Quelltext der Seite Benutzer:Mangosnake/Disappearance of Brandon Swanson

{{short description|2008 Minnesota missing person case}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Brandon Swanson 
| image              = Brandon Swanson.jpg
| image_upright      =
| alt                = A smiling young Caucasian man with short dark brown curly hair, wearing glasses and a blue and white striped shirt with collar open, against a patterned blue background
| caption            = Image of Swanson distributed in the wake of his disappearance
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1989|01|30}}
| birth_place        = [[Marshall, Minnesota]], U.S.
| disappeared_date   = {{disappeared date and age|2008|05|14|1989|01|30}}
| disappeared_place  = [[Porter, Minnesota]], U.S.
| disappeared_status = {{missing for|2008|05|14}}
| education          = [[Marshall Senior High School (Minnesota)|Marshall Senior High School]]
| height             = 5 ft 6 in
| father             = Brian Swanson
| mother             = Annette Swanson
}}

Shortly after midnight on May 14, 2008, '''Brandon Swanson''' (born January 30, 1989) of Marshall, Minnesota, United States, drove his car into a ditch on his way home from celebrating the end of the spring semester with fellow students from Minnesota West Community and Technical College's Canby campus. Uninjured, he got out and called his parents on his cellphone. Unsure of his exact location, he told them he believed he was near Lynd, and they drove out to pick him up; however they were unable to locate him. Swanson remained on the phone with them until he went silent 47 minutes later after exclaiming "Oh, shit!" He has not been seen or heard from since.

In the morning, his parents reported Swanson missing to police, who advised them to wait as such behavior was not uncommon for young men his age. Later that day, the circumstances of his disappearance became more complicated when his cell phone records showed he had been near Porter, 25 miles (40 km) from where Swanson had said he was, in a different direction. That information led to the discovery of his car, near Taunton.

It is not known whether Swanson was aware of this discrepancy when he talked to his parents. Foul play has not been ruled out, but it has also been proposed that he might have accidentally fallen into the Yellow Medicine River, near where his car was found, and drowned, although extensive searches have not found a body. Land searches, with dogs, have continued in the area for several years. His parents successfully lobbied the state legislature to pass Brandon's Law, which requires that police begin investigations of missing adults promptly.

== Hintergrund ==

Swanson stammt aus Marshall, einer Stadt im Südwesten des US-Bundestaates [[Minnesota]]. Er machte 2007 seinen Abschluss an der [[Marshall Senior High School (Minnesota)|Marshall High School]]. Danach entschied er sich dafür, ein Jahr lang Windkraftanlagen am [[Minnesota West Community and Technical College|Minnesota West Community & Technical College]] in Canby zu studieren.<ref name="Pioneer Press story">{{cite news|title=Brandon Swanson search resumes in western Minnesota|first=Mary|last=Divine|newspaper=[[St. Paul Pioneer Press]]|date=October 13, 2015|accessdate=May 2, 2018|url=https://www.twincities.com/2015/10/13/brandon-swanson-search-resumes-in-western-minnesota/}}</ref>

Die Vorlesungen endeten in dem Semester am 13. Mai 2008. Swanson blieb in Canby, um am Abend mit Freunden zu feiern. Auf zwei verschiedenen Partys wurde beobachtet, dass er einige alkoholische Getränke zu sich nahm, laut seinen Freunden jedoch nicht genug, um ihn sichtbar betrunken erscheinen zu lassen.<ref name="Marshall Independent story">{{cite news|last=Kruger|first=Rae|title=Search for teen continues|url=http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/501764.html|newspaper=Marshall Independent|date=May 16, 2008|accessdate=May 2, 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606085610/http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/501764.html|archivedate=June 6, 2016}}</ref>

== Verschwinden ==

Swanson verließ Canby vor Mitternacht und machte sich auf den Weg nachhause. Kurz vor 02:00 Uhr rief er seine Eltern auf seinem Handy an und erzählte ihnen, dass er mit seinen Chevrolet Lumina von der Straße abgekommen und in einen Graben gefahren war, aus welchem er das Auto nicht heraus bekam. Er war unverletzt und fragte seine Eltern, ob sie ihn abholen könnten.

Annette und Brian Swanson machten sich mit ihrem Pickup Truck auf den Weg zu dem Ort, an dem ihr Sohn glaubte zu sein, und hielten währenddessen telefonisch Kontakt, wobei dieser zwischendurch abbrach oder aufgelegt wurde. Brandon blieb bei seinem Auto und versuchte, seinen Eltern durch das An- und Ausschalten der Scheinwerfer zu signalisieren, wo er sich befand, jedoch konnten sie nichts erkennen. Auch Brandon konnte nicht sehen, wie seine Eltern dasselbe taten.

Brandon sagte ihnen, dass er dass Auto stehen lassen und in Richtung der Lichter, die er sah, laufen würde, da er dachte, sich in der Nähe von Lynd zu befinden, einer kleinen Stadt ungefähr 11 km südwestlich von Marshall entfernt. Er sagte seinem Vater, er solle zum Parkplatz einer lokalen Bar fahren und dort auf ihn warten. Brian machte sich auf den Weg dorthin, während er mit seinem Sohn telefonierte.

Kurz nach 02:30 Uhr, als sie bereits 47 Minuten telefonierten, unterbrach Brandon sich plötzlich selbst am Telefon und sagte "Oh, shit!" (deutsch: "Oh, scheiße!"). Danach war nichts mehr von ihm zu hören. Seine Eltern legten auf und versuchten, ihn zurückzurufen, jedoch ohne Erfolg. Seitdem hat man nichts mehr von Brandon gehört.

== Ermittlungen ==

At 6:30&nbsp;a.m., his parents reported Brandon missing to the Lynd police. They were told at first that it was hardly unusual for young men that age to stay out all night after the last day of college classes. Annette Swanson specifically recalled that one of the officers said it was Brandon's "right to be missing".<ref name="CNN story">{{cite news|title=Teen drove into ditch, vanished as parents searched|first=Alexis|last=Weed|newspaper=[[CNN]]|date=January 18, 2010|accessdate=May 2, 2018|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/18/grace.coldcase.swanson/index.html}}</ref>
[[File:TauntonMN-1.gif|thumb|left|Map of the area northwest and southwest of Marshall|alt=A road map showing Marshall as a larger yellow populated area on a white background near the lower right. Canby, Minneota, Porter and Taunton are along a black line marked as state highway 68 running straight toward the upper left. Lynd is near the bottom right. County boundaries are marked with olive-drab lines.]]  
Later that morning the Lynd police did start a search, but found no trace of Brandon in the town or outside. They requested that the office of Lyon County [[Sheriffs in the United States|sheriff]] Joel Dahl assist them. To better focus the search, the sheriff's office obtained Brandon's cell phone records, which revealed that Brandon had been calling from the vicinity of [[Taunton, Minnesota|Taunton]], along [[Minnesota State Highway 68|State Highway 68]], the main route to Canby, northwest of Marshall—{{convert|25|mi}} from Lynd.<ref name="CNN story" />

Searching in that area, deputies discovered Brandon's abandoned car in a ditch off a gravel road along the [[Lincoln County, Minnesota|Lincoln County]] line a mile north of Highway 68, bringing the office of that county's sheriff, Jack Vizecky, into the investigation as well.<ref name="Marshall Independent story" /> He told the media that the Lumina had gotten hung up on the top of an incline at the edge of the road, not seriously enough to damage the car but enough to keep the wheels from touching the ground on that side. There was nothing else found amiss with the car, and due to the grass and gravel in the area surrounding it, there were no tracks and thus no way to tell what direction Brandon might have started walking.<ref name="CNN story" />

His cellphone call had been routed through a [[cell site|tower]] at the intersection of County Routes 3 and 10 near [[Minneota, Minnesota|Minneota]], another town along Highway 68. By May 15, the call had been determined to have come from within {{convert|5|mi|km}} of the tower; searchers were concentrating their efforts there. Since part of that circle included [[Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota|Yellow Medicine County]] to the north, authorities from that jurisdiction also took part.<ref name="Marshall Independent story" />

Dahl noted that from the area, a red light atop a Taunton [[grain elevator]] could be seen. He thought that it was possible, the red light Brandon had seen led to believe Lynd was within walking distance. Ground searches were being complemented with a flyover by an aerial team; [[search dog]]s were also brought in from the [[Twin Cities]].<ref name="Marshall Independent story" /> A team of [[bloodhound]]s from nearby [[Codington County, South Dakota]], picked up a {{convert|3|mi|km|adj=on}} trail that largely followed the field roads west-northwest to an abandoned farm, then along the [[Yellow Medicine River]] to a point where it appeared to enter the stream.<ref name="CNN story" />

Brandon had mentioned passing fences and hearing nearby water, his father recalled. On the theory that Brandon might have drowned, boats from the state's [[Minnesota Department of Natural Resources|Department of Natural Resources]] were deployed along the river, and gates were installed. In some areas in Lincoln County, the water had been {{convert|10|ft}} deep on the morning of the disappearance, but had gone down since then, Dahl noted. Deputies also walked the river's banks, and horses and [[all-terrain vehicle]]s were deployed in the surrounding area. However, Dahl ruled out a more organized, extensive ground search.<ref name="Independent second day story">{{cite news|last=Kruger|first=Rae|title=Search continues for missing teen|url=http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/501787.html|newspaper=Marshall Independent|date=May 16, 2008|accessdate=May 4, 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724171814/http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/501787.html|archivedate=July 24, 2008}}</ref>

=== Spätere Suchen ===

After the original search found no sign of Swanson, most efforts were discontinued. Sheriff Vizecky continued to walk the {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} of the Yellow Medicine in that area every day for 30 days.<ref name="CNN story" /> The Swansons left their porch light on all night every night as a symbol of their hope that Brandon would eventually return or be found and still do.<ref name="2013 Pioneer Press story">{{cite news|last=Divine|first=Mary|title=Five years after Brandon Swanson’s disappearance, the porch light's still on|url=https://www.twincities.com/2013/05/12/five-years-after-brandon-swansons-disappearance-the-porch-lights-still-on/|newspaper=[[St. Paul Pioneer Press]]|date=May 12, 2013|accessdate=May 4, 2018}}</ref>

Searches resumed late that fall, after fields planted shortly after the disappearance had been harvested. Dogs on those searches continued to follow scents of human remains into an area northwest of Porter that had not been searched earlier.<ref name="Pioneer Press story" /> Efforts picked up again in the spring, after snow melted but before planting; a cycle that continued through 2011.<ref name="City Pages story">{{cite news|last=Rietmulder|first=Michael|title=The search for Brandon Swanson continues seven years later|url=http://www.citypages.com/news/the-search-for-brandon-swanson-continues-seven-years-later-7756908|newspaper=[[City Pages]]|date=October 16, 2015|accessdate=May 4, 2018}}</ref> By that time {{convert|122|sqmi}} had been searched.<ref name="Pioneer Press story" />

In 2010, the [[Minnesota Department of Public Safety|Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension]] took over as lead agency on the case. It set up a tip line; by 2015, 90 leads had been reported that way. By that point, when official searches resumed, the area of interest had moved towards Mud Creek, a [[tributary]] of the Yellow Medicine north and northwest of Porter.<ref name="Pioneer Press story" />

== Theorien ==

While the trail followed by one of the dogs went to the Yellow Medicine, and despite her son's last known words, Annette Swanson does not think he drowned there. After following the scent to the water, that dog continued up across the other side, and along that riverbank to another gravel road, where it continued north towards the [[Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota|Yellow Medicine County]] line and ended. "There really is nothing to indicate that he's in the river," she told [[CNN]].<ref name="CNN story" /> Brian Swanson also recalls that, any alcohol his son had consumed earlier in the evening notwithstanding, he did not seem disoriented or confused during their phone conversations.<ref name="Marshall Independent story" />

If Swanson is still alive, there are other possibilities although they appear remote. He could have intentionally disappeared, but his parents do not believe he would have done that.<ref name="Pioneer Press story" /> Vizecky said he could not rule out foul play, even though there was no evidence of it. "[S]omeone [could have been] in the shadows, and they got him that way," he speculated.<ref name="CNN story" />

== Brandon's Law ==

After the searches, Annette Swanson was still struck<ref name="CNN story" /> by the initial response of the Lynd police that her son had "a right to be missing" when she told them how old he was. "I'm his mother and I knew something was horribly wrong," she recalled later. She and Brian began lobbying for changes in state law that would require an investigation into the case of a missing adult to begin as soon as it is reported, much as was already required in cases of possibly [[child abduction|abducted children]].<ref name="Strib editorial">{{cite news|title='Brandon's Law' merits support|url=http://www.startribune.com/editorial-brandon-s-law-merits-support/43648307/|newspaper=[[Minneapolis Star-Tribune]]|date=April 26, 2009|accessdate=May 7, 2018}}</ref>

Annette met with [[Marty Seifert]], [[minority leader]] of the [[Minnesota House of Representatives|state House of Representatives]] at the time, whose district included Marshall, in a local restaurant. The two talked about the problems she had experienced with the police when she reported her son missing. "She knew it wouldn't help in her son's case, but that it could help others in the future", Seifert recalled in 2015.<ref name="Marshall Independent 2015 story">{{cite news|title=Gaining ground in the search for missing adults|url=http://www.marshallindependent.com/news/local-news/2015/10/gaining-ground-in-the-search-for-missing-adults/|newspaper=Marshall Independent|date=October 24, 2015|accessdate=May 7, 2018}}</ref>

Seifert introduced a [[bill (law)|bill]] called "Brandon's Law" that would make the required change by amending the law governing the state's existing Missing Child Program to change the word "child" to "person".<ref name="KELO report">{{cite news|last=Dunsmoor|first=Ben|title=MN Governor Signs 'Brandon's Law'|url=http://www.keloland.com/news/article/other/mn-governor-signs-brandons-law|newspaper=[[KELO-TV]]|date=May 7, 2009}}</ref> He recalled considerable resistance at first from the state's law enforcement community as it was developed in [[committee]]. "Part of it had to do with privacy, especially regarding cell phones", he told the ''Marshall Independent''. "Technology was emerging then, so there were discussions about privacy and when can they [[ping (networking utility)|ping]] you and when can't they."<ref name="Marshall Independent 2015 story" />

[[Dennis Frederickson]] introduced a companion bill in the [[Minnesota State Senate|State Senate]]. After it passed both houses<ref name="State legislature press release">{{cite press release|last=Cook|first=Mike|date=May 8, 2009|title='Brandon's Law' is now law|url=http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/sessionweekly/art.asp?ls_year=86&issueid_=43&storyid=1297&year_=2009|location=[[St. Paul, Minnesota]]|publisher=[[Minnesota State House of Representatives]]|access-date=May 7, 2018}}</ref> (the House unanimously<ref name="Marshall Independent 2015 story" />) in May 2009, Governor [[Tim Pawlenty]] signed it into law<ref name="State legislature press release" /> with the Swansons and their daughter Jamine in attendance at the [[Signing ceremony|ceremony]].<ref name="KELO report" />

The effect of the change also required that police, in addition to determining in their preliminary investigation that the reported person is indeed missing, determine whether that person is potentially in dangerous circumstances. They must also notify other nearby law enforcement agencies promptly. Brandon's Law also clarifies that the agency taking the report is the lead agency investigating the case;<ref name="State legislature press release" /> the absence of that distinction had created some problems in the later phases of the initial search when three different counties were involved.<ref name="Marshall Independent 2015 story" /><ref name="SMN report">{{cite news|title=Marshall Man Missing: Nine Years Later|url=http://www.southernminnesotanews.com/marshall-man-missing-nine-years-later/|newspaper=Southern Minnesota News|publisher=[[Alpha Media]]|date=May 14, 2017|accessdate=May 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507221544/http://www.southernminnesotanews.com/marshall-man-missing-nine-years-later/|archive-date=May 7, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Police were no longer allowed to refuse a report based on an initial belief that no criminal activity was involved, the brevity of the interval since the person was last seen, the possibility that the person may have intentionally disappeared, or the lack of a relationship between the missing person and the reporter.<ref name="Marshall Independent 2015 story" />

Following the governor's signature, the law took effect at the beginning of July 2009.<ref name="KELO report" /> Four other states have passed similar laws. Seifert left the legislature in 2010, but he still has the pen Pawlenty used to sign the bill into law. "I consider it one of the most important bills I authored in my 14 years. It will save lives."<ref name="Marshall Independent 2015 story" />

== Siehe auch ==
{{Portal|United States}}
* [[Disappearance of Suzanne Lyall]], 1998 disappearance of New York college student whose parents also successfully lobbied for changes in law requiring faster and better coordinated police response in such cases
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously: post-1970]]

== Referenzen ==
{{Reflist}}

== Externe Links ==
* {{Wikiversity-inline|User:Jeff Hasse/Missing Person Case Study -- Brandon Swanson|this case, by Jeff Hasse, search manager}}

<nowiki>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanson, Brandon}}
[[:Category:2000s missing person cases]]
[[:Category:Missing person cases in Minnesota]]
[[:Category:Lincoln County, Minnesota]]
[[:Category:Lyon County, Minnesota]]
[[:Category:2008 in Minnesota]]
[[:Category:May 2008 events in the United States]]
</nowiki>