Found Deceased MI - Brendan Santo 18, visitor, Michigan State University campus, East Lansing, 29 Oct 2021

[annpats]

I just don't understand where this young guy is!!

I'm beyond frustrated now!!

 

[Razz]

Someone has to know where that snap chat photo was taken! The person that received it didn't recognize where it was taken.

 

[regannicole177]

It’s only just over an hour’s drive from MSU to Grand Valley State University (where Brendan is a student).

I’ve always felt he is sadly in the river and it may be his body has got caught up in something or the opposite and was long gone from the near locality by the time river searches commenced.

But, if he had had a fair amount to drink, his decision making could be significantly skewed and he could have chosen to do something that he wouldn’t have sober.

He didn’t have his own car keys, but he had a friend’s. Say he lost them, they dropped out of his pocket or he fell in the river, managed to clamber out, then realised the keys were lost?

He was frantic about this. He could have re-entered the river, wandered around for a bit (finding keys in a river in the dark is futile), lost his footing, and then been swept away. The distance his body would travel from in the river, must be different to the distance if he fell in, a few feet higher from the top of the bank?

Alternatively, he fell in, managed to get out, had lost his phone? But had his friend’s keys. He may or may not have considered sleeping in his friend’s car, then thought it was a bad idea as he’s wet.

What if, by some strange coincidence (we all know they do happen), a person or car stopped, discovered he was from only an hours drive away and offered him a lift? They looked studenty, maybe had a Uni sticker on his car, or said that’s where they were heading, so it seemed safe, it wasn’t very far and besides, as the driver said, it’s too cold to spend a night outside soaking wet, so Brendan got in.

Then, something happened and it seems most likely it was either intentional harm, or accidental, but resulting from something the driver wants to keep secret, hence not coming forward. Perhaps the driver was drunk and crashed, not a right off, but enough for Brendan (perhaps not wearing a seat belt) to be hurt or worse. Or drugs were involved, or there is always the small possibility that the driver was a trafficker or psychopath.

Or, he was dry, but drunk and he decided to walk back. I’ve known people do this.

This is starting to feel fairly similar to Corrie McKeague. I hope the searchers are searching the route between the Universities and I hope the misery Corrie’s family continue to endure is not replicated in Brendan’s case.

While I can't be positive about his intentions, I don't think he was looking to return to Grand Valley that night. With the big game the following morning, it seems much more likely he was planning to stay with friends who live at MSU and tailgate the next day. Its pretty common practice for people from other schools to visit at MSU especially on big weekends like this and stay overnight. I think that he probably was with a group of friends, and at least one who lives in one of the dorms in Brody neighborhood, where he was probably intending to stay. I say this because he had the keys to his friends car which was parked at Emmons hall, one of the dorms in Brody neighborhood, and that's where LE have always said they believed him to be headed. Its worth noting that the dorm he was leaving, Yakeley, is the only all girl dorm on campus, so I believe he either walked a girl back there or met up with a friend who lived there and then was going back to one of the dorms in Brody where his friends were and he intended to stay. Also, MSU campus is a huge campus and it's very easy to get lost, especially at night, especially as a freshman from another school during what was likely his first visit. Additionally, doors to enter the dorms lock at midnight and require a student ID for entry so with his phone being dead he wouldn't be able to call them to let him in, something freshman and visitors are likely to forget. This is not to say someone didn't offer him a ride or help in some way, especially if he was lost or trapped outside, but I don't think he would've been trying to get all the way back to GV.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

WDIV (Channel 4, Detroit) will feature a report about the case at 6:00PM. Brendan's father will have a message about his son's disappearance.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

The WDIV report was primarily focused on the recent post by Brendan's father to Bring Brendan Santo Home Facebook.

...My son Brendan Santo has been missing since October 29, 2021 shortly before midnight in East Lansing, MI. He is 18 years old and is a Grand Valley State University freshman. Brendan was visiting friends at Michigan State University for the big Michigan State University vs. University of Michigan football game that was scheduled for October 30, 2021. After weeks of searching the Red Cedar River that runs through campus there has been no sign of Brendan. Our family has conducted multiple civilian searches of the Michigan State University campus with an estimated overall total of 800+ volunteers. We found no sign of Brendan or his belongings. Civilians and students continue to search the campus on a daily basis and have been posting flyers all over campus and beyond. A task force has been formed which includes Michigan State University Campus Police, East Lansing Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Grand Valley State University Police, Ingham County Sheriff, Michigan Office Department of the Attorney General, Michigan State Police and Oakland County Sheriff...

Brendan would not leave on his own accord. He is a good kid with a kind heart and a zest for life. Brendan is an intelligent athletic young man who has many friends and is close with family. He would go out of his way to help someone in need. We need humans like this in the world. The holidays are coming up and we do not want to spend them without him. We have had so much support from our Facebook page/group members sharing posts and posting flyers everywhere they can think but we need more help. We are BEGGING for more help. There has been news coverage but not the exposure Brendan deserves. That may be because this is just a mystery with no leads, that there is no spicy back story, that our family is not plastered on the news baring our souls or he’s just some boy that went missing. It’s sad that sometimes the public seems to need those reasons to pay attention but none of that really matters. The bare facts are BRENDAN IS MISSING, NEEDS TO BE FOUND AND BROUGHT BACK HOME.

Brendan basically vanished. In the area his phone last “pinged” the campus cameras were not working. It is unfortunate that story seemed to generate more interest than a missing 18 year old. The campus was PACKED with people all weekend with phones taking pictures and videos. Yet not one person has come forward to say they saw him after midnight on Friday October 29th. In this day and age how can a person just vanish?

Our family’s goal since day ONE has been to raise awareness of Brendan’s story with the hopes of getting to that ONE person that may have seen something that can help us FIND Brendan. Every family will deal with this situation differently. Our family has not been in the press/media a lot because we feel the focus will be more about us and not enough about Brendan. Truthfully this story should get the coverage it deserves and awareness raised regardless of what interviews we do, how devastated we feel or what our family feels about the investigation. We are but a small group in the scheme of things and this is why we are BEGGING for help getting Brendan’s story out there for the simple fact that he is MISSING...

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Brendan Santo's father speaks out on social media (audacy.com)

(WWJ) -- It has been almost two months since 18-year-old Brendan Santo went missing and his father spoke out through Facebook on the case and begged for more help in the search for his son.

"Brendan basically vanished," wrote the father, Brad Santo.

The letter states that the family's goal since day one was to raise awareness on Brendan's story with the hopes of having that one person who may have seen something to help them find their son...

 

[Kristin Esq.]

Hoping they find Brendan soon.

 

[minneolo]

@BetteDavisEyes thank you for your dedication to this thread. I hope it helps bring Brandon home to his family soon

 

[Ozoner]

Search continues for 18-year-old who was last seen at Michigan State University: ‘We are doing everything we can'
"Police said it’s not possible to search the entire river with divers due to current, depth, visibility, obstacles and underwater entanglement hazards."
For me, that explains why he hasn't been found. I think that he almost certainly went into the river. It would be best if he could be found so that the family could grieve properly, but some drowning victims are never found.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Volunteer water search planned for tomorrow. Prayers for their safety.

...We will be doing a civilian EXPERIENCED paddler (kayak or canoe) search on Sunday 12/19/2021 from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm. While we appreciate everyone who would like to help it is important that you are experienced in cold weather paddling to assure your safety. We will be handling this search differently due to the type of search. If you are interested in assisting with the search please email us at bringbrendanhome@gmail.com. We will give search details via email. Thank you in advance for everyone who volunteers. Keep the faith!...

Bring Brendan Santo Home - Home | Facebook

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Perhaps the volunteer water search tomorrow will help bring closure to this case. Some might recall this Michigan case where family members found their missing family member using canoes.

Missing woman’s family used canoe to find her body in swamp after draining beaver pond - mlive.com

HONOR, MI - After nearly 10 weeks of searching by several police agencies, K9 teams and volunteers, Adrienne Quintal’s family used a canoe last weekend and drained a pond in a swampy area to find the missing Southfield woman’s body submerged in about 3 feet of water several hundred yards from her family’s Northern Michigan cabin, where she’d vanished after making a strange phone call to a friend.

That swampy section had been an “area of interest” for K9 teams searching earlier this month, but it had been “almost impossible to reach," police said this week.

It was a surprising end - so unexpectedly close to the spot where she’d disappeared - after such a long, involved search process that had generated much attention...

Found Deceased - MI - Adrienne Quintal, 47, called for help, foul play possible, Honor, Benzie Co., 17 Oct 2019 #2 | Page 25 (websleuths.com)

 

[Kristin Esq.]

While it still is heartbreaking, it would be nice to get a little closure before next weekend.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Prayers for the safety of the volunteer water searchers today.

 

[kathryann]

Praying for Brendan and his family today.

 

[Kristin Esq.]

Search for missing student Brendan Santo continues along Red Cedar River

Search crews scoured East Lansing again on Sunday looking for 18-year-old Grand Valley State student Brendan Santo.

Bobby Pratt is one of the many participating in the search.

“Really, what we need is eyes in the water,” Pratt said. “We need people, who are experienced in the water and can be safe in the water.”

Police said Santo disappeared in East Lansing on Oct. 29 before the Michigan State vs. Michigan football game.

Police said his cell phone last pinged near the Red Cedar River.

For weeks, several agencies searched the area, but found nothing. There’s been no sign of Brendan or his belongings.

Kayakers Bryan King and Mike Poss decided to join the search in the water.

“I’ve been mostly on this side of the shore line, trying to let the river kind of let our boats flow, the same way any debris or anything else that maybe in the river,” King said.

The search is all about keeping their eyes open and looking for anything.

“There’s a list of clothing items, cell phone that we may be able to find, personal items and obviously, anything that might be helpful in search and recovery,” Poss said.

Pratt hopes closure can ultimately be attained.

 

[borndem]

I feel silly for even asking this, but ….Is it typical to have 50 “FBI personnel” do a ground search for a missing person? I know it’s not unusual to have hundreds of people involved in these searches but my impression has been the majority aren’t trained professionals but volunteers from the community. And local LE of course. Just wondering if the fact the search is so thorough and so many FBI employees on the ground may signal investigative doubt this was purely an accident.

Hmmm -- have not thought about that lately, but the number of FBI agents along with all other LE personnel, other professionals as well as volunteers, does make me wonder.
I am heartened and proud of all of those dedicated people; and I have also worried that the numbers of searchers of any type would start to dwindle -- and, bless 'em, they're still at it.
It's wonderful, encouraging, and a bit scary.
Still hoping for a "found" announcement every day.

 

[Kimkimba]

Are the Smiley Face Killers Real?

Interesting. I remember these as one was very close to where I live.

 

[tripptc]

He could have walked one of two ways. In the dark and across the bridge by the softball fields. Or, to me, a safer well lit route along Grand River Avenue. This second route would’ve taken a little bit longer and it would not have had him that close to the river. If he was lost, I’d imagine he’d go towards a better lit area. Thank you for posting your video. Any insight helps this young man’s family.

 

[Steve McQueen]

Charity hockey game scheduled to help find Brendan Santo

Head coach Austin Grzenia and team captain Shane Arbour came up with the idea of making this year’s matchup a way to raise awareness for the search for Brendan. The game is being held to raise money for the set up to help with the search. There will be “missing person” flyers with pre-stamped envelopes available for those in attendance to take and share across the country.

Nice show of support from his hometown!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I'm sure that local law enforcement agencies along with volunteers have done thorough searches, but I would like to see professional search teams like Adventures with Purpose or Texas EquuSearch become involved. Both groups have had success finding missing persons and/or solving cold cases. JMO

How do folks go about hiring one of these professional search teams? Does the family contact them or is that something that would be initiated by local officials?