The Crime Crypt

BRANDON SWANSON

On May 14th, 2008, in Marshall, Minnesota, nineteen-year-old Brandon Swanson left his college, following the end of the spring semester. It was just after midnight when he left the Minnesota West Community and Technical College campus. At 2 am, he called his parents on his cellphone and told them he crashed his car into a ditch and couldnt get it out.

He said he was uninjured and was able to get out and stand on the side of the road. He asked his parents if he could get picked up, and he told them he was located near Lynd. He opted not to walk along the highway and instead was walking along a gravel dirt road.

His parents set out; however, they werent able to find him or the vehicle. Brandon remained on the phone with them as they searched. Brandon said he would flash his car lights, and his parents did the same on their vehicle, but neither saw flashing lights.

Eventually, Brandon decides to leave his car and start walking towards town. He told his dad to meet him at the parking lot of a local bar.

His parents were driving to the bar that Brandon marked to go, hoping they would find Brandon walking along the road on the way. Forty-seven minutes into the call, Brandons parents heard him yell, "Oh shit!" And after that, the call was disconnected. His parents called his phone over and over, and it continued to ring until the following day, presumably the battery died. Brandons phone was never found.

His parents continued searching but were unable to find him. In the morning, they called police to report him missing, but police told them to wait to see if he would turn up.

Because Brandon was nineteen, there wasnt any sense of urgency.

They did pull his cellphone records, and the last location ping put him near Porter, twenty-five miles from where Brandon said he was.

Following this, his car was located ditched near Taunton.

From where Brandon said he was, and from where his vehicle was found, it was the opposite direction. It was unclear how he seemed to mix up directions. At the parties he attended, friends said that he had alcoholic beverages, but they felt he hadnt drunk enough to be visibly intoxicated. His parents also stated he didnt sound intoxicated or confused on the phone.

His vehicle had no damage. It was just tipped at an angle that would have required a tow to get him out. The grass and gravel around the car inhibited the polices ability to determine the vehicles direction.

Police and volunteers searched for Brandon by ground, horseback, and air. All-terrain vehicles were used to explore the surrounding area. Sniffer dogs were deployed, but no one found any evidence of Brandon.

He told his parents that he was walking by fences and could hear rushing water nearby. He was walking along the Yellow Medicine River. The prevailing theory is that Brandon slipped and fell into the river. However, extensive searches never revealed a body. Another theory is that Brandon fell into the water, but was able to get out and walk, but then succumbed to hypothermia.

Brandons parents continue to leave their porch light on for him. Hopeful that one day he will come home. In 2009, they spearheaded legislation that was signed into law. Brandons Law requires police to make a report whenever a person, of any age, is reported missing, and an investigation must start immediately.