I just read all this thread after I found out about this case from a podcast I follow. I also read these two web pages, which I think contain a lot of valuable information:
•
Search and rescue/SAR mission 2008 02
•
User:Jeff Hasse/Missing Person Case Study -- Brandon Swanson
Here are my thoughts on the matter (JMO).
Regarding how Brandon could've possibly thought he was anywhere near Lynd, I think he took the gravels roads instead of Highway 68 because he'd been drinking and was afraid of meeting LE. He drove for over an hour on those roads and I think he got confused while driving on those identical country roads; maybe he even went in circles without realizing it. Then must have thought he was somewhere between Marshall and Lynd, when in fact he was somewhere between Porter and Taunton.
After that, we pretty much know what happened: the car got stuck in a ditch, he called his parents to come pick him up, but he gave the wrong location, and they couldn't find him. At some point, seeing some lights nearby, which he thought were Lynd (but I think they were Porter), he decided to walk to that place to meet his parents there. In my opinion, the route he took is the one indicated by the search dog and shown on the map attached to the comment by e_grace
here.
At some point, he was no longer able to use his phone. This is when he said, "Oh, s***," and I think it coincides with the part of the trail the dog sniffed where he appears to fall into the river and then get out. I think that either Brandon lost his phone or it broke, but he didn't drown there. He then reached 160th Ave, from where the dog could no longer follow the trail.
After reaching 160th Ave, since I think he was trying to reach Porter (which he thought was Lynd), the most logical way would have been to head west on 160th Ave until he reached Porter. Therefore, the idea that he might have instead headed north toward Mud Creek makes me feel baffled. So much so that I wonder if the cadaver odor the dogs detected near Mud Creek really wasn't coming from Wergeland Cemetery, as Ciriii57 suggested in this comment
here.
If he had continued west along 160th Ave, he would finally have reached Highway 68 just before Porter. This, in my opinion, is the only possible case in which he could have been kidnapped by a serial killer. I absolutely don't believe in the idea that he could have encountered a serial killer while walking along dirt roads in the countryside in the dark night. But he could have reached Highway 68, realized from the signs that he was in a completely different place than he had told his dad, and then stopped a passing motorist to ask if he could use his phone, but perhaps he stopped the wrong one...
Alternatively, it's also possible that he left 160th Ave and entered a field or wooded area again. In my opinion this could have happened for several reasons, for example:
- He thought it was the quickest way to reach Porter/Lynd.
- He realized he couldn't take it anymore and tried to reach a nearby farm to ask for help.
- He was seeking shelter because he was cold and tired.
- If he was suffering from hypothermia, it's also possible that he was no longer able to think clearly.
For example, I see on Google Maps that there is a farm along 160th Ave about 0.6 miles before the intersection with Highway 68. I hope the surrounding fields and that wide bend of the Yellow Medicine River behind it have been thoroughly searched.
Regarding the car doors being open, I'm not a native English speaker so perhaps someone here can clarify better if "open doors" could just mean that they were unlocked, not necessarily wide open?
