1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,780 The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. 2 00:00:13,780 --> 00:00:18,400 All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 3 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160 Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages. 4 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560 Listener discretion is advised. 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,280 I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski. 6 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680 And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski. 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,240 And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases. 8 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:36,440 Hello everyone and welcome back. 9 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:37,440 Welcome back everyone. 10 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:38,760 I'm Eli. 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:40,140 And I'm Ali. 12 00:00:40,140 --> 00:00:41,880 And this is Cold and Missing. 13 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:43,920 And this is episode 41. 14 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:45,920 The 41st episode. 15 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,000 Way to go, baby. 16 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:53,080 We are here zeroing in on a year of Cold and Missing. 17 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:54,080 Yeah. 18 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:55,080 Amazing. 19 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:56,080 Slowly but surely. 20 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:57,600 It'll be here before we even know it. 21 00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:58,600 Yeah. 22 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:00,200 But without further ado. 23 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:01,200 Yeah. 24 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:02,600 Would you like to start us off? 25 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:03,600 Yeah. 26 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:04,600 Let's just get into it. 27 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:05,600 I have a lot this week. 28 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:06,600 So. 29 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:07,600 Oh, okay. 30 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:08,600 Great. 31 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:09,600 Let's get started. 32 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:10,600 Groovy. 33 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,320 So today I have for you a missing person case. 34 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:18,160 And it is the missing person case of Brandon Swanson. 35 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:23,000 And this takes place in May of 2008 in southwest Minnesota. 36 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,080 We're going to be mentioning a few towns, but it's centered around Marshall, Minnesota. 37 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,440 But first, a little bit about Brandon. 38 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,080 Brandon is 19 years old in 2008. 39 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,260 He was born January 30th, 1989. 40 00:01:35,260 --> 00:01:37,480 And he would be 34 years old today. 41 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,020 He was born and raised in Marshall, Minnesota. 42 00:01:40,020 --> 00:01:44,840 He had just finished his freshman year at Minnesota West Community College and Technical 43 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:46,940 College at the Canby campus. 44 00:01:46,940 --> 00:01:51,940 He studied wind turbines and had planned to transfer to Iowa Western Community College 45 00:01:51,940 --> 00:01:53,480 and major in science. 46 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,280 His family and friends say that he had a big heart. 47 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:00,280 His smile lit up his whole face and he believed in doing the right thing. 48 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:05,560 And at this time in 2008, he drove a green Chevy Lumina. 49 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,200 And now into the timeline of events. 50 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:14,080 On Tuesday, May 13th, 2008, Brandon spends the day celebrating the end of the school 51 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:15,080 year. 52 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,200 He spent the day in Lynd, Minnesota with friends. 53 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:22,360 He was wearing baggy jeans, a blue striped polo shirt, a black hoodie, a white twins 54 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,400 baseball cap, wired rimmed glasses, and a silver necklace. 55 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,160 Brandon pops into his house to say goodbye for the night. 56 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:31,080 Only his mom Annette was home. 57 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,440 She said, quote, I said the things I normally say to him. 58 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:35,440 See you later. 59 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:36,440 Be safe. 60 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:37,440 End quote. 61 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,720 Brandon then spends the night celebrating the end of the year in Canby near his campus. 62 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:46,540 Brandon was observed drinking alcohol at two of the parties that he attended that evening, 63 00:02:46,540 --> 00:02:49,240 but none of the attendants say that he was drunk. 64 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:53,320 Just before midnight, Brandon leaves Canby to drive home to Marshall, Minnesota. 65 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:58,080 A trip that he did a lot because he was commuting back and forth to school. 66 00:02:58,080 --> 00:02:59,780 It's roughly a 30 mile drive. 67 00:02:59,780 --> 00:03:05,160 But instead of taking highway 68, which would have been a straight shot home, Brandon decided 68 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,700 to take the back roads that evening. 69 00:03:07,700 --> 00:03:11,440 So Brandon leaves the party and it's just after 1 a.m. 70 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:15,200 So this is now May 14th, 2008. 71 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:20,080 Brandon is driving west down a maintenance road between two large crop fields. 72 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:24,660 He was attempting to turn south on a gravel road when he missed the field approach and 73 00:03:24,660 --> 00:03:26,680 went into the ditch at a low speed. 74 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:31,280 The ditch was shallow but steep and the car frame was hung up so Brandon could not move 75 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:32,280 the car. 76 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:37,640 At 1 15 a.m. he starts to call a few friends for help, but he's unable to reach anyone. 77 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:41,420 Finally, at 1 54 a.m. he calls his parents. 78 00:03:41,420 --> 00:03:46,280 He asks his parents to come and get him and he tells them that he's in a ditch between 79 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:48,840 Marshall and Lynd, Minnesota. 80 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:53,160 Brandon tells his folks that he can see lights from the nearby town of Lynd. 81 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:57,280 Brandon's parents, Brian and Annette, hop in their pickup truck and head towards what 82 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,760 they believe is Brandon's location. 83 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,820 He stays with his car and on the phone with his parents. 84 00:04:02,820 --> 00:04:06,280 The call drops occasionally, but they're able to call him right back. 85 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:11,000 When his parents get to where they believe Brandon is, they try to signal each other. 86 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,080 Brandon tries flashing his lights, the parents try flashing their lights up and down the 87 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,400 road, but could not see each other. 88 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:22,600 Brandon, according to his parents, was certain of his location and did not seem intoxicated. 89 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:27,480 Eventually, Brandon, still talking to his mother, gets frustrated and hangs up on her. 90 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,880 When she calls him back to apologize, he says he's walking towards Lynd and to meet him 91 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:32,880 there. 92 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,600 He'll meet them at the Lyndwood Tavern, which was a popular bar in the area. 93 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,220 Brian calls Brandon back at 2 17 a.m. 94 00:04:40,220 --> 00:04:45,000 During the call, Brandon says that he is walking next to a gravel road but decides to cut across 95 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,360 a field, thinking it will be quicker. 96 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:52,880 Brandon also told his father that he had to hop fences and could hear water running nearby. 97 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:58,820 Eventually, at 3 10 a.m., Brandon says, oh shit, followed by silence. 98 00:04:58,820 --> 00:05:02,640 His parents keep the line active, but they can't hear anything. 99 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:07,320 They call his name, thinking maybe he dropped the phone and would be able to hear them to 100 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:12,680 find it because it's the middle of the night and Brandon is walking by moonlight at this 101 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:13,680 time. 102 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:17,800 After a few minutes, they hang up and call back, thinking that the phone will ring and 103 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,100 light up so he'll be able to find it. 104 00:05:20,100 --> 00:05:23,960 The phone rings a couple of times and then goes to voicemail. 105 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:28,880 Brandon's parents continue to look for him and try to call him, but they are unsuccessful. 106 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:32,900 At 6 30 a.m., Brandon's parents call police to report him missing. 107 00:05:32,900 --> 00:05:37,960 The Lynd police initially are unconcerned and tell them it's normal for a young man to 108 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:40,920 stay out all night after a semester ends. 109 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:47,040 One officer even tells Annette that Brandon had, quote, a right to be missing, end quote. 110 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,840 Eventually, Lynd police officers do begin to look for him, but can find no trace of 111 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:54,500 him in or around Lynd . 112 00:05:54,500 --> 00:05:58,200 So they call the Lyon County Sheriff to help expand the search. 113 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:02,520 The Lyon County Sheriff obtains Brandon's cell phone records, which actually put him 114 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:07,000 near Taunton, Minnesota, about 25 miles away from Lynd. 115 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:11,080 Police find Brandon's car at 12 30 in the afternoon. 116 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:15,320 Sheriff Eric Wallin says, quote, The vehicle simply looked like it was stuck in the ditch 117 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,160 or partially in the ditch. 118 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:18,760 There was nothing odd about it. 119 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:23,800 If a person passed by, they would think it was just parked there or broken down and stuck, 120 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:24,800 end quote. 121 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,920 There was no serious damage to the car, but the car frame was hung up enough to keep two 122 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,440 of the wheels on one side from touching. 123 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:33,860 The car did not have the keys in it. 124 00:06:33,860 --> 00:06:38,000 It is presumed that Brandon has them, but the car was unlocked. 125 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,640 And according to the FBI, the doors were open inside the car. 126 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:48,960 It's reported that there was a cannabis pipe and curiously, Brandon's glasses. 127 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:53,960 Brandon was legally blind in his left eye and had trouble with depth perception, especially 128 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:54,960 at night. 129 00:06:54,960 --> 00:07:00,100 So it's curious that he would leave his glasses behind when he was walking in the dark. 130 00:07:00,100 --> 00:07:04,440 Investigators focus on the area around Brandon's car, but nothing is found. 131 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:09,560 On Thursday, May 15th, so this is the next day, the Lyon County Sheriff requested the 132 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:14,800 help of the Codington County search, dive and rescue team from South Dakota. 133 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:16,840 And by 11 a.m. they arrive. 134 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:19,320 The bloodhounds pick up Brandon's scent. 135 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:25,840 From Brandon's vehicle, the scent went half a mile south and turned west onto 390th Street, 136 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:27,560 where it continued for a mile. 137 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:33,060 The trail then turned north for half a mile and then turned west onto a driveway of an 138 00:07:33,060 --> 00:07:34,600 abandoned farm. 139 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:39,720 The trail followed the driveway a quarter of a mile and then left the driveway and roughly 140 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:44,000 followed the course of the Yellow Medicine River heading northwest. 141 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,480 At one point, the bloodhound jumped into the river and exited. 142 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:52,720 The dog handler interpreted this as Brandon possibly falling into the water at some point, 143 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:54,040 but getting back out. 144 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:58,880 The bloodhound picked up on the trail again, headed toward a drainage ditch where it continued 145 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,960 north towards 160th Avenue. 146 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:03,600 Here the dog lost the trail. 147 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:08,440 The Department of Natural Resources deployed gates into the Yellow Medicine River because 148 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:12,640 at this time it was 10 feet deep in some places. 149 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:19,520 Searchers scoured the area around the river with dogs, ATVs, horseback and drones. 150 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,840 The next day, Brandon's phone stops working. 151 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:27,000 People had been trying to call it continuously over the past day and it had continued to 152 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,720 ring but today it stops ringing. 153 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:34,040 Police continue their efforts in searching for Brandon, focusing on a five mile radius 154 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:35,080 around the car. 155 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:39,600 The thought being that in the 47 minute phone call with his dad, he would not be able to 156 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:41,840 walk more than five miles an hour. 157 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,980 An average adult can walk about three miles an hour. 158 00:08:44,980 --> 00:08:50,560 On May 20th, six days after Brandon disappeared, police call off their search. 159 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:55,080 Brandon's parents immediately begin organized searches that same weekend. 160 00:08:55,080 --> 00:09:00,520 And almost every weekend for the next several years, weather permitting, they would be out 161 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:01,520 searching. 162 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,360 Police at this time believe Brandon is in the Yellow Medicine River and that it could 163 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:07,640 take weeks for the body to emerge. 164 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:12,440 Lyon County Sheriff Joel Dahl says, quote, If I had to lay any money down, I'd say 165 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:14,480 we're missing him somewhere in the water. 166 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,040 He's in an eddy somewhere being held down by a log. 167 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:18,520 He's got to be here. 168 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,400 Everything is consistent that he was walking and something happened to him. 169 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:23,400 End quote. 170 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,680 So Brandon's family continue to search for him over the weekends. 171 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:33,080 And by July of 2008, Brandon's family are helped by David and Linda Francis. 172 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:38,000 They had a son, Jon, who went missing while climbing mountains in Idaho. 173 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,480 It took over a year to recover his body. 174 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:45,040 But in his memory, his parents have created the Jon Francis Foundation to help locate 175 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:46,920 those missing in the wilderness. 176 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,280 Brian Swanson says, quote, They've been very supportive. 177 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:51,280 They talked with us. 178 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:53,440 They listened to us emotionally. 179 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,760 That has really helped coming from somebody who has gone through this terrible situation. 180 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,880 I hope nobody else ever has to go through this. 181 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,220 I wish it would never happen against anybody. 182 00:10:03,220 --> 00:10:04,800 It's just so painful. 183 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:06,200 We're going to keep looking. 184 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:08,420 That's all we can do until we find him. 185 00:10:08,420 --> 00:10:10,800 There's no way I could stop until I know where he is. 186 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,320 Either way it ends, it ends its closure. 187 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:15,320 End quote. 188 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,120 Brandon's parents have also left the porch light on for him. 189 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,920 And this is something that they continue to do into 2023. 190 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,780 Brandon's mother Annette says, quote, That morning when we left, we turned the porch 191 00:10:25,780 --> 00:10:26,920 light on for him. 192 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:29,280 Well, we haven't turned it off since. 193 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,720 We're leaving it on until he comes home. 194 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:32,720 End quote. 195 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,520 The search for Brandon continues almost every weekend through the summer and fall. 196 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:40,440 But by November of 2008, the police rejoined the search. 197 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:45,360 At this time, crops had been harvested and the area that Brandon went missing is mostly 198 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:46,640 farmland. 199 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:51,060 The water levels of the Yellow Medicine River had also drastically lowered. 200 00:10:51,060 --> 00:10:57,160 So these were all favorable conditions to find any evidence of Brandon, but nothing 201 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:58,160 is found. 202 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:02,300 No cell phone, no keys, no clothing, no jewelry. 203 00:11:02,300 --> 00:11:06,680 And then searches halt in the winter times, especially in Minnesota, which gets a lot 204 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:10,760 of snow, which would make ground searches extremely difficult. 205 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:14,560 But in March of 2009, the searches continue. 206 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:19,480 On Wednesday, May 6, 2009, Brandon's law was signed into effect by the governor. 207 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:25,360 This waives the 24-hour waiting period for missing adults under suspicious circumstances. 208 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:31,560 The searches continue, but one of the most notable things that I found in the searches 209 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:37,640 come from the November 14 through the 15 search of 2009. 210 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,160 So at this time, searchers believe that they are getting close to the remains. 211 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:45,840 And they point to two moments of the search that make them think this. 212 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:50,800 The first is the scent of human remains was transferred to a searcher's boot. 213 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:53,120 All three of the dogs hid on it. 214 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,920 Searchers believe that the scent was blown into the area. 215 00:11:55,920 --> 00:12:02,600 And the second event is two of the three dogs alerted to a field cultivator that was parked 216 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:04,260 alongside a field. 217 00:12:04,260 --> 00:12:07,680 Searchers believe that there are a number of ways the scent had got there. 218 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:10,920 But all this considered, they believe they are very close. 219 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:15,000 But nothing was found of Brandon's during this time. 220 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:21,200 Searchers also become interested in Mud Creek, which runs north of Yellow Medicine River, 221 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:23,520 because dogs alerted there also. 222 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:25,960 But again, nothing is found there. 223 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:31,340 Now the search for Brandon continues year over year over year. 224 00:12:31,340 --> 00:12:36,000 The last notable search took place in the fall of 2021. 225 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,840 The Yellow Medicine River had dried up due to drought. 226 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:43,800 Eric Wallin, the Lyon County Sheriff says, quote, we've had excavators come and sift 227 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:48,960 through the dirt looking for something, whether it's remains or property, end quote. 228 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:54,440 However, an issue that has persisted since the start of the search is land access. 229 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:58,240 Farmers don't want the dogs around their cattle or to damage crops. 230 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:04,000 And there are still fields that searchers have not been able to access since 2008. 231 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,680 So they've never been searched. 232 00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:11,600 Ken Anderson of Emergency Support Services, who help run the search for Brandon now, says, 233 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:16,320 quote, in at least a couple of circumstances, that problem is still in existence. 234 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:18,480 They will not allow us on their property. 235 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:20,360 We don't dispute the reason why. 236 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,560 We try and work out a method that would make it acceptable. 237 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:28,360 And we've not been able to come up with a working compromise, end quote. 238 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:32,200 Police say they continue to get tips in the case, but they all fizzle out. 239 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:36,920 Lyon County Sheriff Eric Wallin says, quote, it seems that every tip that we receive, we 240 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:39,560 investigate and we run into a dead end. 241 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:42,660 It was either false or the information wasn't accurate. 242 00:13:42,660 --> 00:13:45,800 They all seem to run into a dead end, end quote. 243 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:50,920 Annette Swanson, Brandon's mother, stopped physically searching for him in 2008. 244 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,560 She said she couldn't be the one to come across him. 245 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:57,200 But she spearheads the fundraising efforts to keep the search going. 246 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:01,360 And she says, quote, I want people to remember Brandon, talk about Brandon. 247 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:03,140 Brandon is a real person. 248 00:14:03,140 --> 00:14:06,600 He touched a lot of lives and don't forget him, end quote. 249 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:12,560 So with that, if you know anything about the disappearance of Brandon Swanson or his whereabouts 250 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:16,880 today, please call the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. 251 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:20,480 And you can specifically ask for Agent Derrick Woodford. 252 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:26,560 And that number is 651-793-7000. 253 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:32,480 And the sources for today's podcasts come from the St. Cloud Times, the Argus Leader, 254 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:39,800 CNN.com, the Marshall Independent, the search for Brandon Swanson.blogspot.com, and the 255 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:41,080 Crime Wire. 256 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,060 So that is the case of Brandon Swanson. 257 00:14:44,060 --> 00:14:52,320 You chose a missing person case that I actually know quite a bit about. 258 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:53,320 Really? 259 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:54,320 Yes. 260 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,840 This is a more popular case. 261 00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:00,720 It's been done on a lot of podcasts. 262 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,480 It's just one that as soon as I heard about it, it's just it's stuck in your head. 263 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:06,280 And so I wanted to cover it. 264 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,200 And I wanted to look into it because there's been a lot of rumors. 265 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:11,400 There's been a lot of theories out there. 266 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,320 So I just wanted to know what the facts were of this case. 267 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:18,980 And these are the facts that I could come up with and verify. 268 00:15:18,980 --> 00:15:23,040 And I've been following this case for multiple years. 269 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:27,920 I was a fresh I was just finishing my freshman year of college. 270 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:30,500 I was the we're the same age. 271 00:15:30,500 --> 00:15:39,080 And particularly I took an interest in it because we had a pond on my college that unfortunately 272 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:43,040 someone had fallen into. 273 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:47,840 Resulted in them passing away, which is sad. 274 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:53,920 But anyway, just it was the time and yeah, I took an interest in it and have followed 275 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:55,460 it ever since. 276 00:15:55,460 --> 00:16:03,140 So I have not that anyone has asked for it, but I have my own theory that mostly I echo 277 00:16:03,140 --> 00:16:14,720 what law enforcement says in this case, and it's quite possible that because of probably 278 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:15,720 wasn't that cold. 279 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:17,920 Actually, I looked this up. 280 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:19,640 It did get really cold that night. 281 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:20,640 It was. 282 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:21,720 Yeah, yes. 283 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:28,280 It was like upper 30s, lower 40s to the point where if he did get wet, hypothermia would 284 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:29,280 have set in. 285 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:30,280 Yes. 286 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:35,520 So what I think I think that the oh shit he dropped his phone. 287 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:42,000 It was damaged, but we know the phone was still taking calls into the following day 288 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:43,000 for two days. 289 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,000 Yeah. 290 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:45,000 Yeah. 291 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:46,720 So the phone was still taking calls. 292 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:51,880 I think like just a possibility of a few drunk things happened in the moment that made him 293 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,440 kind of like ping pong around. 294 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:58,880 And then eventually he fell into the river. 295 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:04,740 But the thing about Yellow Madison River is that it is a watershed. 296 00:17:04,740 --> 00:17:08,640 It's a drainage basin, which you already mentioned. 297 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,200 And especially that time of year. 298 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:17,240 If if that happened, then like that's where he is. 299 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:24,560 And it's pretty clear to me, his remains are in those spaces that we've never had access 300 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:25,560 to. 301 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:30,800 And I feel like that makes close to 100 percent sense to me. 302 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:37,040 So that's my theory is that he's there. 303 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:47,140 Now if you really want to go down the pathway that some people have that something sinister 304 00:17:47,140 --> 00:17:53,640 has happened on those properties and that's why we don't have access to them. 305 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:54,760 Go for it. 306 00:17:54,760 --> 00:18:01,720 The theories are out there, but I don't think that that's the case. 307 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:06,840 I don't think maybe anything nefarious happened to him. 308 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:12,600 But I did have a different theory coming out of this as to what happened to him. 309 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:16,880 Based off of the scent dog, my theory is, you know, he kind of follows that trail. 310 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:22,200 The oh shit moment, whatever that is, if he slips, if he falls, if he goes into the water, 311 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:24,120 if he drops his phone. 312 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:29,960 I think at some point he does fall into the Yellow Medicine River, but because the dogs 313 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:36,480 do pick up his scent on the other side of the river, I think that could suggest that 314 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:43,800 he continued walking, but he's wet, it's cold, hypothermia would start setting in. 315 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:48,920 So I think it's possible that maybe he sat down to try to warm himself up, to get his 316 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:55,160 bearings, whatever, but he falls asleep in a field, on a field, near a field. 317 00:18:55,160 --> 00:19:00,680 And as those big machines come around and start tilling and moving the land and digging 318 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:06,360 it all up, you wouldn't necessarily always see what's underneath you and he kind of gets 319 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:11,400 mixed up in these big machineries and in the field. 320 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:20,800 Because if maybe after you were done using your machinery and you noticed some whatever 321 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:26,360 on it, whether it be material, clothing, you know, just something odd stuck in your machine, 322 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:31,900 near your machine, maybe you would put two and two together and decide, I'm never going 323 00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:33,400 to let them on my property. 324 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:37,880 I'm never going to let them on here because I don't need this and I didn't do anything 325 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:38,960 wrong. 326 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:45,920 So because I just don't know why else you wouldn't let someone on your property. 327 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,960 And especially after all this time, I would think that they would almost want to let them 328 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:53,680 search it just to be done with it, just so that they would stop asking, you know what 329 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:54,680 I mean? 330 00:19:54,680 --> 00:20:00,360 Because that feels like part of it, but maybe it's not. 331 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:01,360 But that's my theory. 332 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:05,120 Oh, yeah, about hypothermia. 333 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:10,400 After a certain point, especially when you're drunk, you start, you believe that you are 334 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:11,400 hot. 335 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:12,720 So you take your clothes off. 336 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:13,720 Yeah. 337 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:19,080 And you would maybe step into the river to cool off. 338 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:24,600 It is interesting to me, though, that just they've really searched this river, like in 339 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:30,680 all the missing person cases I've covered, even ones that have had very extensive searches. 340 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:40,960 It is curious to me that, you know, no clothing, his hat, his shoes, the necklace he was wearing, 341 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,520 nothing has ever been found. 342 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:48,760 To the point that some searchers have said that, you know, he's not in Yellow Medicine 343 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:50,160 River, he's in Mud Creek. 344 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,040 And this is the creek I briefly mentioned. 345 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:54,040 But it's north of it. 346 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,600 Yeah, it runs north of Yellow Medicine River. 347 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:03,600 And there have been canine hits there as well of human remains, but still no sign of him 348 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,720 in Mud River either. 349 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:11,480 I guess I want to make clear that I wasn't saying he was in the river. 350 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,560 Like that's where his remains are. 351 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:20,120 I think he's it's the field, it's Mud River, Mud Creek. 352 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:27,200 This search, I think, will be kind of historic and will like go back and be analyzed about, 353 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:32,480 you know, scent trails and grid searches and things like that, just because it has been 354 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:33,720 so extensive. 355 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,160 It's been over 10 years of searches. 356 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:43,440 Well, ultimately, we could talk about our own theories all day long. 357 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:44,440 Yeah. 358 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,840 And most importantly, is figuring out what happened to him. 359 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:48,840 You know, answers. 360 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:49,840 There's family. 361 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:55,920 Yeah, they absolutely deserve answers and just, you know, bringing him home after all 362 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:57,480 of this effort. 363 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:02,120 And I think a lot of people are invested in the search for Brandon and just want to see 364 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:05,400 him come home and, you know, be at peace and resting. 365 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:06,400 Yeah. 366 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:15,640 Again, for me to literally one man's opinion, because I'm sure there are people that do 367 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:17,720 not agree with me, which is totally fine. 368 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:18,720 I encourage that. 369 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,760 I definitely welcome it, especially in true crime. 370 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:26,040 I think it's important to stay mindful of all of the possibilities, because that's where 371 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,240 we find, like, where error happens. 372 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:34,000 Is that enough people believe one thing and everyone gets stuck in that? 373 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,000 Yeah. 374 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:41,200 I mean, it's just whatever the evidence leads, you know, whatever the evidence suggests, 375 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:43,760 like you can't all facts are friendly. 376 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:48,840 So you got to take them all into account until until you got the whole picture. 377 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,680 But yeah, there's and this is one of those cases that there's 100 theories out there. 378 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:57,920 But ultimately, we just want Brandon to come home. 379 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:03,320 So again, if you know anything about the disappearance of Brandon Swanson or his whereabouts today, 380 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:08,320 please call the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and specifically Agent Derrick 381 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:14,280 Woodford at 651-793-700. 382 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:23,840 Thanks so much for being with us for Episode 41 and for continuing getting Brandon's name 383 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:24,840 out there. 384 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,240 This case has been there for a long time. 385 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:35,040 And if you go to our website, cold and missing dot com and click on Brandon's episode, I'm 386 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:42,080 going to have just a Google Maps or technically it's Apple Maps picture of the sent trail 387 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:46,240 that the dog picked up just because I know I was saying like half a mile this way and 388 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:47,400 then you turn west. 389 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:52,560 So just if you are a visual person, which I am, you can go to cold and missing and find 390 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,700 Brandon's episode and that will be on the web page. 391 00:23:55,700 --> 00:23:58,400 You can also follow us on Instagram. 392 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:02,560 You can search us at cold and missing that'll pop right up and follow us there. 393 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:07,840 We'll get updates if we ever have to delay an episode or come out a day late. 394 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:09,160 You'll be full in the know. 395 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:14,160 So follow us there and have a good week and stay safe y'all. 396 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:40,000 Stay safe y'all.