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

[MimosaMornings]

<respectfully snipped>

After Brendan left Yakeley Hall and headed back to the Brody neighborhood, he texted someone that he "was lost". He obviously didn't know exactly where he was or where he was headed that dark and rainy night. Brendan was not a student at MSU and probably didn't know his way around the sprawling campus. I don't want to speculate about whether or not Brendan was "impaired", but he was not accustomed to walking around the MSU campus because he wasn't a student there.

It’s a big mystery.
Did he go to Yakely Hall on his own?
Go with a friend?
Decide to leave without his friend?
Did anyone ask if he could find her way back since he wasn’t a student there?
He was lost but able to text someone he was lost so not significantly impaired?
The campus was extremely busy with tons of people. Plenty out and about that night from previous posts.

 

[Valerie D.]

https://www.deadlinedetroit.com/art...t_lansing_cops_where_brendan_santo_s_body_was

"Ryan Robison used the tools and tactics of his trade to accomplish in about two weeks what multiple police agencies had tried to do since fall."

 

[Seattle1]

It’s a big mystery.
Did he go to Yakely Hall on his own?
Go with a friend?
Decide to leave without his friend?
Did anyone ask if he could find her way back since he wasn’t a student there?
He was lost but able to text someone he was lost so not significantly impaired?
The campus was extremely busy with tons of people. Plenty out and about that night from previous posts.

Was a text by BS to a friend saying he was lost confirmed or a rumor? I don't recall any context of his texts reported by MSM -- only that his phone was not turned off but the battery power drawn down.

 

[Valerie D.]

I would still like to hear more about the friends he was visiting who let him walk alone on an unfamiliar campus at midnight. They don't have to name names but I sure would like to know how he ended up alone and "lost". Did he travel to MSU by himself or did he go there with friends? His friends were fine with letting him walk around at night by himself after he travelled all that way to visit them? College kids are not usually alone at a big social gathering either so what happened?

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Was a text by BS to a friend saying he was lost confirmed or a rumor? I don't recall any context of his texts reported by MSM -- only that his phone was not turned off but the battery power drawn down.

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

...He was last seen leaving Yakeley Hall on MSU's campus and was walking back to where his friends lived. The last time his friends heard from him is when Brendan sent a Snapchat to them saying he didn't know where he was...

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Brendan Thomas Santo Obituary (2003 - 2022) | Rochester Hills, Michigan (echovita.com)

 

[Seattle1]

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

...He was last seen leaving Yakeley Hall on MSU's campus and was walking back to where his friends lived. The last time his friends heard from him is when Brendan sent a Snapchat to them saying he didn't know where he was...

Thank you @BetteDavisEyes. Also from the Dec 16, 2021 link:

"Our family has conducted multiple civilian searches of the Michigan State University campus with an estimated overall total of 800+ volunteers," wrote Santo. "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."

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Brendan Santo visitation set for Thursday in Rochester (detroitnews.com)

Rochester — Visitation is being held Thursday for 18-year-old Brendan Santo, a Rochester Hills resident whose body was found Friday in the Red Cedar River three months after he went missing...

Visitation for Santo will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 1400 Inglewood, in Rochester...

Brendan Santo Obituary - Rochester, MI (dignitymemorial.com)

 

[ChatteringBirds]

His friends were fine with letting him walk around at night by himself after he travelled all that way to visit them?

I hear you that we should all take care of each other, but hindsight is 20/20. It's no one's fault if he decided to leave and accidently fell while on the way back to his car. Just an unforeseeable tragedy (and just my current opinion.)

 

[Seattle1]

I would still like to hear more about the friends he was visiting who let him walk alone on an unfamiliar campus at midnight. They don't have to name names but I sure would like to know how he ended up alone and "lost". Did he travel to MSU by himself or did he go there with friends? His friends were fine with letting him walk around at night by himself after he travelled all that way to visit them? College kids are not usually alone at a big social gathering either so what happened?

Seems to me that BS was last seen leaving the only all-female hall on campus (Yakeley), and was headed back to meet his friends at another location but soon sent a snap chat declaring he was lost. I believe his friends acted on this message -- and the search for BS was on from that moment. We don't know the circumstances of his visit or why he went to Yakeley Hall alone -- maybe he was the only individual invited to Blakely.

Yakeley Hall | Live On - Michigan State University

 

[hey-Debbie]

RIP Brendan. Glad his family is getting some kind of closure.

 

[Valerie D.]

I hear you that we should all take care of each other, but hindsight is 20/20. It's no one's fault if he decided to leave and accidently fell while on the way back to his car. Just an unforeseeable tragedy (and just my current opinion.)

"...he decided to leave and accidently fell while on the way back to his car"?

Maybe but maybe not because allegedly no one saw what happened to him.

 

[Valerie D.]

Seems to me that BS was last seen leaving the only all-female hall on campus (Yakeley), and was headed back to meet his friends at another location but soon sent a snap chat declaring he was lost. I believe his friends acted on this message -- and the search for BS was on from that moment. We don't know the circumstances of his visit or why he went to Yakeley Hall alone -- maybe he was the only individual invited to Blakely.

Yakeley Hall | Live On - Michigan State University

Your guess and my guess is as good as anyone else's guess (unless you have access to some privileged information).

We don't know why he went to the dorm he went to, who he went to see there (other than anonymous friends), who he was on the way to see (more anonymous friends), who saw him leave the dorm, what condition he was in, what happened inside the dorm, how far he got after his phone died, how he ended up in the river...and I can go on and on.

 

[Valerie D.]

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

...He was last seen leaving Yakeley Hall on MSU's campus and was walking back to where his friends lived. The last time his friends heard from him is when Brendan sent a Snapchat to them saying he didn't know where he was...

Were his words, "I don't know where I am?" or did he say "I'm lost"? I've heard both but either way, without context, this info they give us doesn't help me understand very much.

 

[Spartygirl]

This reminds me of any case of young college guys after a night out partying and are found in a body of water, sounds like the smiley face killers cases.

I agree

Also--Love your Screen name. LOL
I just binged watched all the V Mars seasons and movies last week. LOL

 

[Spartygirl]

Were his words, "I don't know where I am?" or did he say "I'm lost"? I've heard both but either way, without context, this info they give us doesn't help me understand very much.

Well, to me, "I dont know where I am" is the same as "I am lost"

But I get what you are asking.. like if he doesn't know where he is aka, MSU campus, vs dont know where he is "walking" around the MSU campus.

But I think in this case, it is saying the same thing.

 

[Valerie D.]

Well, to me, "I dont know where I am" is the same as "I am lost"

But I get what you are asking.. like if he doesn't know where he is aka, MSU campus, vs dont know where he is "walking" around the MSU campus.

But I think in this case, it is saying the same thing.

That's exactly what I mean. "I don't know where I am" can mean "I don't know which street I'm on". It can also mean "I walked the wrong way and fell off a cliff".
Who knows?
Also, where is this information coming from? Is this a claim by his friend who said there was a Snapchat message or was the message retrieved from Snapchat via court order? All these details are left out.
This story would never make it into the NY Times because they don't leave out details like this or there's an explanation for why it's not included, i.e., "police authorities obtained the message from the service provider" OR "authorities are not releasing the information at this time".

 

[ChatteringBirds]

"...he decided to leave and accidently fell while on the way back to his car"?

Maybe but maybe not because allegedly no one saw what happened to him.

Yes, you are right about that. I just don't see placing any guilt on his friends who last saw him at this time. No evidence they were involved; they thought he'd make it safely to his next location, is my assumption. They lack the life experience we have. If they have a conscience, they now regret not going together with him. Let's give them grace - unless more evidence comes out otherwise...
IDK, I am sure my kid will make his own mistakes in his 20's. It's just terribly sad.

 

[I wonder]

Poor Brendan. I was always certain he went into the river and it’s good he has finally been found. His poor family have been enduring a living hell for months, which included Christmas, which must have been unspeakably painful. I think all of us who come on here, know more than most, that life can change and sadly end in seconds.

This is an issue that causes me a great deal of upset. I have had enough of young men, in particular, disappearing and later found dead in a waterway.

We know how deadly water is, particularly to young men returning home after consuming alcohol. We know that large refuse bins are not a safe place to sleep. We know so many things that most don’t, but they NEED to learn. <modsnip>

 

[Valerie D.]

FWIW, there is a YouTuber who works on a rescue team and he took a video of the log jam a month ago. He was saying in the video that nothing would be able to get through the log jam. The video even showed how it crossed the entire river. Ryan Robinson and other civilians like this YouTuber were looking in the right areas.