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

[neesaki]

Now I found what you meant. No idea, but some posters are saying that the "Tiger" refers to a mascot, and that Brandon's High school where he graduated is located on Tiger Drive: https://www.reddit.com/r/Unresolved...n_thread_that_really/?st=iuisltvr&sh=67bb7f01

Another poster suggested it was something from a psychic reading, which would actually explain the cryptic nature of the statement.
God, I hate when people are cryptic. Why not simply just spill it out?

Agree, it's very cryptic, but it still makes me wonder.

 

[Sasquatch321]

Just this one that was posted earlier in the thread: https://youtu.be/McLMOf1n-AY?t=59

According to this video and how the car was found, it would defy all laws of gravity if any doors were found open.

 

[snowleopard]

According to this video and how the car was found, it would defy all laws of gravity if any doors were found open.

I agree, I think the car in the video is a stock photo. The description here says 'minimum maintenance road', the road appears to be paved and striped. My experience is that mm roads are a bit rough and gravelly. Also, the narrator said that Brandon was headed toward a night club when he made his infamous 'o s...' statement, this contradicts all other accounts I've heard.

 

[neesaki]

I agree, I think the car in the video is a stock photo. The description here says 'minimum maintenance road', the road appears to be paved and striped. My experience is that mm roads are a bit rough and gravelly. Also, the narrator said that Brandon was headed toward a night club when he made his infamous 'o s...' statement, this contradicts all other accounts I've heard.

According to the FBI page the car doors were found open. I haven't had a chance to watch that video, but the narrator apparently has some facts wrong. Here's the FBI link again.
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/brandon-victor-swanson

 

[rotary_dial]

As nothing more has ever been heard of this pipe, I guess it was perhaps nothing to it that was considered relevant for the case, then.

I get the same feeling.

I once had a blowout on an Interstate highway. Not three feet from where I stopped, there was a crack stem with a piece of steel wool in it, dirty with residue. I can't even guess the odds of that happening, but it leads me to believe discarded contraband on roadsides is more common than most expect it to be.

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[goldiegirl]

I get the same feeling.

I once had a blowout on an Interstate highway. Not three feet from where I stopped, there was a crack stem with a piece of steel wool in it, dirty with residue. I can't even guess the odds of that happening, but it leads me to believe discarded contraband on roadsides is more common than most expect it to be.

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That's some bad luck!! Good thing you didn't have any issues as a result. What a legal mess that could be for someone to stumble upon.

 

[IBsleuthin]

I get the same feeling.

I once had a blowout on an Interstate highway. Not three feet from where I stopped, there was a crack stem with a piece of steel wool in it, dirty with residue. I can't even guess the odds of that happening, but it leads me to believe discarded contraband on roadsides is more common than most expect it to be.

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Where we live the rural ditches are littered with *advertiser censored*. Magazines and video tapes with the tapes all pulled out. Our guess is that someone feels guilty and then tosses them out of the vehicle.

It takes all kinds I'm telling you what.

 

[trefrew2016]

Second ever post on WS! I’ve sped-read the entire thread, so might have missed a few salient points, but it is indeed a perplexing case.


The cheap Youtube video referred to earlier uses a stock image of a Lexus in a ditch, not a Chevrolet Lumina like Brandon’s.


I can’t get over how disorientated Brandon must have been to assume that he was close to Marshall/Lynd as opposed to his actual location near Taunton and Porter. Although it was dark and the landscape relatively featureless, surely he would have known he hadn’t been driving for nearly long enough to be close to home? Lynd is 40 mins from Canby on the most direct route down the 68, so he must have been able to deduce that it would take him a long time via the network of gravel roads.


That suggests either he was intoxicated to the extent that his judgement was impaired or he got very lost on unfamiliar roads and panicked. Perhaps some colleagues at the party in Canby gave him some back roads directions so that he could avoid the prospect of meeting LE on the 68, but he got lost.


If he left the Canby party shortly after midnight and had the accident (about 5 miles away) at approximately 1.15am, it suggests he spent a lot of time driving around, possibly lost, which could have added to his confusion.


I have a question over ‘minimum maintenance roads’ (I’m in the UK and it isn’t a term I’m familiar with): would it be sensible to travel on such a road in a sedan such as the Chevrolet Lumina? Are such roads usually better suited to pick-ups, SUVs and farm vehicles? Would this also point towards impaired judgement?


Jeff Hasse’s missing person study suggests Brandon tried to call a few friends before calling his parents. This could also imply that he was trying to avoid letting his parents know about putting his car off the road, especially if he was indeed intoxicated at the time.


It would be interesting to know whether these calls were to friends at the Canby party or friends in Lynd. If the latter, it adds weight to the theory that he thought he was closer to home. If he tried to call friends in Canby, it would imply he actually had a much better idea of his true location.


He probably left messages for those friends and waiting for a while in the hope they would call him back before he had to bite the bullet and call his parents.


The tragedy in this case could be that Brandon was never more than a couple of miles from Highway 68 at any point during his walk - if he had made it to that road, it’s highly likely he would have seen the signage, the penny would have dropped and he would have been able to tell his Dad precisely where he was. The junction of Lyon-Lincoln County Road with 68 has plentiful signage.


I support Jeff Hasse’s theory that he was aiming for Porter in the mistaken belief it was Lynd. If he turned down the track towards a deserted farmstead, then veered off the track into farm land, he would have been dangerously close to the river.


One other suggestion regarding the prospect of meth usage that was mentioned previously in the thread. There’s reference here to a meth lab being uncovered in 2005 at 2167 260th St in Marshall, so obviously there was some activity in the region. As Brandon was stumbling around what looked to be a deserted, remote farm in the dead of night, did he have the misfortune to disturb a meth lab? Would that explain why his disappearance has been presented as a crime, rather than a disappearance, on some LE communications? It could also explain why no body has been found.

 

[trefrew2016]

I made an error in the above post and now cannot edit for some reason... Canby to the site of the car going off the road appears to be probably between 10-15 miles by the most direct route, rather than 5 miles as I stated.

 

[neesaki]

Where we live the rural ditches are littered with *advertiser censored*. Magazines and video tapes with the tapes all pulled out. Our guess is that someone feels guilty and then tosses them out of the vehicle.

It takes all kinds I'm telling you what.

That's just horrible. Have you looked into what type of *advertiser censored*? As in possibly child? It just gives me pause, as in maybe there's something going on there that maybe needs to be looked into? JMO

 

[neesaki]

I guess what I should have said is, have local law enforcement check it out. I know I wouldn't want to see what's on those tapes. But what if it is child *advertiser censored*? I've read so much terrible stuff happening to children, much of it here, it's just the first thing that popped up in my mind.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.kaaltv.com/article/stories/S4384419.shtml?cat=10728

Monday is Brandon Swanson's 28th birthday. He disappeared outside of Marshall when he was 19. It's believed he died of exposure.

Brandon's family played a big role in changing state law to make law enforcement more responsive to reports of missing people. The search for Brandon is unprecedented and still active...

The search for Brandon Swanson will resume this spring if they can get resources together and permission from land owners.

 

[neesaki]

http://www.kaaltv.com/article/stories/S4384419.shtml?cat=10728

Hopefully the landowners will give permission for them to search, he needs to be found. So sad.

From that link:

"I believe he fell, got wet, cell phone went dead,” said Hasse. “I think he continued walking. It was cold. It got down to 39 degrees."
Eventually, the dogs pointed them to farm fields north of Porter.
"So we've got huge amounts of scent in here,” said Hasse as he points at a map. “More than I've ever seen in any other search. So we are really confident that he's somewhere in this watershed. We just can't get that final point."

 

[Jbrown324320]

I have never thought of a farm drainage ditch. May would have had melting snow and possibly rain. I thought I remember the parents say they thought they heard the sound of water. It's possible he stepped into the drainage ditch and possibly dropped the phone into it (no waterproof ones back then), got wet and cold and passed from hypothermia.

 

[Damarna]

I have never thought of a farm drainage ditch. May would have had melting snow and possibly rain. I thought I remember the parents say they thought they heard the sound of water. It's possible he stepped into the drainage ditch and possibly dropped the phone into it (no waterproof ones back then), got wet and cold and passed from hypothermia.

Absolutely! The ones on our farm can be hidden by dead weeds that overgrow - especially by the end of fall and then into spring. Not only easy to fall into but not be seen. With that said they do get cut back at some point. Could be deep enough or the backs at enough of an angle to not see what is hidden there maybe?

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[JerseyGirl]

another article: http://kstp.com/news/missing-minnesotans-brandon-swanson/4384417/

 

[Jbrown324320]

Absolutely! The ones on our farm can be hidden by dead weeds that overgrow - especially by the end of fall and then into spring. Not only easy to fall into but not be seen. With that said they do get cut back at some point. Could be deep enough or the backs at enough of an angle to not see what is hidden there maybe?

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easy to fall into especially at night with no lights around. It had to be pretty dark along with the possible overgrowth or weeds. I hope the farm owner lets the family search in the spring.

 

[neesaki]

I still wonder why he was on those backroads at night, roads he was apparently unfamiliar with. Was he running from someone? Was he fearful of someone? Would he have taken those unfamiliar roads just because he had been drinking? Idk, Just keep thinking along these lines as FBI has his listing as VICAP, which is a little unusual for just a missing person.

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/brandon-victor-swanson

 

[Damarna]

I still wonder why he was on those backroads at night, roads he was apparently unfamiliar with. Was he running from someone? Was he fearful of someone? Would he have taken those unfamiliar roads just because he had been drinking? Idk, Just keep thinking along these lines as FBI has his listing as VICAP, which is a little unusual for just a missing person.

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/brandon-victor-swanson

When my brother was in high school he would take the back roads home to avoid the police if he'd been out drinking. Dad never told him it was painfully obvious when Sunday morning dawned and the usually pristine car was coated in dust from the dirt roads. We lived on a paved county road also a straight shot to town. Those dirt roads wound around the fields, through a county park reserve and the swamp. I'm certainly not saying this is what happened.... But in my experience I could see the potential of just getting down right lost. Especially if you *think* you know where you are.

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[John.121]

If he had fallen into water wouldn't the father have heard like the sound of a splash or something? Plus i read that particular river was at it's highest point for a while and was flowing quite rapidly at the time. He was on the phone to his father for nearly 40 mins..wouldn't there be some kind of sound in the background of heavy flowing river/water that the father could hear during that call?