known location of 19-year-old Brandon Swanson. He was cold and wet and actually walking in the opposite direction of his home and where his parents were looking for him. To know you were running away to start a secret new life and to keep your dad on the phone for an hour while you fake your incident seems. Brandons disappearance has classified him as an endangered missing person. Though they hear it through the phone, they hear nothing locally. Tim Pawlenty signed the bill into law. Searchers work an area just west of Taunton along Highway 68 and to the north, June 21-22, 2008. Brandon did not call to report being stuck in a ditch until nearly 2am. It is not plausible that he drowned, because they would have found his body somewhere downstream. Missing Tennessee college student Jasmine Pace was found dead. Marshall was a relatively quiet area, a population of around 13-14,000 but it was an area focused primarily on agriculture. 1.7M Likes, 16.2K Comments. His dad makes multiple attempts to call for his son, but receives no answer. After wrapping up his last day and bringing his first year of college to a close, he decided to spend the night celebrating with his friends. http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/49466647.html, http://www.kare11.com/news/ts_article.aspx?storyid=511468, [http://infoweb.newsbank.com%3c/span%3e%3c/a]http://infoweb.newsbank.com, http://www.immelman.us/news/missing-person-joshua-guimond, [http://thesearchforbrandon.blogspot.com%3c/span%3e%3c/a]http://thesearchforbrandon.blogspot.com, http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-18/justice/grace.coldcase.swanson_1_searched-phone-father?_s=PM:CRIME, (Jim Poole, Cobleskill Times-Journal, Feb. 21, 2012), Why Joshua Guimonds Disappearance Should Be Investigated As a Suspicious Missing Person Case. Shortly after midnight on May 14, 2008, Brandon Swanson (born January 30, 1989) [1] of Marshall, Minnesota, United States, drove his car into a ditch on his way home from celebrating the end of the spring semester with fellow students from Minnesota West Community and Technical College 's Canby campus. Its searching. Brandon was nowhere near Lynd like he thought. Sheriff running out of answers in disappearance of Marshall teen. Naturally curly Brown hair, blue eyes. Authorities immediately assumed that Brandon had fallen into the Yellow Medicine River. Brian said he stayed on the phone with his son while he was walking. They carry on a long conversation, Brandon telling him that he can hear running water nearby and is passing some fences as he walks. Interestingly, they also picked up Swansons scent on a piece of farm equipment nearby, but the farmer to whom it belonged denied the request of the authorities to search his property. Even the idea of vehicular homicide has been brought up and that someone could have accidentally hit Brandon and hid the body in their car, but with no concrete evidence whatsoever, these theories are hard to prove. Brandon s parents, Brian and . "They know their property, and they search it and look around as well," he said. A Minnesota Tragedy. Another odd detail: although the call continued on for a bit after Swanson had abruptly stopped speaking, they heard nothing at all, which might shed light on what had alarmed their son. College student focusing on Kolodziej murder (Jim Poole, Cobleskill Times-Journal, Feb. 21, 2012) A Minnesota college student planning a career in forensic psychology found the perfect case to study right here in Schoharie County. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); https://medium.com/the-shadow/vanished-in-the-dark-where-is-brandon-swanson-d5d99bfde9a7 , https://charleyproject.org/case/brandon-victor-swanson, https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/5185dmmn.html, https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/2471?nav, https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/brandon-victor-swanson, Murdered in Kansas: The Case of AlonzoBrooks, Murdered in Kansas: The Case of Alonzo Brooks, Missing in Minnesota: The Case of Brandon Swanson, Murdered in DC: The Case of the Freeway Phantom, Unsolved in California: The Case of the Keddie Cabin Murders. Brunswick, M. (2009, June 29). He attended what Ive described elsewhere as a party, but if you dig a little deeper you find that it was actually what Id call more of a get-together. I hear a maximum of maybe 6 people including Brandon, so nothing crazy. It took him 30-40 minutes tops, and was a trek he made every single day for classes. Trace Evidence - 065 - The Disappearance of Brandon Swanson 119,756 views Nov 21, 2018 Nineteen year old Brandon Swanson had just completed his first year of college. And at one point, we know for a fact, he ended up traveling on a field road between two fields.". Its all based on science. . He says Brandon got stuck and called his parents. He was last seen in Marshall, MN, on May 14, 2008. He remains missing. In May of 2008 Brandon Swanson went missing after driving his car off the road into a ditch. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. On the night of 14 May 2008, after celebrating the last day of college classes with a friend, he was driving home along a gravel road, and somehow crashed his car into a ditch. While on his way, he accidentally drove his car off of the road and got it stuck in a ditch. Shortly thereafter, his car was located in a ditch near Taunton. His parents attest to this as well based on the phone calls they had with him. He was really outside of Porter, which is northwest of Marshall, more than 20 miles away. There are resources available to provide assistance to families with missing loved ones. They chatted as he walked and Brandon referenced fences in his way, and the sound of running water as he continued walking toward the lights of Lynd. They call him back and tell him to keep an eye out for them. (2004, November 9). Still, efforts to uncover any new evidence or clues carry on and Brandon Swansons family continues to wait for answers, while those involved in search efforts continue to wait for access. Brandon Swanson of Marshall MN, has been missing since Wed. May 14th, 2008. They called out to him and heard nothing. At first, the authorities were reluctant to search because Brandon was legally an adult and they pointed out to that it was not unusual for a 19-year-old to stay out all night. The temperature at the time of his disappearance was 46 F, or 8 degrees Celsius, and dropped to 39 F, or 4 degrees Celsius. Forty-seven minutes into the call, Swanson suddenly exclaimed: Oh, shit! Then there was silence. They got a hold of Brandons cellphone records, which revealed something intriguing. Jason Chen, her boyfriend and accused killer, is currently being held without bond. Still on the phone with their son they say ok, were going to flash out lights, can you see us? What is it and how did it come to be? All possibilities should be investigated in Guimond case. (Photo: AP). Within the last year, the Sheriffs Office and BCA have received additional tips, although he points out that not all tips are new for investigators. It has also been nearly three years since Brandon went missing and for a fraud of this nature to last that long without detection is unlikely. Brian then drove Annette back home to Marshall so she could go to bed and then drove back towards Lynd to pick up his son. Brandon described his location as being on a rural road outside Lynd about 10 miles from his parents home. Theres also a lot of debate in the research I found online about what that particular type of hang up and how the calls that came after it were received could mean about the phone. According to Anette, one officer said directly As an adult Brandon has a right to be missing if he wants to be It took hours of Anettes begging, explaining about the disconnected call, before the police finally agreed to open the report. I mean, you could place a call and it would ring before turning over to voicemail, Lyon County Sheriff Eric Wallen said. It is not plausible that he drowned, because they would have found his body somewhere downstream. After two years and innumerable searches of the river it is highly implausible Brandon drowned in the river, because his body likely would have surfaced by now. The search dogs also picked up the scent of human remains a few times near Mud Creek, north of Porter. What did that mean? We dont dispute the reason why. Also, his phone was still taking calls. A strange phenomenon keeps occurring where young men go missing from their cars and then seem to vanish into thin air. Last updated February 13, 2023. KSTP was there in May of 2008 as several agencies looked for Brandon. Not only was Brandon in contact with his brother, Kyle, moments before he disappeared, but they were also in the same area, possibly yards apart. Being a native of Marshall, he graduated from Marshall High School in 2007. So we are really confident that hes somewhere in this watershed. He wanted to blow off steam and eagerly went to a party in Canby on May 14, 2008. . Up ahead on the road in the distance, Brandon could see the glow of the lights from the city of Lynd, and he decided hed just walk that way. The most popular theory among authorities is that Brandon fell into the river. Brandon Swanson. Since then, KSTP has been working with families to raise awareness about other young people who are missing. There was no way to miss each other so what was going on. While sympathetic to the concerns of cattle farmers, Anderson acknowledges it still leaves holes in a search that has received the dedication of many. You can find out more about the organization here. At the time Swanson went missing, it was flowing high and fast. "We believe that he got disoriented, said Hasse. Hasse points to a map showing where Brandons car was found. When Brian and Annette arrived at the location described by Brandon, neither Brandon nor his car was there. After a long night of searching, at around 6:30 a.m., the Swansons call the Lynd Police Department to report Brandon missing. MARSHALL Ten years have gone by and Brandon Swanson is still missing. Brandon Swanson was 19 years old when he went missing in the state of Minnesota. Online at [http://thesearchforbrandon.blogspot.com%3c/span%3e%3c/a]http://thesearchforbrandon.blogspot.com. Swanson, 19, disappeared in May of 2008 after running his car off the road in rural western Minnesota. Yet those tips havent led to the break in the case investigators have been hoping for. David Francis, left, and Brandons father Brian Swanson at right with glasses. His body would have been discovered in the wide, open fields. Because it was assumed Brandon had fallen into the river, the search focused around the Yellow Medicine River and the surrounding area. Follow Books from this author Missing in Pennsylvania: Unsolved Cases from the Keystone. Brian stayed on the phone with his son while he made his journey, and he was a little frustrated that Brandon kept walking through fields and other areas rather than sticking to the main road. As his parents were on their way to help, the cell phone connection went dead at 3:10 a.m. He ended up in Porter, which is only 10 minutes away from Canby. Brandons parents encourage him to honk his horn. Both of his parents state Brandon sounded clear-headed and coherent when they were on the phone with him, and he had no history of mental illness or mental disorder. Lynd, where Brandon thought he was, is southwest of Marshall. He attended a small gathering at a house, where it is said that there was alcohol, however, Brandon did not appear to be drunk. Brian drove Anita home, and promised to meet Brandon in the parking lot of a bar at the edge of town. It got down to 39 degrees.". Brandon started walking. Brandon thought he was near Lynd but he was north of Taunton. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. February 17, 2022. Swanson's case remains unsolved. If they went through, does that mean the phone was manually turned off rather than physically destroyed by an accident? Family and friends indicated that Brandon had always been a high-functioning and emotionally stable individual and for his whereabouts not to be discovered for nearly three years makes the mental breakdown explanation highly unlikely. The vehicle simply looked like it was stuck in the ditch, or partially in the ditch, He said. Seven-year-old Kyron Horman went missing from his elementary school on June 4, 2010, and hasn't been seen since. Brandon excelled in school. It wasnt oh shit, trip bang crash, gurgle disconnect There were no other noises like you might associate with someone falling into a river, tripping in a bear trap, whatever it couldve been. But the thing that really eliminates this for me is the phone call with his dad. Although foul play has never been ruled out in this case, it was just under 40 degrees that night, so it's possible Brandon succumbed to the elements, especially if he had already fallen into the rivera very real possibility as well. Once the search finally did begin, it was an extensive one, covering both the land and the Yellow Medicine River, the latter of which some speculated that Swanson might have fallen into and drowned. (2010, January 18). Right on the border between Lincoln, Yellow Medicine and Lyon counties, said Hasse. However, once they arrive to Brandons location, he is nowhere to be found. Rural roads of Minnesota remain last known location of 19-year-old Brandon Swanson. It's a complication they're still trying to solve today. It's believed he died of exposure. On April 15, 2005, Centre County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Ray Gricar went out for a drive and was never seen again. Brandon Victor Swanson was born on Jan. 30, 1989, and by 19, he was a 5-foot, 6-inch student at Minnesota West Community and Technical College. Brian attempted to call his son back several times but Brandon never answered again (Divine, 2010; Weed, 2010). Despite circumstantial evidence pointing to his stepmother, the case remains unsolved. They use GPS technology to track the dogs and handlers, which provides great detail of where theyve searched. Required fields are marked *. The river varied in depth, going from just knee-high to 15 feet deep, and at the time Brandon went missing, the river was racing fast. It was a straight shot down Highway 68, so what was different that night? During the early morning hours of May 14, 2008, 19-year-old Brandon Swanson disappeared under mysterious circumstances from a rural area northeast of Marshall in southwestern Minnesota. Retrieved Nov. 18, 2010, from [http://infoweb.newsbank.com%3c/span%3e%3c/a]http://infoweb.newsbank.com. The vehicle they were driving was found in "The Desert," shown here on this map. Facebook gives people the power. Brandons parents ask him what he sees around them and they listen as he describes basically the same thing THEY see. Instead, it is believed he fell into the river, causing him to shout that expletive, but got back out and kept walking. On the law enforcement investigation end of the case, Wallen said tips continue to come in. Cadaver dogs have indicated a scent in the area, which is evidence enough, Hasse stated, for the search to continue (The Search for Brandon blog). His vehicle was located the next day by law enforcement roughly 20 miles from where Brandon Swanson had indicated he had gone into the ditch. The case of Brandon Victor Swanson is one of them. The following analysis by Rebecca Klein, senior psychology major at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., was prepared in fall 2010 as part of a senior research project titled Brandon Swanson: Missing Without a Trace, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the capstone course Psychology Seminar on Personality Assessment in Criminal and Political Psychology by Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D. During the early morning hours of May 14, 2008, 19-year-old Brandon Swanson disappeared under mysterious circumstances from a rural area northeast of Marshall in southwestern Minnesota. to search parties working to find Swanson, missing since . Shortly after midnight on May 14, 2008, Brandon Swanson (born January 30, 1989) of Marshall, Minnesota, United States, drove his car into a ditch on his way ho Brandon told them he was somewhere on the road between Lynd and Marshall. Monday is Brandon Swanson's 28th birthday. The Record. It should also be considered that Brandon was on the phone with his father while attempting to walk towards a location so his father could pick him up hardly the behavior of someone staging his own disappearance (Seifert & Immelman, 2007). The authorities joined the search later that morning after realizing the seriousness of the situation (Chang, 2008; Weed, 2010). Brian began flashing the lights of his pickup truck and instructed Brandon to do the same. Having just wrapped up his second semester in wind energy at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Canby, Brandon Swanson gathered with his friends to celebrate. The river's depth ranges from knee high in certain areas to 15 feet in others. They are extremely careful about anything that could damage the least amount of income to them, and weve worked out some pretty creative access to some areas during the summer, Anderson said. On May 14, 2008, Brandon Swanson left for home at midnight shortly after the celebration had ended. So what happened in the time that is unaccounted for? Question 1: What caused Brandon Swanson to vanish? In a ditch on the side of the road, just as he said. Nothing unusual was found in or around the vehicle; there was no significant trace evidence, no signs of blood, and no indication of a struggle. What happened to the Fort Worth Missing Trio? Moving the search to the Taunton area, authorities quickly located Brandons abandoned car. but some landowners have refused to allow access to search parties working to find Swanson, missing since 2008. The professional search manager on the case, Jeff Hasse, who writes the blog titled The Search for Brandon Swanson, updates the blog with information on the search and believes Brandons remains will be found in time. While remaining on the phone with their son, Brian Swanson and Annette Swanson headed out to locate him near Lynd, Minn., where Brandon Swanson believed he was stranded. Brandon Swanson was 19 years old when he went missing in the state of Minnesota. While Brandons Law doesnt necessarily help the Swanson family and the search for their son, it does correct an issue they believed hindered what could have been a search conducted much sooner. On May 14, 2008 Brandon Swanson, age 19, drove towards Marshall, Minnesota. They enlist the help of his friends, who participate in the search. A hastily abandoned vehicle, a 911 call placed by a panic-stricken man, and a disappearance spanning 6.5 years. It was around 2am when he called his parents on his cell phone, telling them that he had driven his Chevy Lumina off the road and into a ditch near the town of Lynd, Minnesota. Doesnt mean its not possible but mathematically speaking thats a big reduction in likelihood. I think he continued walking. Brandons vehicle was located approximately 25 miles from Lynd, the town he erroneously thought he was outside of. Brandons parents encourage him to flash his lights. Did he fall into the river? Annette Swanson smiles when she looks at pictures of her son Brandon. In addition, the examiners likewise looked around there; partners observed Brandon's neglected vehicle in a trench off a rock street along the Lincoln . "The search area is always bigger than you suspect it, Hasse. Parents pain helps change how police treat missing adults. That doesnt mean that the tips arent redundant, or that they come from a different person, but include the same information that weve previously received, he said. Hasse says Brandon hasnt been seen since. However, considering it was just under 40 degrees that night and he would have been freezing and soaking wet, he could have possibly died due to hypothermia. On Wednesday, May 6, 2009, Gov. At around 2:30am, Brandon suddenly yelped oh shit! and the phone disconnected. Suicide is the least plausible scenario because it is highly unusual for suicide victims to take measures that would prevent or delay the discovery of their remains (Seifert & Immelman, 2007). After initially attending a gathering in Lynd, located roughly seven miles southwest from his home, he made his way to his Canby destination, roughly 35 miles northwest of his home. ", "Its a straight shot down Highway 68, said Search Manager Jeff Hasse with Midwest Technical Rescue Training. The concerned parents continued searching for their son, and after being unable to find him at 6:30am, they went to the police to report him missing. 5 talking about this. Pictured above: Map pinpointing the geography of Brandon Swanson's disappearance timeline Picture source: Killer Hangover Podcast Weve had excavators come in and sift through the dirt, looking for something, whether its remains or property, Wallen said. 35 Garrett Cooper Mia. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Giants lefty Sam Long, the second-fastest worker in the majors last season, had already delivered a couple pitches to start the at-bat. Kare 11 News. With no body and very little evidence, it is impossible to know what happened to Brandon, leaving every possibility open for speculation. Though Brandon may have enjoyed himself early on that evening, what happened later that night is a baffling mystery, one where the deeper you dig the less things seem to make sense. Annette describes what its like when you have a loved one who is missing. Someone had to have picked him up or hidden him. The farm fields where Hasse believes Brandon is are on Highway 68 between Canby and Porter, six miles from where his car was found. (Photo: The Search for Brandon Swanson blog). Shortly after stating his intentions, Brandon Swanson expressed with an expletive that he might be in trouble and the line went silent. If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. Annette and Brian Swanson were there when it was signed by the Governor in 2009. Did he fall into a ditch? Another possibility is that this could be a case of vehicular homicide. This is so well-written & I WILL be back Thursday for your next story! We were able to use the cellphone tower technology to have an idea of where his last communications or phone calls came from, so that put us on a cell tower up in that area, Wallen said. He tells his parents that he does not see or hear anything at all. Immelman, A. A Hubbard Broadcasting Company, You can find out more information about the Jacob Wetterling Resources Center here, You can find out more about the organization here.