The Strange Disappearance of Brandon Swanson

According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs, a national database for missing people, over 600,000 people go missing in the U.S each year. Most people are found; however it’s estimated that most days there are around 90,000 active missing persons cases. While some people disappear to start new lives and others are unfortunately victims of horrific crimes, other cases stand out due to their truly frustrating bizarre nature. 

In this post, we will examine the strange case of Brandon Swanson, an individual who vanished in the year 2008. 

On May 14th, 2008, 19-year-old Brandon Swanson decided to return home from Spring Break at Minnesota West Community and Technical College located in Canby, Minnesota.  Just after midnight, Swanson would begin driving from Canby to his hometown of Marshall. 

Sometime during his trip home, Brandon’s car ran off the road and fell into a ditch. Brandon was uninjured from the accident, but his vehicle was no longer drivable. Close to home he called his father just before 2:00 am and explained his situation. Brandon was safe but was unsure exactly where he was. 

Brandon’s father, Brian, and his mother, Annette, told Brandon to stay put and they would come and get him. 

However, things would not go as planned. Brian and Annette would drive to where they believed he was but were unable to find him. Brandon remained in his car flashing his lights in hopes of drawing his parent’s attention, but they saw nothing. 

During this time Brandon was on the phone with his parents trying to explain where he was and what he could see. After some time, not able to locate Brandon, Brandon and his mother became frustrated with one another. 

After around 30 minutes of waiting an impatient Brandon decided to walk toward some city lights, which he believed was the town of Lynd, which was around 7 miles southwest of Marshall. 

Brandon asked his Parents to meet him there, more specifically in the parking lot of a bar.  At this point, Brian would swing back home and drop off Annette. As Brandon continued walking and his father stayed on the line with Brandon but suddenly things would take a drastic change. Around 47 minutes after he first contacted his parents, Brandon interrupted himself out of nowhere and said “Oh, Shit”.  The phone remained quiet for some time and then ended. 

That would be the last time anyone spoke with Brandon. 

Brian tried calling Brandon back several times but couldn’t reach him. 

He would go to the meeting place, but Brandon would never arrive. 

As Brian was unable to find Brandon, both Brian and Annette would begin searching for him in the early morning hours. They began searching the dark, empty backroads they believed Brandon could be on. Friends of Brandon would help in the search that night. 

At 6:30 am, Annette would contact the police station. However, since Brandon was a college student, the police didn’t think he was actually missing and refused to begin searching for him. They would postpone the search for some time till later in the morning. 

Then the police search began, and they were unable to find his car in Lynd or around the area. 

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To pinpoint the location, the police tracked his cellphone and found the last ping from his cellphone was in Porter, Minnesota, which was northwest of the city. Brandon drove from Canby to Marshall multiple times a week. It was an easy 30 min drive, straight down highway 68 going southeast. This raises the question why did Brandon believe he was in Lynd? 

That night, it’s reported that Brandon was drinking with friends. His friends state that Brandon didn’t have that much to drink, but it appears he had enough that he decided to stay off the main roads so that he didn’t get a DUI from the police. As he crisscrossed the dark backroads of the area, mostly rural farmland at some point he must have made a wrong turn. 

As police pinged his cellphone, they discovered his car was about a mile north of highway 68 on the Lincoln County line. Around the car there didn’t appear to sign of foul play and to complicate matters, the police couldn’t determine what direction he headed. 

As the search intensified, police were able to narrow his call down to a 5-mile radius. In that area, it was searched extensively by police, volunteers and family and friends. 

Cadaver dogs were brought in and tracked his scent down to the Yellow Medicine River. They would track it past the river on the other side and then lose the scent in a few miles. 

After having no luck around the car and in the immediate area, the perimeter of the search would widen to 140 miles. Still, not all farmers in the area allowed the canine units on their property since they were harvesting their crops. 

Over the years there’s been several theories concerning what happened to Brandon. 

One and maybe most popular is that foul play was involved. The curse word he shouted seemed to indicate someone or something startled him, but perhaps didn’t scare him. Some suggest if it had been something really frightening, he would have used a question word. This is of course pure speculation, as everyone has different response to different types of threats. 

There were no signs of foul play at the crime scene, but it’s possible as Brandon was flashing his lights, he attracted the wrong type of attention. Thís theory still has weaknesses though as there would have more than likely been a struggle and evidence of it would have been left behind. 

Another theory is that he drowned in the Yellow Medicine River. We know Brandon was drinking that night and also that when speaking with his dad, he told him he heard running water. The river area was searched extensively right after the event and even during the months that followed. Also, the search dogs picked up his scent on the other side of the river, indicating he was able to get over it. 

One theory that doesn’t get a lot of attention is that he was attacked by a wild animal. Based on the conversation on the phone, when Brandon yelled, it seems that his scream indicated that something startled him, yet didn’t scare him. If he had come across a bear or another animal, they could have attacked him and dragged him off. There’s no evidence of an animal attack, but it could have been missed in such a large area. 

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Still, some believe that Brandon got lost in the woods and wandered way off. We know the terrain is extremely difficult where he was, and it could be the case he wandered onto a large property and met his demise there. There were many farmers who weren’t allowing their properties to be searched. 

One other theory put forth by some is that an Alien Abduction occurred. While as farfetched as it sounds, it seems plausible this might have occurred. We know many people tend to suddenly vanish in the woods with no trace. This is well documented by researcher David Paulides in his Missing 411 series. There are various theories as to what is his behind the disappearances, and UFOs are one. 

While this case is surely a sad one, one positive aspect of it, is that it created “Brandon’s Law” in Minnesota. After Brandon went missing, it took several hours for the police to begin investigating. It’s tough to say if they had stated earlier whether it would have made a difference, but it seems that this law will help in the future. The law states that once someone is reported missing, the police need to begin searching regardless of age. 

One day we might get an answer around what happened to Brandon, but until then there will continue to be unanswered questions. 

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