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

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regannicole177 said:
Hi! Former msu student!

sounds like he started at a dorm and was headed towards another dorm according to police.

MSUs campus is very well defined and separate from the surrounding city of East Lansing, however the area he was in is on the edge of campus near two main roads, Michigan Ave and Grand River. Grand river is where most of our bars, restaurants, and stores are located and Mich Ave has quite a few frats, so both would likely have had quite a few people on them on a Friday night at midnight, especially grand river and especially this weekend. To get to Brody neighborhood he likely would’ve walked through campus which would’ve taken him over the Red Cedar River in two places but there would be bridges. The Red Cedar River is not a particularly dangerous river and there are many places to cross safely, however it is rougher than it looks in some areas and it wouldn’t be the first time someone has drowned in it. The police have been searching the river with boats and divers. He could’ve also walked up Michigan Ave. East Lansing is not a particularly rough area, it’s mostly college students and families. Our capital city Lansing is a bigger city and a bit of a rougher area, that would be a ten-fifteen minute drive up Michigan Ave. The Saturday following Brendan’s disappearance was the same day as our football game with our biggest rival UofM, both teams were undefeated and are big ten teams, and the game was at MSU, it was a huge game. The campus would’ve been packed with fans of both teams and people tailgating by 7 or 8 am as it was a noon game. Additionally there were likely tons of people visiting friday like Brendan was so I think it’s odd no one saw him or has recognized him.
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Thank you so much for providing this info! I agree that it’s strange for him to have disappeared at MSU last weekend, given the amount of people in the area. I live in GR, and know many alums just in my neighborhood who were heading to MSU for the game. It sounds like him falling into the river is, sadly, the most likely outcome. Maybe just bad luck that no one saw him fall in. But I am a little surprised that he has not been located yet…
 
regannicole177 said:
Hi! Former msu student!

sounds like he started at a dorm and was headed towards another dorm according to police.

MSUs campus is very well defined and separate from the surrounding city of East Lansing, however the area he was in is on the edge of campus near two main roads, Michigan Ave and Grand River. Grand river is where most of our bars, restaurants, and stores are located and Mich Ave has quite a few frats, so both would likely have had quite a few people on them on a Friday night at midnight, especially grand river and especially this weekend. To get to Brody neighborhood he likely would’ve walked through campus which would’ve taken him over the Red Cedar River in two places but there would be bridges. The Red Cedar River is not a particularly dangerous river and there are many places to cross safely, however it is rougher than it looks in some areas and it wouldn’t be the first time someone has drowned in it. The police have been searching the river with boats and divers. He could’ve also walked up Michigan Ave. East Lansing is not a particularly rough area, it’s mostly college students and families. Our capital city Lansing is a bigger city and a bit of a rougher area, that would be a ten-fifteen minute drive up Michigan Ave. The Saturday following Brendan’s disappearance was the same day as our football game with our biggest rival UofM, both teams were undefeated and are big ten teams, and the game was at MSU, it was a huge game. The campus would’ve been packed with fans of both teams and people tailgating by 7 or 8 am as it was a noon game. Additionally there were likely tons of people visiting friday like Brendan was so I think it’s odd no one saw him or has recognized him.
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Thanks so much for this information! My DS is a freshman at MSU (he lives in West Circle), and it's so helpful (and reassuring, actually) to hear the perspective of somebody very familiar with that area, as well as the student vibe, etc. All of us parents are heartsick for the family.
 
CLGM said:
Thanks so much for this information! My DS is a freshman at MSU (he lives in West Circle), and it's so helpful (and reassuring, actually) to hear the perspective of somebody very familiar with that area, as well as the student vibe, etc. All of us parents are heartsick for the family.
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I never felt unsafe on campus or in the surrounding areas! I think it’s very unlikely any foul play would be involved especially if he was on campus. Glad I could help and hope everything turns out okay!
 
As an MSU alum, and someone who was in town last weekend to attend the game, campus was buzzing Friday and Sat. Lots of people in town, I would say the most people I've seen since the Oregon game. Brendan would have blended right in Friday night on his walk. There were a lot of people out, walking from dorm to dorm or walking to/from bars and house parties. Like I said, campus was buzzing. Huge game in the morning, College Game Day onsite and Halloween weekend.

It had been raining all week in EL, and was raining that Friday night. I remember leaving the game and walking over the Red Cedar and thinking the water is high, moving fast and looks cold. All bridges on campus are large and paved. Campus itself is large, well lit, clearly labeled and has a lot of emergency call booths. Very beautiful campus btw...Between MSU police and the well hated PACE (parking authority) it's hard to walk campus and not see one of them every few minutes. Overall, East Lansing is safe with exception of typical campus crimes such as petty theft.

Tailgate opened at 7am Saturday morning. People were lined up at 6AM to get in. East Lansing and Lansing exists were gridlocked at 7AM for hours as people made their way in.

This is all strange and I pray he is found safe, but when I heard the news my first thought was the Red Cedar.
 
Last edited:
WDIV update was very brief (maybe 30 seconds). Four key points from LE working the missing person case:

* foul play not suspected
* no reason to believe that BS wanted to harm himself
* search focused on Red Cedar River
* family very appreciative of fine efforts to locate Brendan

Video will probably be available shortly.
 
Rust Cohle said:
As an MSU alum, and someone who was in town last weekend to attend the game, campus was buzzing Friday and Sat. Lots of people in town, I would say the most people I've seen since the Oregon game. Brendan would have blended right in Friday night on his walk. There would have been a lot of people out, walking from dorm to dorm or walking to/from bars and house parties. Like I said, campus was buzzing. Huge game in the morning, College Game Day onsite and Halloween weekend.

It had been raining all week in EL, and was raining that Friday night. I remember leaving the game and walking over the Red Cedar and thinking the water is high, moving fast and looks cold. All bridges on campus are large and paved. Campus itself is large, well lit, clearly labeled and has a lot of emergency call booths. Very beautiful campus btw...Between MSU police and the well hated PACE (parking authority) it's hard to walk campus and not see one of them every few minutes. Overall, East Lansing is safe with exception of typical campus crimes such as petty theft.

Tailgate opened at 7am Saturday morning. People were lined up at 6AM to get in. East Lansing and Lansing exists were gridlocked at 7AM for hours as people made their way in.

This is all strange and I pray he is found safe, but when I heard the news my first thought was the Red Cedar.
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If the river was high and flowing fast he could be anywhere right now. Was he drinking? I know there are people out there who don’t drink. So I’m wondering if he was impaired or not. Was it raining heavy enough to make it hard to see?
 
Just popping in-- no new updates other than search areas going on around and in the RC River.

I have been around that campus for many years, both visiting friends who went to school there, way, way back years ago LOL and as an older adult with season Football and Basketball tickets.

The campus would have been buzzing with festivities and family and friends and guests the night before the big game.

We have had a lot of rain here ( I live about 30 minutes away) and our lake and channel water levels are high right now.
I would assume the river on campus was also.

I do fear he somehow accidently ended up in the water.

I pray for his family & friends that he is found soon !!!
 
Foul play not suspected in missing case at MSU as probe focuses on river, police say (detroitnews.com)

Foul play is not suspected in the disappearance of an 18-year-old at Michigan State University last weekend, and investigators are focusing on searching a river on campus, authorities said Thursday.

“The investigation has led us to focus on the Red Cedar River, which is in very close proximity to Brendan’s last known location. However, we continue to investigate other possibilities,” MSU Police said in a press release.

“We are continuing to use specialized resources from the Michigan State Police Marine Services Division, Ingham County Sheriff’s Office, and the Capital Area Dive Team for this intensive search of the water.”...
 
JurassicParker said:
If the river was high and flowing fast he could be anywhere right now. Was he drinking? I know there are people out there who don’t drink. So I’m wondering if he was impaired or not. Was it raining heavy enough to make it hard to see?
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I cannot speak for Brendan in regards to his drinking, but the MSU vs UofM game is almost always a noon game at MSU to help curb excessive drinking and liability. MSU gets pretty wild.

It was raining hard off and on Friday, but ended up being a light rain that night. It was also muddy from the week of rain.
 
Thanks much, @regannicole177, for all your info on MSU. Hoping for good news soon.

Glad to see in the midst of all the worry all over the campus, that your Spartans beat the Wolverines. A stunner! Great, long-standing rivalry. Big-time football.

Oh, one more thing:

Welcome to Websleuths,
regannicole177 !!​
 
Evergreen1 said:
Thank you so much for providing this info! I agree that it’s strange for him to have disappeared at MSU last weekend, given the amount of people in the area. I live in GR, and know many alums just in my neighborhood who were heading to MSU for the game. It sounds like him falling into the river is, sadly, the most likely outcome. Maybe just bad luck that no one saw him fall in. But I am a little surprised that he has not been located yet…
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At this point, things seem to point to the river, and that's certainly where a lot of the investigation is now.

When I was about 9-10 years old, I slipped into the river near our neighborhood, while walking in the woods with my friend. Glad to say that the riverbank was shallow in that area, it was daytime, and my good friend was with me, so only a scare for a few seconds. My feet, shoes & socks were the only things that got wet. Oh yes, I do remember it.

I can easily see how dangerous something like that could get, and in just a few seconds -- especially at night, if the ground was slippery, and being by oneself -- not to mention possibly behind a beer or two.
Oh, where is Brendan? Godspeed to his family and to those searching for him, and to all the MSU students and administration.
 
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