MN MN - Brandon Swanson, 19, Marshall, 14 May 2008

[tarabull]

Brandon Swanson /// Part 1 /// 332
September 3, 2019

Brandon Swanson /// Part 2 /// 333
September 10, 2019

Brandon Swanson /// Part 3 /// 334
September 11, 2019

 

[MesquiteO21]

I’ve really been thinking about it for the past few days and this just reeks of Israel Keyes honestly.

The accident theory doesn’t make sense to me. One of the most glaring being: why were his glasses in the car? I know people can do strange things when stressed but he was lucid enough to make sense to his parents on the phone. If he thought he was walking towards town in which he would need to LOOK out for his parents, there’s no rationalizing leaving his glasses behind. Even less so to initially bring them and then go back and drop them off in the car.

Other points:
1. Further on the glasses, many people suspect the disappearance of Jimmy Tidwell in Texas February 2012 is linked to Keyes and his glasses were also found in his abandoned car

2. The FBI released a public timeline of Keyes’ travels from 1998 - 2012. However, it’s heavily redacted. They have a private internal one that’s more detailed. The public one mentions Minnesota only once—October 2008 when he flew in to Minneapolis from Seattle and then made his way on to Grand Forks, ND. Interestingly though, in her book American Predator, Maureen Callahan claims that the FBI noted several states that were frequent destinations for Keyes and yep, Minnesota is on that list. But the public timeline has him in the state only once, presumably just as a connection? Hmmmmm something is obviously amiss

3. As a related side note: one of Keyes’ army buddies was a diehard Vikings fan, and that’s how Keyes developed an interest in football. He subsequently also became a big Vikings fan.

4. He admitted preferring small towns since he believed LE would be a lot less experienced investigating abductions and homicides

5. He also admitted that one of his victims’ bodies was found and ruled an accident. He hinted at more accidental death rulings for his victims. In his interviews it’s pretty obvious that he loved making his victims appear to have suffered their demise due to an unfortunate accident.

6. Hiding in the woods and staking people out was something he mentioned doing as far back as a teenager

7. His admitted fantasy and plans included taking a victim from backroads

8. Investigators have said that scent dogs indicated a hit near an abandoned farm and we know in at least one instance Keyes took his victims to an abandoned farmhouse (Currier couple in Vermont)

9. Supposedly Keyes’ only victim preference was “lightweight” since it was just easier. Brandon was rather petite— 5’5” ~120lbs according to his missing persons flyer. Especially considering Keyes was a pretty big dude at 6’3” or even maybe 6’4”

I know I could just be trying to make the pieces fit and I won’t completely rule out the possibility of an accident. But I don’t know...when all of these circumstantial clues are taken together, I get a really, really bad feeling.

 

[dub]

I’ve really been thinking about it for the past few days and this just reeks of Israel Keyes honestly.

The accident theory doesn’t make sense to me. One of the most glaring being: why were his glasses in the car? I know people can do strange things when stressed but he was lucid enough to make sense to his parents on the phone. If he thought he was walking towards town in which he would need to LOOK out for his parents, there’s no rationalizing leaving his glasses behind. Even less so to initially bring them and then go back and drop them off in the car.

Other points:
1. Further on the glasses, many people suspect the disappearance of Jimmy Tidwell in Texas February 2012 is linked to Keyes and his glasses were also found in his abandoned car

2. The FBI released a public timeline of Keyes’ travels from 1998 - 2012. However, it’s heavily redacted. They have a private internal one that’s more detailed. The public one mentions Minnesota only once—October 2008 when he flew in to Minneapolis from Seattle and then made his way on to Grand Forks, ND. Interestingly though, in her book American Predator, Maureen Callahan claims that the FBI noted several states that were frequent destinations for Keyes and yep, Minnesota is on that list. But the public timeline has him in the state only once, presumably just as a connection? Hmmmmm something is obviously amiss

3. As a related side note: one of Keyes’ army buddies was a diehard Vikings fan, and that’s how Keyes developed an interest in football. He subsequently also became a big Vikings fan.

4. He admitted preferring small towns since he believed LE would be a lot less experienced investigating abductions and homicides

5. He also admitted that one of his victims’ bodies was found and ruled an accident. He hinted at more accidental death rulings for his victims. In his interviews it’s pretty obvious that he loved making his victims appear to have suffered their demise due to an unfortunate accident.

6. Hiding in the woods and staking people out was something he mentioned doing as far back as a teenager

7. His admitted fantasy and plans included taking a victim from backroads

8. Investigators have said that scent dogs indicated a hit near an abandoned farm and we know in at least one instance Keyes took his victims to an abandoned farmhouse (Currier couple in Vermont)

9. Supposedly Keyes’ only victim preference was “lightweight” since it was just easier. Brandon was rather petite— 5’5” ~120lbs according to his missing persons flyer. Especially considering Keyes was a pretty big dude at 6’3” or even maybe 6’4”

I know I could just be trying to make the pieces fit and I won’t completely rule out the possibility of an accident. But I don’t know...when all of these circumstantial clues are taken together, I get a really, really bad feeling.

It's super interesting too that Brandon disappeared directly in the middle of a period in which Keyes was traveling.

I wish it was more clear what the timeline means by "western US". If he was in California or something I think the timing would be too tight, but if he was in Wyoming he absolutely could have gotten there and back.

 

[ekardh]

That’s actually a legitimate theory. Not that it’s mine, but, no reason to be rude either. Right? So then, What do you think happened?

<modsnip>

My theory? He fell into the river. Apparently there was a strong current that day so I'm not surprised his body hasn't been recovered.

 

[neesaki]

Sorry but it's really not. People have wild imaginations on here. Almost every other theory is either a sex trafficking one (regardless of age, gender or ethnicity) or it's some accidental cover-up, usually a driver who kills someone but instead of driving away decides to bundle a bloody corpse into their vehicle and hide the body.

My theory? He fell into the river. Apparently there was a strong current that day so I'm not surprised his body hasn't been recovered.

The tracking team tracked him to the river, then beyond much further than the river. .

 

[Ozoner]

Sorry but it's really not. People have wild imaginations on here. Almost every other theory is either a sex trafficking one (regardless of age, gender or ethnicity) or it's some accidental cover-up, usually a driver who kills someone but instead of driving away decides to bundle a bloody corpse into their vehicle and hide the body.

My theory? He fell into the river. Apparently there was a strong current that day so I'm not surprised his body hasn't been recovered.

The tracking team tracked him to the river, then beyond much further than the river. .

It's OK, neesaki. There are some people on this site who can't see past statistics and can't conceive of any outcome other than the most common one, the circumstances of a particular case notwithstanding. There are more drownings than accidental deaths that are covered up, so Brandon must have drowned. Couldn't have been mistaken for a burglar and shot. Couldn't have been killed by someone's dog. Nope. There was water nearby, so it had to be drowning.

 

[MesquiteO21]

Sorry but it's really not. People have wild imaginations on here. Almost every other theory is either a sex trafficking one (regardless of age, gender or ethnicity) or it's some accidental cover-up, usually a driver who kills someone but instead of driving away decides to bundle a bloody corpse into their vehicle and hide the body.

My theory? He fell into the river. Apparently there was a strong current that day so I'm not surprised his body hasn't been recovered.

not to pick on you specifically, this is for everyone who believes in an accident theory, but what to make of his glasses being in the car then? Any other aspect - body never being found, etc. - I could understand. But the glasses don't make sense. Has it been confirmed that he was wearing them at the party that night? Did he have more than 1 pair? Did he have contacts?

 

[ekardh]

Couldn't have been mistaken for a burglar and shot. Couldn't have been killed by someone's dog. Nope. There was water nearby, so it had to be drowning.

Occam's razor. If someone disappears near a body of water, chances are that they've drowned yes, particularly when there's no other evidence of foul play.

<modsnip>

 

[dotr]

Seems like a good time to re-post stats!
Brandon Victor Swanson – The Charley Project

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• Missing Since 05/14/2008
• Missing From Marshall, Minnesota
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 01/30/1989 (30)
• Age 19 years old
• Height and Weight 5'6, 120 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A white t-shirt under a blue striped Polo sweatshirt, baggy blue jeans, a black hooded zip-up jacket with an emblem on the back, a white flat-billed Minnesota Twins baseball cap twisted to the side, white sneakers, a heavy sterling silver necklace and one stud earring in each ear.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Swanson wears black wire-framed eyeglasses. He has pierced ears and a small scar above his left eye. He is legally blind in his left eye.
• Swanson was last seen in Marshall, Minnesota on May 14, 2008. It was the last day of classes at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Canby, Minnesota, where he was enrolled in a wind turbine program, and he had gone out with a friend to celebrate.
  
  Swanson was on his way home to Marshall when he accidentally drove his car into a ditch, where it got stuck. He wasn't injured in the accident. He called his parents on his cellular phone at 12:30 a.m. and asked for help. His parents were unable to find him, so Swanson said he was going to walk to the nearby town of Lynd, Minnesota, where he could see lights. He was on the phone with his father while he was walking.
  
  Shortly after 2:00 a.m., Swanson suddenly swore and the call ended abruptly. His father tried to call him back several times, but never got an answer. Swanson has never been heard from again. His father spent several hours looking for him, then notified the police at 6:30 a.m.
  
  The following day, authorities using cellular phone records located Swanson's car one and a half miles north of the Lyon/Lincoln County line, off Highway 68 west of Taunton, Minnesota. There was no sign of him at the scene.
  
  An extensive search of the area turned up no sign of him. The car wasn't anywhere near the place Swanson said it was; he had been twenty miles away from there. Apparently had gotten confused about his location.
  
  Although there were some accounts that he'd been drinking alcohol that evening, investigators don't believe he was intoxicated or otherwise impaired when he disappeared. Some authorities believe he blundered into the Yellow Medicine River while he was walking in the dark.
  
  The river, which is up to 15 feet deep in places, was running high and fast at that time. Searches of the river didn't produce his body, however, and there's no evidence to support any theory.
  
  Swanson is a 2007 graduate of Marshall High School. He had made arrangements to transfer to Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs in August 2008. He planned to eventually enroll in a four-year university and have a career in the sciences. He had worked at the Hy-Vee Food Store for four years before his disappearance. Swanson's mother describes him as an avid reader with many interests, and very devoted to his family.
  
  Brandon's Law, named for Swanson, was passed later in 2008. The law requires Minnesota police to begin an immediate search for missing adults under 21, as well as older adults who are missing under suspicious circumstances. Swanson's case remains unsolved."
  

 

[Cyn1012]

Just my opinion, I think Brandon was completely turned around. He was not aware of where he was. Cutting across a field, stumbled upon the river, or anything for that matter, drops his phone, loses his glasses. It’s dark, cannot see without the glasses, and no way to call his dad. He keeps on moving. I think he was maybe inebriated, exhausted, and laid down or sat down beneath some bushes. Hypothermia was very possible and think his body just was looked over in one of the searches. This is just my opinion after reading about him for months. Hope they find him soon!!

 

[neesaki]

Just Bumping re: info. from searcher Jeff Hasse.

Searcher Jeff Hasse’s report for those who might be interested.
User:Jeff Hasse/Missing Person Case Study -- Brandon Swanson - Wikiversity

5 HRD dogs gave full trained final responses to a field cultivator.
Changes - Wikiversity

Also some questions here answered by Jeff, re: the river, cell phone, etc.
Changes - Wikiversity

 

[Dnp2be]

I just binged read this entire thread and have several tabs open of links several of you have kindly provided throughout this thread (although I have not made my way through all of those yet). This case is very sad, I cannot imagine what the parents have and are still going through.

I have a few questions, not sure if I missed the answers when reading or maybe I’m just not understanding correctly but if anyone can enlighten me, I’d appreciate it.

1. I read the dogs hit on the body of water but then jumped out and continued down the road. Is it possible that he wandered around before falling into the water as his final destination? I mean, of course logically someone would walk in mostly a semi straight line but under the circumstances, it’s possible he was wandering around and the dog trailed his scent however not in the exact path he took. It was very dark and I’m sure scary at night being all alone and lost. Not to mention, he may have had issues seeing beings his glasses were found in the car and if he did not have any others on or contacts.

2. His dad reported at the end of the call hearing something like a foot slipping. Isn’t it possible he heard a scuffle from someone else who surprised Brandon? I have seen several opinions on here regarding Brandon’s last statement. Personally, I would say that if someone scared me or surprised me. If I slipped or walked into something, another choice word would come out. Not knowing Brandon, I cannot judge what kind of event would elicit what he said. I also feel that if one slipped or had an accident, the words would come after the accident. I could be wrong but from my experience, most ppl do not have time to process what is happening and utter a sentence during an accident where the body is in motion. Now being surprised by a person coming at you. It takes a moment to see the person and interpret what is happening. Your eyes see it and the signal is sent to your brain to interpret it. The other person slows the process down a little as well because of their movements. Unlike if you were to fall, it’s more instantaneous.

3. Does anyone know why he is listed under vicap or the reasoning? I saw that another poster was going to ask her friend but unfortunately I didn’t see any follow up on this. I also believe as many others have said, many details of this case have been kept from the general public. The fbi website does indeed say his car doors were open and the keys missing.

I almost wonder if he didn’t take the keys with him but maybe he did not lock the doors on the vehicle. And someone else came along and scoured through the car looking for something of value to take. This could have been someone who harmed him or even someone who came across his car and never even saw Brandon. I hope they find him soon. Mostly, I think he is not within the area they have searched. I think they need to broaden the search but there’s also the possibility he isn’t anywhere near the area. If he was mixed up directionally, he could have very well walked in the opposite direction even further.

I’m going to continue reading the links provided. Sorry for the long post.

 

[Dnp2be]

Something else I’m curious about is
1. Is there any transcript of the phone call between him and his father?
2. Exactly how far was his car found from the last place he left from to head home? I’ve read it takes 30-45 mins from the last party to his home. He was on gravel roads so give or take a few minutes. One would more than likely know if they had been driving for 10 minutes as opposed to 40. However if he was impaired and paying extreme attention to driving straight, I could somewhat understand time seeming to pass rather slowly. Also, maybe if he drove around confused trying to find the right roads, his perception of time could be off.
3. Was the dog or another dog used to see if the trail went on further when the one dog could no longer follow the scent. It was stated the dog could have been at the end of his “scent time”. Was that tried again?
4. Was the seat of the car adjusted appropriately for Brandon?

the one site regarding the search for Brandon is not working for me. On another site, there is an interesting comment regarding him being murdered for a drug debt. I take all comments with a grain of salt but I am curious as to what locals believe happened or what rumors have circulated. I also want to say, I imagine how easy it could be to miss remains. After so long, I imagine they prob aren’t even above the surface entirely which would make it very hard to notice. I do find it curious that no clothing or the cell phone has been located if he were in the area. What if he wasn’t near the area they found his car? What if the car was moved? It’s possible they are searching the wrong area due to someone moving the car either purposely or not.

 

[MesquiteO21]

I just binged read this entire thread and have several tabs open of links several of you have kindly provided throughout this thread (although I have not made my way through all of those yet). This case is very sad, I cannot imagine what the parents have and are still going through.

I have a few questions, not sure if I missed the answers when reading or maybe I’m just not understanding correctly but if anyone can enlighten me, I’d appreciate it.

1. I read the dogs hit on the body of water but then jumped out and continued down the road. Is it possible that he wandered around before falling into the water as his final destination? I mean, of course logically someone would walk in mostly a semi straight line but under the circumstances, it’s possible he was wandering around and the dog trailed his scent however not in the exact path he took. It was very dark and I’m sure scary at night being all alone and lost. Not to mention, he may have had issues seeing beings his glasses were found in the car and if he did not have any others on or contacts.

(snipped for focus)

I'd be interested to know what kind of scent dogs were used - tracking or air-scent. I know very little about the science of scent dogs and how it all works, but my limited understanding is that tracking dogs follow the trail on the ground whereas air-scent dogs sniff the air. Therefore, tracking will provide more of a linear path and air-scent will be more of a general "in this vicinity" location. So if air-scent dogs were used and they hit on the water, again just my understanding, is that that would not necessarily mean he/his body was ever in the water, just near the water.

 

[Dnp2be]

(snipped for focus)

I'd be interested to know what kind of scent dogs were used - tracking or air-scent. I know very little about the science of scent dogs and how it all works, but my limited understanding is that tracking dogs follow the trail on the ground whereas air-scent dogs sniff the air. Therefore, tracking will provide more of a linear path and air-scent will be more of a general "in this vicinity" location. So if air-scent dogs were used and they hit on the water, again just my understanding, is that that would not necessarily mean he/his body was ever in the water, just near the water.

thank you for this explanation. I know so little regarding this topic and in fact didn’t even know their were differences. I need to research more about this as it is something I’ve seen used in most cases. It blows my mind how in tune dogs are and that they are able to track someone’s linear path merely by scent.

 

[123coldren]

You don't have to be a "tweaker" to try it once, though. Especially not at that age and at a party. It's sadly pretty prevalent in rural areas. Either way, that doesn't answer what happened to him. I believe the dogs that someone is dead out there, and I believe it's him. But I still can't decide why.

ETA: This is in reference to U2's post regarding meth. I forgot to quote and don't know how to do it after the fact. Sorry.

It's sad to say but a lot of college kids use meth & cocaine or things like Ritalin and adderal to be able to stay awake and studying focus without realizing they're getting addicted now I don't know about how a person acts on crystal meth but I have seen how people respond when they're on cocaine or a pill like adderal or Ritalin with Adderall and Ritalin one of the main things that you notice is speech they tend to talk faster than they normally would aren't you talk more then they normally would they can also display agitation in situations that would typically not warrant it and if they take too high of a dose or combined with alcohol it can cause confusion but not to such a state where it would be extremely noticeable and cocaine again I'm not very familiar with how somebody acts as I've only been around one person that I found out was using and they seems just like adderal to have an abundance of energy fast speech but with that person I noticed a pattern of not sleeping and then crashing for 2 days so I think cocaine's highly unlikely I would honestly lean more towards an Adderall or Ritalin I know in the 90s when Ritalin was popular it was going through my school like wildfire a lot of the kids would say okay you got to test here have some of my Ritalin now that was back before it was controlled more but it was and is a very popular thing among students and young adults.

 

[Dnp2be]

Upon re-reading my posts, I wanted to add that I think the possibility of someone uninvolved rummaging through his car after he was missing or wandered off is a good possibility. There are a lot of people who make it a habit to stop at unoccupied vehicles on side roads and interstates to take anything of value out of the car.

I really hope this will be solved soon

 

[Arnie M]

I have followed this case on and off thru the years and have one outstanding question if anyone here knows the answer it is much appreciated.

I have never had a lot of confidence in tracking dogs per say , but in this case I understand at least 5 different "professional" dogs all tracked scent to the river where the scent ended ..... but then the dogs picked it up again in a different spot along the river bank and followed it toward a drainage ditch and gravel road where the scent ended again.

My question is this: .... was the continuing scent on the opposite bank of the river or just farther down on the same side ?

thanks

 

[?unknown?]

Just Bumping re: info. from searcher Jeff Hasse.

Searcher Jeff Hasse’s report for those who might be interested.
User:Jeff Hasse/Missing Person Case Study -- Brandon Swanson - Wikiversity

5 HRD dogs gave full trained final responses to a field cultivator.
Changes - Wikiversity

Also some questions here answered by Jeff, re: the river, cell phone, etc.
Changes - Wikiversity

Does this guy still give updates on the search? Everything I read from him is quite old and I remember reading it years and years ago but can’t find any new info from him

I don’t get if he was drunk to the point of his senses being impeded how come his father didn’t pick up on it on a near 2 hour phone call? I could understand if he spoke to his parents for like 5 minutes before the call dropped but he was on the call for a long time. He would have been slurring and missing words or rambling. You can clearly tell when someone’s drunk on a phone call yet his father didn’t say anything about it. Years ago I thought he might have been bitten by a snake or something. The “oh *advertiser censored*” is entirely dependent on the tone of his voice when he said it. If he said it because he realised he forgot something from his car or walked too far out it would sound a lot different in urgency than saying it because he was about to slip down a ditch into the river. I hope we find out some answers about what happened to him

 

[MadMcGoo]

Where are you Brandon?