TX TX - Brandon Lawson, 26, San Angelo, 8 Aug 2013 - #1

[NMmommy]

This is only my second post ever but I read here all the time..
I don't know anything about oil fields but I can provide some insight into meth users as I've loved one for 10 years... This is purely my opinion and just speculation however I don't believe for one minute Brandon would have called 911 unless he absolutely had no other choice, drug users/sellers hate police interaction. On that note if my man had disappeared I would let everyone know the truth, what he was up to, who his friends were, what he really did to make $, his suspected drug dealers names phone numbers, anything that would bring the man I love home. But I'm not a drug user so I would have nothing to hide from anyone. None of the story being told makes any sense at all whatsoever, if I thought my brother were lying in a field bleeding I would not take it upon myself to search I would go immediately to people who could help, again I would have nothing to hide so that would be the avenue I took. I've listened to the 911 call a bunch of times and I think I hear fear in his voice, but that's about all I understand about the call. What I can say over and over agin is that wanted people, especially suspected meth users NEVER call the police unless they absolutely positively have no other choice...Again this is all my opinion!

 

[Balor51]

Did he take the 401k check? Did it come in the mail after he disappeared? All I read was that it was coming the mail. Did it ever arrive? Did B have a life insurance policy through his job? What was his employment status when he disappeared? I read that many at his job thought he got his 401k then took off. What was the last day he worked? Did he work that Thursday? Can anyone get more info about the drug charges and any sentence that was imposed? I read the warrant was from 2005 then someone posted here about charges in 2012.

Everything I have read says it came after he went missing and his bank accounts are frozen. Another question, is LL & BL legally married? Or does Tx have commonlaw after being together after so many years?

 

[Balor51]

This is only my second post ever but I read here all the time..
I don't know anything about oil fields but I can provide some insight into meth users as I've loved one for 10 years... This is purely my opinion and just speculation however I don't believe for one minute Brandon would have called 911 unless he absolutely had no other choice, drug users/sellers hate police interaction. On that note if my man had disappeared I would let everyone know the truth, what he was up to, who his friends were, what he really did to make $, his suspected drug dealers names phone numbers, anything that would bring the man I love home. But I'm not a drug user so I would have nothing to hide from anyone. None of the story being told makes any sense at all whatsoever, if I thought my brother were lying in a field bleeding I would not take it upon myself to search I would go immediately to people who could help, again I would have nothing to hide so that would be the avenue I took. I've listened to the 911 call a bunch of times and I think I hear fear in his voice, but that's about all I understand about the call. What I can say over and over agin is that wanted people, especially suspected meth users NEVER call the police unless they absolutely positively have no other choice...Again this is all my opinion!

:Welcome1:


That is what I find odd as well, something bad was going on for him to call 911. I think wanting LE is a last resort for many that are involved with/in drugs. I strongly hear fear in his voice. I feel he knew whoever else was there. Just a feeling.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

This is only my second post ever but I read here all the time..
I don't know anything about oil fields but I can provide some insight into meth users as I've loved one for 10 years... This is purely my opinion and just speculation however I don't believe for one minute Brandon would have called 911 unless he absolutely had no other choice, drug users/sellers hate police interaction. On that note if my man had disappeared I would let everyone know the truth, what he was up to, who his friends were, what he really did to make $, his suspected drug dealers names phone numbers, anything that would bring the man I love home. But I'm not a drug user so I would have nothing to hide from anyone. None of the story being told makes any sense at all whatsoever, if I thought my brother were lying in a field bleeding I would not take it upon myself to search I would go immediately to people who could help, again I would have nothing to hide so that would be the avenue I took. I've listened to the 911 call a bunch of times and I think I hear fear in his voice, but that's about all I understand about the call. What I can say over and over agin is that wanted people, especially suspected meth users NEVER call the police unless they absolutely positively have no other choice...Again this is all my opinion!

Welcome! I agree and thank you for sharing your personal experience. Given the warrant alone he would not call police unless his life were at stake. K stated in one of his FB posts that he too has a warrant. Do the oilfield companies not do background checks or do they just not care?

The only other reason for him calling police that I can think of, would be if he had a plan to stage his disappearance/death. If that were the case and LL was in on it would she go to all this trouble to find his body? No, she would want all the publicity to be gone, they would move to some remote location and start over with a new identity for him or something. I thought perhaps he surfaced and LL is just trying to get access to his bank account/401k etc but the only way she could possibly do that (and it would be hard since they weren't married) would be to prove he is dead/provide a death certificate. You can have someone declared dead after so many years missing (I think it's 7 years?).

My best guess is that he is deceased out there somewhere.

 

[Balor51]

I noticed on some sites that LL wants the area near the Colorado river searched. Is that near where the truck was found?

If someone is missing, and they have warrants, will it take longer to declare them dead ?

 

[bakerlady]

I understand why you might think he would not call police for obvious reasons but people on meth are known to hallucinate and become extremely paranoid. So maybe he really thought his life was in danger, but it was his imagination.

Remember the two teens in the snow storm who thought they were trapped in the trees and there were mexicans all around them?

The 'Mexicans' were likely cows.

For all we know BL could have been high as a kite and thought the bushes were chasing him.

 

[NMmommy]

I seriously doubt that this was a planned/staged disappearance, or at least I don't think Brandon made himself disappear, but then again it's all so strange! I don't know how much time Brandon was facing but being from NM I have always been told by parents, friends, lawyer friends never do ANYTHING illegal in TX because the law in TX is so much harsher than anywhere else. Another thing I have been told and even experienced in border states is that sometimes the ones we trust to keep the streets safe and drugs off our streets are actually the ones that make our streets unsafe with drugs crime and corruption. Not saying this is the case here but nothing would surprise me in this crazy world these days.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

I noticed on some sites that LL wants the area near the Colorado river searched. Is that near where the truck was found?

If someone is missing, and they have warrants, will it take longer to declare them dead ?

If you look at techpuppy's map the Colorado river is to the west, east and north of the truck location so that really doesn't narrow it down. If true, we can safely say the ping was not to the south, southwest or southeast.

TEXSAR dogs hit on something that made them extend their search to the northeast. I also read that there was a separate search near the Colo River but I don't think it was clear if this was the TEXSAR extended search (although I've always thought it likely was). If the newest ping is near the Colo River to the NE then I would guess this might all be related.

Dogs often train on pig blood and pig carcasses because human blood and human carcasses are not easy to come by (obviously). So if there is a large wild hog population in the area I could see the scent picked up by the dog as being assumed to be hog blood (as stated in the Observer) if they followed it and could find no traces of B. BUT just because they found nothing doesn't mean that's not what the dog was picking up on. I think it's entirely possible that the scent the dog got was Brandon's. TEXSAR has highly trained dogs and they are a very reputable SAR group. I have had my sights focused near the Colo River to the NE from the moment I learned about TEXSAR extending their search in that direction. Again, if you look at techpuppy's map out 3 miles to the NE you can see where it hits the Colo River. I don't know if this is also the new ping location but it would be very interesting if it is. I would say there would be a good chance that Brandon headed that way not just based off the ping, but the ping AND the dog hits.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

I don't think the 7 year declaration of someone as dead is a set in stone number of years. I think many things affect a judge's decision and I do think the warrant might come into play.

 

[Balor51]

If you look at techpuppy's map the Colorado river is to the west, east and north of the truck location so that really doesn't narrow it down. If true, we can safely say the ping was not to the south, southwest or southeast.

TEXSAR dogs hit on something that made them extend their search to the northeast. I also read that there was a separate search near the Colo River but I don't think it was clear if this was the TEXSAR extended search (although I've always thought it likely was). If the newest ping is near the Colo River to the NE then I would guess this might all be related.

Dogs often train on pig blood and pig carcasses because human blood and human carcasses are not easy to come by (obviously). So if there is a large wild hog population in the area I could see the scent picked up by the dog as being assumed to be hog blood (as stated in the Observer) if they followed it and could find no traces of B. BUT just because they found nothing doesn't mean that's not what the dog was picking up on. I think it's entirely possible that the scent the dog got was Brandon's. TEXSAR has highly trained dogs and they are a very reputable SAR group. I have had my sights focused near the Colo River to the NE from the moment I learned about TEXSAR extending their search in that direction. Again, if you look at techpuppy's map out 3 miles to the NE you can see where it hits the Colo River. I don't know if this is also the new ping location but it would be very interesting if it is. I would say there would be a good chance that Brandon headed that way not just based off the ping, but the ping AND the dog hits.

This makes sense. I wish we knew what that new ping location is. I have heard that TEXSAR is very reputable also. I'm with you on that the scent was Brandon.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

If you look at techpuppy's map (the one with the blue circles) on page 33 of this thread, the outermost circle is 3 miles out from the truck. If you look 3 miles almost due east of the truck location the blue circle is right at the Colorado river. It's entirely possible that Brandon headed NE (as the dogs scent indicated) then followed the river south to his final resting location.

What I can't figure out is why he would tell K he was 10 minutes up the road while K was at the truck. Or did he tell K this when he first called asking for gas cans, while K was enroute to the truck or as K was at the truck? It does make a difference to know specific timelines so we can see how far away Brandon might have been at any given time. Could Brandon have gotten that far away by the time the 1:19 text (I believe it was a text) exchange happened with AK?

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

This makes sense. I wish we knew what that new ping location is. I have heard that TEXSAR is very reputable also. I'm with you on that the scent was Brandon.

Yes and this is another instance of where the Observer reporting bugs me. I never read anywhere that TEXSAR determined it not to be Brandon's scent. More that it was inconclusive. So how could the Sheriff's wife determine that it was definitely hog blood vs human? She couldn't. If the dogs couldn't differentiate between the two then the handlers couldn't, then nobody could. It was enough of a hit that TEXSAR determined further investigation/searching was needed. I trust TEXSAR. Just because they didn't find anything of B's does not mean the scent was not his.

 

[Balor51]

If you look at techpuppy's map (the one with the blue circles) on page 33 of this thread, the outermost circle is 3 miles out from the truck. If you look 3 miles almost due east of the truck location the blue circle is right at the Colorado river. It's entirely possible that Brandon headed NE (as the dogs scent indicated) then followed the river south to his final resting location.

What I can't figure out is why he would tell K he was 10 minutes up the road while K was at the truck. Or did he tell K this when he first called asking for gas cans, while K was enroute to the truck or as K was at the truck? It does make a difference to know specific timelines so we can see how far away Brandon might have been at any given time. Could Brandon have gotten that far away by the time the 1:19 text (I believe it was a text) exchange happened with AK?

Oh yes I agree, that is a very good possibility. Hmmmm that baffles me too on the 10mins. If he was being chased, fear, and then there is the terrain.

Even the times don't make a whole lot of sense, something is off .

 

[bakerlady]

What really bothers me about this case is the fact that his brother never mentioned to police that he said he was bleeding.

Warrant or not, if my brother says he is bleeding in the middle of nowhere I would want ever cop in town looking for him. And BL said 'please hurry'. OMG....I can't fathom not mentioning this to anyone until almost a week later.

On the brother's FB it states, publicly, that he has been clean for 39 days. This obviously means he was a user of drugs, who knows which one but it was obviously disruptive enough to inform the world that he was now off of it.

So, how can we believe him and his accounts of the night? He could have been high as a kite as well.

I wish we could see K and A's cell phone records. Maybe they were with him all along. Maybe they all went out to buy some drugs and things went bad.

 

[Balor51]

What really bothers me about this case is the fact that his brother never mentioned to police that he said he was bleeding.

Warrant or not, if my brother says he is bleeding in the middle of nowhere I would want ever cop in town looking for him. And BL said 'please hurry'. OMG....I can't fathom not mentioning this to anyone until almost a week later.

On the brother's FB it states, publicly, that he has been clean for 39 days. This obviously means he was a user of drugs, who knows which one but it was obviously disruptive enough to inform the world that he was now off of it.

So, how can we believe him and his accounts of the night? He could have been high as a kite as well.

I wish we could see K and A's cell phone records. Maybe they were with him all along. Maybe they all went out to buy some drugs and things went bad.

I wondered the exact same thing yesterday when I was reading K's comments on his FB. Huge, huge red flag.

There are so many cases where drugs have fueled the killing of family members. Not saying this happened here, but we have to look at all possibilities. I don't have a personal experience with meth, but there was a woman in our state who microwaved her 3-4 week old baby. So, anything is possible.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

What really bothers me about this case is the fact that his brother never mentioned to police that he said he was bleeding.

Warrant or not, if my brother says he is bleeding in the middle of nowhere I would want ever cop in town looking for him. And BL said 'please hurry'. OMG....I can't fathom not mentioning this to anyone until almost a week later.

On the brother's FB it states, publicly, that he has been clean for 39 days. This obviously means he was a user of drugs, who knows which one but it was obviously disruptive enough to inform the world that he was now off of it.

So, how can we believe him and his accounts of the night? He could have been high as a kite as well.

I wish we could see K and A's cell phone records. Maybe they were with him all along. Maybe they all went out to buy some drugs and things went bad.

All very good points. Does anyone know what kind of vehicle K and A were in that night?

K stated (reportedly) that B said he was 10 minutes up the road. Was this walking time or driving time? We assume it's walking but we don't know. He could have gotten a ride with someone. 10 minutes up what road? Was it 277 north? A long driveway? A dirt road? North or south/east or west? And exactly WHEN did B say this? The timeline is important and nobody seems to want to explain the facts for a timeline. If the new ping data is off his last communication (text) from Audrey saying the cops were at his truck at 1:19 just how far could he have gotten walking through the woods, fields etc in pitch black darkness? Or was he taken out there by vehicle and dumped? He did not respond to that text. As far as we know his last communications were around 1:10am.

 

[Vedder]

Yes and this is another instance of where the Observer reporting bugs me. I never read anywhere that TEXSAR determined it not to be Brandon's scent. More that it was inconclusive. So how could the Sheriff's wife determine that it was definitely hog blood vs human? She couldn't. If the dogs couldn't differentiate between the two then the handlers couldn't, then nobody could. It was enough of a hit that TEXSAR determined further investigation/searching was needed. I trust TEXSAR. Just because they didn't find anything of B's does not mean the scent was not his.

I think anything the Observer reports should be taken with a grain of salt. IMO it seems a conflict of interest for the Sheriff's wife to be reporting on this story OR really anything crime related.

JMO

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

Everything I have read says it came after he went missing and his bank accounts are frozen. Another question, is LL & BL legally married? Or does Tx have commonlaw after being together after so many years?

Not legally married and I read common law marriage laws for TX yesterday. It's a bit tricky.

http://askville.amazon.com/requirements-Texas-common-law-married/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=66041399

There are two ways that you can do it under Texas law.
Here is the relevant law, quoted from the Texas Family Code.

SUBCHAPTER E. MARRIAGE WITHOUT FORMALITIES
Sec. 2.401. PROOF OF INFORMAL MARRIAGE. (a) In a judicial, administrative, or other proceeding, the marriage of a man and woman may be proved by evidence that:
(1) a declaration of their marriage has been signed as provided by this subchapter; or
(2) the man and woman agreed to be married and after the agreement they lived together in this state as husband and wife and there represented to others that they were married.
(b) If a proceeding in which a marriage is to be proved as provided by Subsection (a)(2) is not commenced before the second anniversary of the date on which the parties separated and ceased living together, it is rebuttably presumed that the parties did not enter into an agreement to be married.
(c) A person under 18 years of age may not:
(1) be a party to an informal marriage; or
(2) execute a declaration of informal marriage under Section 2.402.
(d) A person may not be a party to an informal marriage or execute a declaration of an informal marriage if the person is presently married to a person who is not the other party to the informal marriage or declaration of an informal marriage, as applicable.

Where things can get tricky with an informal marriage where no declaration has been signed is when the relationship ends either through death or a split up of the couple. If there are court proceedings, the party seeking to prove up the relationship will needed witnesses and.or documentary evidence that there was in fact an agreement to live together as husband and wife and that the parties did so. Things like a joint bank account and/or filing joint tax returns would be credible evidence, but not a slam dunk.

You can save yourself a lot of grief either by going through a ceremonial marriage or signing and filing the declaration discussed above. Living together without doing either of those things can make life complicated down the road.

Having children together isn't conclusive proof of marriage. If the relationship splits up, it may be necessary to prove paternity via a DNA test. While the law does provide a mechanism for acknowledging children, it is really better for them if the couple gets hitched with the proper paperwork.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

Ladessa would not be able to touch his bank account/401k or any other monetary account of B's unless and until a body is found and even then she will have to PROVE a common law marriage existed. Even if he is not found and is declared dead at some point many years down the road I think she would have a tough time getting it. MOO

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

Not saying this pertains here but I wanted to add that IF she claimed head of household/single on her tax returns that blows the common law marriage out the door. Or if she ever received public assistance claiming single and the father not living in the home.

Again, not saying she did any of the above.