Chenzo Cases.

2010BDJ00001Open caseMissing personLast verified

The Disappearance of Brandon Swanson

An open missing person case involving Brandon Victor Swanson from Taunton, Minnesota, May 14, 2008. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (lead since 2010), with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office is the investigating agency (case no. 2010BDJ00001). Tips: Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (per FBI ViCAP alert), 651-793-7000.

Who
Brandon Victor Swanson, 19
When
Where
Taunton, MinnesotaLincoln County
Investigating
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (lead since 2010), with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office

The case

Our summary of the public record. The small numbers show where each fact comes from.

Brandon Swanson, 19, of Marshall, Minnesota, was driving home from Canby after an end-of-semester get-together early on May 14, 2008, when his car went off a gravel road and got stuck in a ditch. He called his parents for a ride and stayed on the phone with his father while he walked across fields toward what he thought were the lights of a nearby town. About 47 minutes into the call, news reports say, he swore in surprise and the line went silent. He has not been seen or heard from since.

Brandon had told his parents he thought he was near Lynd, but cell phone records later placed him around 25 miles away near Taunton and Porter. Deputies found his car that day in a ditch near the Lincoln–Lyon county line with the doors open and the keys missing, according to the FBI's ViCAP alert. Search dogs followed a scent trail toward the Yellow Medicine River, and over the following years searchers covered more than 120 square miles of farmland and river bottom without finding him.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension took the lead in 2010 and says it evaluates every tip. Investigators reported no obvious signs of foul play at the car. His case also changed state law: in 2009 Minnesota passed Brandon's Law, which requires police to take a missing person report without delay, whatever the person's age.

Timeline

  1. Shortly before 2 a.m., Brandon calls his parents after his car gets stuck in a ditch on the drive home from Canby; after about 47 minutes the call goes silent.34

  2. His parents report him missing in the morning. Cell records lead deputies to his car near the Lincoln–Lyon county line, doors open and keys missing.13

  3. Minnesota's governor signs Brandon's Law (2009 Session Law, Chapter 38).2

  4. The Minnesota BCA takes the lead on the investigation; FBI ViCAP releases a missing person alert (April 7, 2010).15

  5. Searches resume northwest of Porter; by then about 122 square miles have been covered and the BCA has received about 90 tips.5

  6. Ten years on, the BCA and local sheriffs say they are not giving up on finding him.6

Key facts

Each one checked against a source.

  • FBI ViCAP number 2010BDJ00001. He was 5'6", about 120 lbs, with brown hair and blue eyes, last seen in jeans and a T-shirt.1
  • His car was found in a ditch with the doors open and the keys missing.1
  • Cell phone records placed him about 25 miles from where he believed he was.3
  • Search dogs tracked a scent trail of roughly three miles toward the Yellow Medicine River.3
  • Brandon's Law (2009) requires Minnesota law enforcement to accept missing person reports without delay and bars refusing a report because the person is an adult.27
  • The BCA has led the case since 2010 and says it evaluates every tip; no obvious signs of foul play were found at the car.54

Open questions

  1. What made Brandon cry out just before the call went silent?
  2. Which way did he walk from the car in the dark?
  3. Where are his phone and car keys?

Photos and video

Official releases, public-domain and openly licensed files, credited. Tap a photo to see it larger.

Brandon Swanson, 19 when he went missing in May 2008.
Brandon Swanson, 19 when he went missing in May 2008.FBI ViCAP · Public domain
FBI ViCAP missing person alert for Brandon Swanson (released April 7, 2010).
FBI ViCAP missing person alert for Brandon Swanson (released April 7, 2010).FBI ViCAP · Public domain

Outside coverage and files

Linked, not copied. These open on the publisher's site.

Sources

Everything in this file comes from these. News coverage is linked, never copied.

Official records

  1. 1Brandon Victor Swanson - Marshall, Minnesota (ViCAP missing person alert)FBI, Oct 26, 2010
  2. 22009 Minnesota Session Laws, Chapter 38 (Brandon's Law)Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, May 7, 2009
  3. 7Don't wait when a loved one goes missing: file a report right awayMinnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Justice Programs

Databases

  1. 4Disappearance of Brandon SwansonWikipedia
  2. 8Brandon Victor SwansonThe Charley Project, May 11, 2019

News coverage

  1. 3Teen drove into ditch, vanished as parents searchedCNN, Jan 18, 2010
  2. 5Search resumes Saturday for Minnesota man missing since 2008InForum (St. Paul Pioneer Press), Oct 15, 2015
  3. 6Swanson case still unsolvedMarshall Independent, May 14, 2018

Related files

Same county, same state or the same kind of case.

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