of Midwest Technical Rescue Training Associates, a nonprofit organization that teaches technical rescue skills to public-safety providers.
About Brandon Swanson
According to the Website profile for Project Jason's 18-Wheels Campaign:
"Brandon Victor Swanson was born January 30, 1989 to Brian and Annette Swanson in Spencer, Iowa. Brandon is the older of two children. His younger sister, Jamine, is just 17 months younger; and although they fought – as siblings do – Brandon was very protective of his sister and they were just beginning to develop a wonderful adult bond between them.
Brandon lived at home with his parents and sister in Marshall, Minnesota. He had worked at the local Hy-Vee Food Store in Marshall for four years – the last two in the bakery.
Brandon graduated from Marshall Senior High School in May, 2007. In August, 2007 he began attending classes at Minnesota West Technical and Community College in Canby, MN in the Wind Energy Program. Brandon is an avid believer in natural renewable resources, feeling that we should harness their power and be respectful of our land and resources rather than taking them for granted. Although he loved climbing the wind towers, something more was calling to him and he made plans to attend Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa in August, 2008. Brandon was enrolled at IWCC with intent to take general courses that would lead him to a four year university to major in a science program.
Brandon enjoys a good debate. A friend of his said there was no point in arguing with Brandon because he always won – he always knew his position, the facts and how to make his case. Brandon enjoys politics, history and music. He often watched CNN, the History and Discovery Channels. He is also an avid reader with a mind like a sponge – everything he took in he retained. We would find him sitting on the couch for hours reading – everything from gnomes and string theory to religion and science fiction. He also enjoys sports – and has a special liking for the MN Twins, whether they are winning or not.
Brandon has a strong sense of family. He purposefully made time to be with his grandparents and parents whether he was helping reside a garage or just going along for the ride. He helped out his family as much as he could – even when he wasn’t sure they deserved help – saying, “they’re family and that’s what you do for family.”
Brandon's Law
On March 12, 2009, Brian and Annette Swanson spoke before the House to help expand the Minnesota's Missing Children's Act so it can help missing and endangered adults. The bill, named Brandon's Law, would eliminate waiting periods when adults disappear under suspicious circumstances, or when young adults up to age 21 are reported missing under most circumstances. On Wednesday, May 6, 2009, Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed the bill into law.
Case Details
Name/age: Brandon Victor Swanson, 19
Last Seen: 05/14/08 in Canby, MN. His car was found near Taunton, MN.
Physical Description: 5’5", 120-130 pounds, brown hair, blue eyes.
Last Seen Wearing: baggy blue jeans, blue striped polo shirt, black hooded zip-front sweatshirt w/emblem on back, white MN Twins baseball cap, glasses, sterling silver chain. Was carrying a black Motorola SLVR cell phone, wallet/identification and keys.
Investigating Agency: Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), Special Agent Woodford, 651-793-7000.
Brandon's story was featured on Nancy Grace: America's Missing on March 8, 2011. You can view the transcript here.
Sources
Divine, Mary. (2013, May 13). Five years after Brandon Swanson's disappearance, the porch light's still on. Pioneer Press. Retrieved May 31, 2013 from http://www.twincities.com/minnesota/ci_23233985/five-years-after-brandon-swansons-disappearance-porch-lights
Nancy Grace show. (2011, March 8). Teen Student Vanishes After Accident. CNN.com. Transcript. Retrieved March 10, 2011 from http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1103/08/ng.01.html
http://www.thesearchforbrandon.blogspot.com/
Published: 05/14/08. Revised: 03/10/11, 3/13/11. Last updated: 05/31/13.
Have the police looked at the car to see if it was tampered with?Perhaaps the steering mechanisms cut part way through?maybe even a trick the zodiac used which was loosening the lug nuts on the cars of the victims.
ReplyDeleteI think it it possible a killer would watch someone before they abducted the.Maybe he is in Canby .They could have been watching him there and took him back to where they were watching him.
ReplyDeleteI would search ALL the fence lines in that area VERY carefully. He could have fallen into a sinkhole, maybe in a grassy area, and not leave more than 2 foot diameter hole. If it was concealed by tall grass, one would have to stand directly over it to see it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with James. And if dad and son were on the phone for 45 mins, did dad get the feeling Brandon was walking the entire time? Can they not work out an area using that?
ReplyDeleteJust a couple of notes from someone close to the search:
ReplyDeleteSee thesearchforbrandon.blogspot.com/ for a description of the ongoing search for Brandon.
There are no sinkholes in the area. Sinkholes form in karst (cave) geology. The only karst geology in Minnesota is in southeastern MN. Marshall is in southwestern MN.
The phone call was was indeed used as part of the search planning. Average person walks 1-3 mph, yielding a 0.75-2.5 mile ring. This was searched extensively with no results.
However, one cannot assume that he did not continue walking after the point his phone went dead. The current search is focused on an area about 6 miles (as the crow flies) from his car.
Many things standout here. One, where the car was found, was it stuck? Could it have been where he initially said and moved?
DeleteWhat lights could he see from the cars location and it where he thought he was?
Was he walking on the road while talking to his dad?
What does the "oh shit" comment mean?
Likely that his phone beeped at him that the battery was low. Need to know if this model phone issued a beep or cut out that his father could hear? If it does and he didn't, what else could "oh shit" mean? Did a car approach with someone he knew? Someone he had an issue with? The father should be hypnotized and regressed back to the phone conversation and be asked for any background sounds that are in his subconscious. What footfall sounds was he hearing, any water sounds, vehicles, anything? Sad case.
I especially like that he was interested in things like politics and string theory! Not enough kids with interests like that these days.
Many things standout here. One, where the car was found, was it stuck? Could it have been where he initially said and moved?
DeleteWhat lights could he see from the cars location and it where he thought he was?
Was he walking on the road while talking to his dad?
What does the "oh shit" comment mean?
Likely that his phone beeped at him that the battery was low. Need to know if this model phone issued a beep or cut out that his father could hear? If it does and he didn't, what else could "oh shit" mean? Did a car approach with someone he knew? Someone he had an issue with? The father should be hypnotized and regressed back to the phone conversation and be asked for any background sounds that are in his subconscious. What footfall sounds was he hearing, any water sounds, vehicles, anything? Sad case.
I especially like that he was interested in things like politics and string theory! Not enough kids with interests like that these days.
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments and for clarifying the questions about the terrain. I applaud your efforts to help in the search for Brandon. Please know that you and the Swanson family have my support. Is there anything you need? I would be happy to post announcements or updates on my site or help in whatever way I can. Please e-mail me at footprints.blogmail@yahoo.com for more information. Thanks!
Lisa, Footprints at the River's Edge
thanks for the notes jeff. When I first read this story, I was thinking his expletive may have come from some car swerving at him, thinking he was still walking on a road. Has any thought been given to a hit/run with someone picking him up? My heart goes out to his family. Such a sad situation.
ReplyDeleteCertainly. We have no direct information regarding what happened after the phone went dead.
ReplyDeleteIn looking where to search, we look both at what is possible and then determine what is most probable through a process called Scenario Analysis. This helps us determine search priorities.
What we have currently is 573 areas where Human Remains Detection canines have displayed behavior consistent with interest in human remains. This is overwhelming evidence that a body is in the area. It has just taken a lot of time to narrow that area down. It is well-documented that an HRD dog can alert on a body 6-8 miles away from the source.
Our job is to find the body. It is the job of the Investigating Officers, Medical Examiner, and/or Forensic Anthropologist's to determine what happened.
I first learned of brandon swanson last night on nancy grace. I am curious what the answer is to the question that one person asked and it was not answered on air. the question was " was the car drivable out of the ditch when the police found it or was it stuck?" that would say a lot as to if the car had been moved to that location. Have the police considered that it was moved and if so maybe Brandon wasnt confused as to where he was and maybe they need to search in a different area.
ReplyDeleteI also question if he really would have drowned or not in the river. If he slipped and went unconcious i could think maybe but he was a 19 year old boy im sure he could swim and would have gotten himself up to the bank. it just seems a little odd to me
I wonder if the car was drivable out of the ditch when the police found it or if it was stuck. if it was drivable maybe it had been moved and Brandon would not have been confused at where he was but we are searching in the wrong area. I hear a lot that people think he fell in the river and drowned. the only way i think that would be a possibility is that if he was unconcous. he was a 19 year old boy and if he fell in the river im sure he could swim and climb back out. it just seems a little strange to me
ReplyDeleteHere is the transcript of the episode on Brandon Swanson that aired on Nancy Grace: America's Missing: http://tinyurl.com/4j2ltt4
ReplyDelete@ Maelyn Discua,
ReplyDeleteAll great points for discussion!
I haven’t seen that question answered anywhere either. I think the police said they did not believe a second vehicle involved. Because of how remote this location was, if the car had been moved, it would almost indicate that another vehicle would have to be involved. I wish the question about the car being stuck had been answered directly on the show.
I see your point about not being able to swim onto the bank. I think one of the main concerns is the strong current that time of year and the possibility of hypothermia. In May, the weather in MN can still get quite cold. The temperature on the night Brandon disappeared was about 45 degrees. This would be cold enough to develop signs of hypothermia, particularly with prolonged exposure outside, or if you got wet. And a week or two after his disappearance, the water temperature of the river was taken, and it was still only 55 degrees. After falling into cold water, you might begin to lose the function of your arms and legs, so it might be possible that he would not have been able to pull himself up onto the bank.
Here's a good article on the subject: http://tinyurl.com/5tjqefw.I'd love to hear what you think!
It has been reported elsewhere that his car was not damaged. It was merely stuck.
ReplyDeleteWhile one can come up with nearly limitless scenarios as to how the car ended up in that location, Occam's Razor suggests that the simplest is true. Brandon himself drove the vehicle into the ditch and walked away from it. How do we know? He told his parents that was what he was doing.
While it is possible to drown in only a few inches of water, I agree that--even if he did enter the river (it is really a creek in the area in question)--he certainly could have gotten out alive. Hypothermia in these circumstances was a very real possibility.
@ Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think it is most logical that he drove himself there and got out to walk, just as he told his parents. There would be no reason for him to call his parents if he wasn't stuck in the ditch, and there would be no reason for him to give them a false location.
There is both a river and a creek in the area. Both were quite high and moving fast at the time, I believe. And I think if he had drowned, he maybe would have been found by now. Hypothermia seems possible to me.
The biggest mystery is where to find him. I hope the family gets some new leads.
Another similar case occured this past week.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lohud.com/article/20110310/NEWS02/103100422/Autopsy-Alexander-Grant-suffered-hypothermia-drowned
If I ran a criminal organization of serial killers, this seems like the exact type of kid I would recruit...just saym
ReplyDeleteMy son went missing in April 2009 but sent phone messages telling us he was giving in to suicide. If the phone company had worked with us to locate him, we'd at least have had a chance to intervene. We have talked with the Swanson's and appreciate the passing of Brandon's Law. I am convinced our son's are together now and doing all they can to help us understand these tragedies. The Law needs to be passed in all 50 States! Anymore word on locating Brandon?
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your son. I agree wholeheartedly that Brandon's Law needs to be passed in every state! As of yet, Brandon has not been found. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which has excellent investigators and forensic labs, is working on the case. I'll post if I hear any news.
ReplyDeleteI think that sadly he fell in the river. I am surprised they haven't found a body yet though. I know that alcohol can make you very disoriented where you can get lost. You think you are some place that you are not! Also what no one mentions except for on Nancy Grace was that a pipe was found in his car along with his eyeglasses. I could be mistaken about the pipe but if he was smoking pot that could double-compound his problem of being stuck somewhere I believe.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else hear about the pipe found in his car? They didn't talk about it on Nancy Grace, it was just mentioned on the screen. Weird. I know his dad said he didn't sound intoxicated but I wonder if it is possible for intoxicated people to play sober??
What would be a great idea is for his family to get Brandon on the ID channel's documentry, "Disappeared", it would make a great episode and help get it out in the open.
It is a very intriguing, bizarre and sad situation. I am sorry the family is having to go through that, he seems like a nice guy.
I came across this as I was searching for more info on another missing person case. Brandon Lawson case is as similar as there names in some regards.
ReplyDeleteDid Brandon say anything about his phone battery being almost dead to his dad? Sorry if this is something that was already asked as I am just getting to know the case.
Being from WI I can attest to there being bobcats in the area... As well as wolves ..
Please Google Brandon Lawson too... Strange..
PLEASE READ DAVID PAULIDES 4 'MISSING 411' BOOKS. CIRCUMSTANCES OF BRANDON'S DISAPPEARANCE ARE SIMILAR TO OTHERS DOCUMENTED BY METICULOUS, THOROUGH RESEARCH IN THESE BOOKS.
ReplyDeleteI think that that Brandon's parents deserve to know where he is. I did not know him personally but have heard theories from rumors to actual accounts. I am surprised at the lack of law enforcement in the case of the disappearance of a young adult. I have read the accounts of search and rescue and in this case and think that all of the search efforts have not been exhausted. In the wake of the hunt with John Walsh taking a new look at the Jacob Wetterling case don't you think that we as a community should look at Brandon's case with a fresh set of eyes? I can only hope for both Jacob's parents and Brandon's parents that they get the answers they are looking for and deserve.
ReplyDeleteThank you Wetterling's for instituting the Amber Alert in MN.
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET THESE TWO CHILDREN!
If they haven't already they should try to go to the location Brandon's car was found and wait till the time he called his parents which would probably be around 1:54 A.M and head toward the town lights that were described and just follow the path and if there are different town lights in different directions split up his parents deserve to know what happened that night they shouldn't give up
ReplyDeleteHere's the thing, after many years of trying to find Brandon, it would seem to me that by now something would have popped up. Is this (dare I say) a case of other worldly powers working here? I visited the link that someone provided on this discussion page https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh1yKqsnulY . I think that there are too any cases like this which cannot be explained and we need to start thinking outside the box here. Conventional methods, theories and search efforts have all been exhausted. I mean, come on...its been 7 years and the more time passes I would think the less likely it is to find this poor guy. When they couldn't find him within the first several weeks it would be all but hopeless. If you do enough research on the very subject of missing persons (unsolved/NO leads) types of cases, you will CERTAINLY and most assuredly be left scratching your head and saying to yourself, "somebody knows something", or "something big is happening that is above our understanding".
ReplyDeleteDo not quickly discount people as "crack pots" or "conspiracy nuts" until you have done the research and at least read and listen to the VERY credible sources and the very REAL facts that quite simply are UNDENIABLE.
I'm so sorry for Brandon. He was my age when he went missing, and even though my relationship with my parents isn't the best, I know they'd be very distraught if I vanished so I can't imagine what Brandon's family have had to go through all these years. My heart goes out to them.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'd like to say that I find him faking his own disappearance a huge impossibility. It just is NOT possible. He wouldn't have left his belongings in his car that was stuck in a ditch and wandered off on foot on purpose with only his clothes on his back, not in that weather...not under any circumstance. And he wanted his parents to find him. Heck, he didn't even know where he was.
As many means of searching for Brandon have been exhausted without a trace of him, it's natural to assume the worst. But I just don't get how it may have happened, and they are yet to find his remains (if, dare I say, he isn't around anymore) or proof of anyone else being there (you cannot say for certain that someone else wasn't there hiding in the shadows...as creepy as that sounds). It's evident he seemed quite disorientated on the phone as he gave wrong information on his whereabouts and didn't know where he was, and I won't assume it was drugs, maybe it was just him feeling very tired...it was very late after all. 1am-2am was it? His state of mind was most likely normal, but he was probably very tired.
Him falling in the river doesn't seem like a likely explanation. He had enough time to say the expletive before hanging up (or his battery died...does anyone know?)...To me this suggests something went downhill from there. He hung up or dropped his phone before it ended the call (but I'm sure his dad would've heard it drop...no? Unless it ended before it hit the ground). How long after he said the expletive did he hang up, roughly how many seconds? And those lights he saw...they could have been anything, town lights, car lights, flashlights, what kind of lights? UFO lights or lights from another strange source like that (that sounds so impossible...but his disappearance is making it sound more possible). Whatever those lights might have been, they may not have been good...at all. Dare I say, he could have been taken, killed and disposed of far from where he was. Or abducted and kept hostage for all those years far away from where he was taken. Anything is a possibility.
Else it was hypothermia, him being dragged away by an animal of some kind, or Brandon crawling into something that could've crushed him, like others have suggested. But don't you think his remains would have been found by now if that were the case?
I really hope he is found. Regardless of how he is found, at least people will get closure. It's heart-wrenching to know he, and others, haven't been found since their disappearance.
The fact that he shouted an expletitive before the phone hung up indicates to me that he was hit by a car and is probably on the side of the road somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThat very well could be. That was my first impression.
DeleteIt's possible, but wouldn't there be ANY blood from such a accident? The area was searched multiple times you'd think there would be evidence associated with a Hit and run. Anything is possible though.
DeleteThis is one of those cases that really got my attention and baffles me as to why there are still no answers to what happened to this young man. I'm sorry to say it but it sounds like he's in the river. But I'm not sure. I would like to play detective and ask a couple questions:
ReplyDelete(1) on the night of Brandon's disappearance, what was the weather like? Was there fog? Pea soup fog can easily make you lose your bearings. They say he was in a totally different place from where he thought he was.
(2) how much did he have to drink? I know his dad said he sounded coherent, but could it be possible for him to hide the fact that he was intoxicated (not saying that he was, just IF)? I am not a regular drinker but I have had a situation where I was a bit intoxicated around my mom and was able to appear normal. Also I am wondering if the alcohol clouded his mind. I also had an experience where I went out and had a few drinks and waited awhile and finally headed home. I only lived 5 blocks away and went slow and got a little disoriented with where I was. Thought I was on my street but it came to a dead end and I realized I was 2 streets off! It scared me! Oh and there was also a little fog that night. Made it home but I realize I am lucky I did.
We hear stories all the time about people making serious, sometimes fatal mistakes after drinking.
Anyways I pray for the poor family and this young man. He seemed like a wonderful person. I pray we find some answers!
My theory: A young boy is walking alone in a dark road at 2am, looking for the light of his father's car. At the same time, a man is driving back home, sleepy and drunk. He might work near by, and may know very well the area. He doesn't expect anybody walking there, so he drives in fast speed. Nobody expects the crash until when it happens and this guy may not be very honest guy. It could have been a hit and run case for the police, but this guy was drunk, people saw him drinking in the local bar and his car was damaged. For him, it would be better just taking the dead body in his car trunk and dumping it in a hole a few miles far from there. Until the body was found, his car would be fixed and the chance of been identified would be minimal. Maybe he could move out. However, what is the chance of the dead body's never been found in that field?
ReplyDeleteI pray this boy is found. Is it possible he was abducted?
ReplyDeleteI remember this case.. It bothered me for months. So eerie, so sad.. My heart goes out to Brandon's family. I could not imagine this happening.
ReplyDeleteSurely if he had been close to a river with a current he would have heard it? Even if he was too drunk to notice wouldn't his father hear it being picked up over the phone?
ReplyDeleteto me its been obvious to anyone who is around his age around here thinks he has been murdered for past drug debts to be honest i believe he was really in the lynd area when this all happened and someone moved his car it would be easily done if your from around here there is no way you could mistake the 2 areas he was in canby prior to this happening which is 8 min from where they found the car and he said he was in lynd which would take about 30-40 min he would know the difference and him saying o shit was a sign to me someone was after him and he tried to hide this was a murder case and everyone knows it hands down
ReplyDeleteThe only clues you have are all tied up in the phone calls directly before he disappeared. I'm telling you...the phone call between him and his dad. Couple of my thoughts/questions... What were he and dad talking about over 47 minutes? If dad were searching for him it would seem they should have been talking about directions, landmarks, what he saw around him...what road he turned on to. He told dad he was gonna walk , they stay on phone together, I get that...kind of a safety thing, they must carry on random conversation? He's lost, dads looking...what would you be talking about? None of us heard his last statement...a lot could be understood/taken by the way he said "oh shit". (Like a surprised oh shit, or i stepped on something oh shit for example) youd need to hear it. Did dad hear "oh shit" and then phone hit the ground? Did he hear commotion? Literally just "oh shit"...click? These are important questions IMO.
ReplyDeleteThe fact he was so confused about his location is a huge red flag, His car was found less than 2 miles off of 68 on lyon lincoln county road stuck in a ditch just like he had said, he obviously made it to the main road and started walking towards either Taunton or Porter, the only way he could of possibly become lost wandering around in fields and running into fences is if he walked north on Lyon Lincoln only thing is he would be walking away from the lights he said he was seeing and would of passed several properties with letterboxes outside which he surely would have mentioned to his father.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the whole story is being told but something is very wrong here
Why isn't anybody running trace on the pipe they found in the car? Nancy Grace purportedly said there was a pipe in the car. The type of pipe, substance/residue inside, and the DNA on the mouthpiece would answer tons of questions. People are automatically assuming alcohol and pot. I can speak from experience with both. Alcohol and pot, unless COMBINED in VERY LARGE DOSES, does not cause somebody to get so jacked to the point of forgetting where they are, especially for a local who had driven the route hundreds of times. If that was the case, he would've sounded very intoxicated. Meth on the other hand, can and does cause hallucinations, as well as salvia and LSD, without "sounding" intoxicated. My personal best guess.. 19 year old college grad, thug life appearance, rural MN where meth is RAMPANT, small town party.. Do the math. He most likely got tweaked out, hallucinated, called his dad in a panic, ditched the car, forgot where he was, and either OD'ed or died of hypothermia following "lights" which could've been anything. Lights from a farm, lights from Porter or Taunton, lights from a car, lights in his own head, etc. drops in a farm field in his out of mind-state, gets eaten by coyotes. If that's the case he won't be found, except for maybe a bone piece somewhere. Long shot, but it IS possible! No parent will ever "believe" their child could "ever" do something like this, but sadly, when it comes to teens, the way they act around their parents is usually not the way they act around their friends. No parent wants to assume their child would do this sort of thing, but they do. What boggles me is the fact law enforcement doesn't seem to give a rats ass about the obvious things like, context and nature of speech during the conversation, the conversation itself, or the pipe... Something stinks here and it's more than just a missing body. This whole rat race sounds like Jacob Wetterling. Nobody ever considers the fact there are masonic lodge cults all over Minnesota?? Look outside the box that society/government/media wants you to keep looking in. Minnesota is VERY CORRUPT. Also the parents have been reported to say they need to take "breaks" and "pause" the search once in a while to reduce stress?? What kind of godforsaken parent says that shit! If it was my kid I wouldn't sleep! or eat! or stop until I got some closure! It sounds as if they're just sort of "oh well, moving on now" kind of thing! Red flags everywhere!
ReplyDeleteI've read a lot about this case and I know that he called and told his parents he drove into a ditch, he was trying to turn around in the middle of the road and drove off the side a bit and got stuck, he could not get the car out as some of the wheels were not touching the road at this point anymore. His friends claim he was not visibly drunk but he had alcohol at two different parties and another shot of whiskey before driving for home.
ReplyDeleteSniffer dogs tracked him from his car which was located on Lyon Lincoln county road about 1 1/2 miles north of rt 68. From Brandon’s vehicle, it traveled ½ mile south then turned west onto 390th St. where it continued for a mile. There, the trail turned north onto Co. Rd. 16. The trail continued north for ½ mile then turned west onto the driveway of an abandoned farm. It continued west for approximately ¼ of a mile and then left the driveway and roughly followed the course of the Yellow Medicine River heading northwest. At one point the bloodhound jumped into the Yellow Medicine River and then exited it. The handler interpreted this behavior as possibly indicating that Brandon might have fallen into the river at that point. However, the trail continued past this point to a drainage, where it continued north towards the gravel road forming the boundary between Lincoln and Yellow Medicine Counties. The dog was unable to trail any further.
A dog can only track scent so far so it doesn't mean Brandon died there. His father said as they talked and Brandon said "oh shit" he heard something that sounded like Brandon's foot slipping. He was walking along the river and probably slipped said "oh shit" and then fell in, his phone probably smashed against rocks or became submerged in the water. He may have gotten back out of the river or perhaps he couldn't and drowned. If he did climb out he could have been injured and died from exposure since he was wet and it was around 45 degrees that night and dropped to 39. He may have even crawled into a tight space to keep warm and perished in that small space.
It is believed he became confused as to where he was because he chose to take back roads he was not fully familiar with in an attempt to avoid getting a DUI on the main roads and became disoriented and thought he was further south near Lynd. He probably mistook rt 68 for rt 23 which is why he walked west thinking he was walking towards Lynd.
His parents have done everything they could to find him and multiple searches have been conducted, his parents even got a law passed called Brandon's law to force law enforcement to start searching for adults faster so other families don't have to suffer. His mother was traumatized by the police initially telling her that Brandon had a right to be missing if he wanted to be at his age and they did not take his disappearance seriously at first. The parents did nothing wrong and have only shown the utmost concern and are suffering, they still leave the porch light on for Brandon.
It took 8 min to travel from the party to where the car was. He left and everyone said he was fine. It was 2 hrs before he called his dad. An important piece of the mystery was what was happening in those two hours.
ReplyDeleteWhat was his mental state? He got angry and hung up on his mother. He was at a very challenging and stressful time in his life. He was most likely having anxiety and emotionally all over the place. Most young men are at this time in life.
I will share what I am seeing.
I can see him having a conflict with someone at the party. Maybe with his parents because of whatever over the phone. Maybe he had an issue with someone at the party- it’s possible some psycho was there and simply picked him out.
His parents are not telling all. There was a conflict of some sort. He was a moving target. Someone was after him and his car was stuck, why turn around- the entire county is a grid. Just take the next turn. He was stressed and panicking.
He was or is a smart guy for sure-so he did not fall into a river. First thing anyone does is find a landmark and stay put. He is smart enough to know that. He could have knocked on a door- he didn’t- He was not going to cross a river with party clothes on unless he had to and he knew the river was there. He would have stayed on the road unless there was a good reason to not be seen.
I believe that he was with someone when he left the party or met up with someone. It went bad and Brandon got stuck and ditched the car- he running and called his folks to pick him up knowing he was being pursued. I believe he probably shared that.
He was taken by someone. He said oh shit because he got surprised by his pursuers. There are people that were spoken to that know more than they shared.
I’m sure that everyone is struggling with what is right and what is wrong. What should be said and what should be left alone. None of this is falls under earthly jurisdiction.
It is about a young man who was instantly removed from his life. If you think you know something that might be helpful in getting him justice and you don’t share that with authorities- no matter how trivial- you are putting your comfort ahead of his life. You are reading this right now- this moment has you uncertain about your past choices.
His circle of life warrants you to share what you know. If you don’t - you are sharing the responsibility of what has happened to him.
Family, Friends- someone knows- you only have one life- you can carry it with you forever or you can unload the weight you are shouldering.
Life seeks balance. Right now there are people in his circle who’s lives are out of balance because they are carrying a heavy load. Who in his circle has had a run of constant misfortune and bad luck since his
disappearance? Go back and talk to them again, they will likely share a little more since life has softened them up.
Who ever you are- the cost of being forgiven is to acknowledge what you have done.
I pray for you to find that strength this moment.
May God’s will be that love and peace comfort the hearts of all .