Morbid - Episode 294: Where is Brandon Swanson Part 2

Episode Date: January 26, 2022

Part two of Where is Brandon Swanson is here. In this part, we’ll go over some of the theories that have been brought up over the years. We also want to thank you, listeners, so much for em...ailing in some of your theories and tips about some of the details in this case. You truly had us feeling like answers in this case aren’t as far off as we think. If you have any information regarding Brandon’s case: The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office 1-507-694-1664 FBI ViCap 1-800-634-4097 or Vicap@leo.gov As always, thank you to our sponsors: HelloFresh: Get sixteen free meals, plus three gifts, with code morbid16 at HELLOFRESH.com/morbid16. MVMT: Shop 20% off today — with FREE SHIPPING and FREE RETURNS — by going to MVMT.com/MORBID Peloton: For a limited time, try the Peloton App free for 2 months, then $12.99/month after. New Members only. Visit onepeloton.com/app to learn more. Athena Club: Sign up today and you’ll get 20% off your first order! Just go to AthenaClub.com and use promo code mtc See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:01:30 Hey weirdos, I'm Melina, I'm Ash. And this is morbid in the morning, but it's like morbid brunch a little. Yeah, morbid mid-morning. Morbid in mid-morning. Yeah. That has the same feel. morning but it's like morbid brunch a little more than mid morning morbid and in mid morning yeah that's the same feel it doesn't absolutely we hope your mornings are going well ours are ours are really happy right now we're having a good morning good morning good morning good morning to you the patrons are having a good morning to yeah we hope you are because we love you.
Starting point is 00:02:25 And we appreciate you and you deserve the world. And we would like to give it to you if we could. You do. You do. On a satir, like not like I know at all, there's some real updates. I do have an update about the Lauren Smith Fields case. We mentioned Lauren Smith Fields on a past episode.
Starting point is 00:02:42 She was the woman who had met an older man on Bumble, and he was the last person to see her alive. He called the police the morning after their first date and just said that she was unresponsive. Yeah. And I didn't actually know this part of the story. Lauren's mother, Chantel, wasn't able to get into contact with her
Starting point is 00:02:59 during all of this, obviously. And so she drove over to Lauren's apartment, and there was a note left on the door that said, if you're looking for Lauren, call this obviously. And so she drove over to Lauren's apartment. And there was a note left on the door that said, if you're looking for Lauren, call this number. What? So the family was informed. I did not know that. The family was informed that she had been found dead in her apartment a day and a half earlier. Oh, come on. There was no effort made to let them know. I'm sorry, this is so beyond horrific and every way. Like, this is handled so poorly. And they were told, quote, this is a quote,
Starting point is 00:03:33 we didn't need to reach out to any family member. We had her passport and her ID, so we knew who she was. And we already performed a nautopsy. Her body's at the medical examiner's office. Are you shitting me? They were also hung up on during this interaction when they asked for more information. Luckily, this one detective was taken off the case,
Starting point is 00:03:53 but they were also told that, because they were like, okay, so who is this man that she was last seen with? Like, is he being investigated? And they were like, and she's like, can we know anything about her death, please? No, he's not being investigated
Starting point is 00:04:04 and he quote unquote, seems like a nice man's not being investigated. And he quote, unquote, seems like a nice man. Yeah, totally. Like, okay, again, so did Ted Bundy. Yeah. So did Jeffrey Dahmer to some people. So did fucking John Wayne Gacy. And John was in his crawl stages. Exactly. Um, so this man did speak with police. And this is his story. He said that he and Lauren had met on Bumble and they had spent the night together drinking. They were watching a movie. He said that she went outside to meet somebody at some point.
Starting point is 00:04:31 And that later on in the night, she fell ill, but they continued to drink. And he said that she eventually fell asleep and he carried her to bed, which I was like, on your first day. Like, I feel like, I don't, I feel like you're running about something. Nothing about this seems real. No.
Starting point is 00:04:48 And he said then he went next to, he went to sleep next to her. And then he woke up several hours later, about 630 in the morning. She wasn't breathing and her nose was bleeding. So that's when he called 911. And that's the first I heard about her nose bleeding at this point. I don't know. So the family wasn't contacted for That all and then a day and a half later they find that note and then they find out what's going on
Starting point is 00:05:11 So it's like would they have just never told them? Yeah, they didn't find that note. What would have happened here? Exactly. This is wild. So and also like they performed an autopsy without even talking to the family first The other thing which obviously they would have wanted an autopsy without even talking to the family first. That's the other thing. Which obviously they would have wanted an autopsy performed, but you talked to the family first. I would assume. We have to get full consent from a family before we can even attempt to begin an autopsy. That's what I always thought.
Starting point is 00:05:34 Yeah. Sometimes it holds, you know, the entire schedule up because that's the important part is you need consent. You need next up kin to consent. Yeah. So the medical examiner did rule her death in accidental overdose due to quote unquote, acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl,
Starting point is 00:05:53 promethazine, hydroxazine, and alcohol. Whoa. And again, ruled the death in accident. There's fentanyl in her system. Like, something's wrong here. Something is wrong here. Something is wrong here. Oh, you think because they also didn't investigate evidence that was left at the scene, which according to the Smithfield's family attorney, Darnell Crosland, I believe is how you say his name. He told CBS News that bloody cheats were not processed at the scene until two
Starting point is 00:06:25 and a half weeks later, and they also found a pill at the scene and a condom with semen in it. And none of that wasn't processed. What exactly did they do? Did they walk in and go, oh well. Yup. That's literally what they did. Yup.
Starting point is 00:06:41 So this family is like, this is like, this is outrageous. This is exactly, this family is like, this is exactly this family is like, this is outrageous. This is clearly racially charged. Why would we be treated this way? So the mayor of Bridgeport actually on Monday. So yesterday announced that the police department's interaction with the family of Lawrence Smithfields will be investigated by the office of internal affairs, excuse me, and also announced that they will be updating its policies on family death notifications. Yeah, no shit.
Starting point is 00:07:08 Saying, quote, death notification should be done in a manner that illustrates dignity for the deceased and respecting compassion for the family. Therefore, I will work with the chief of police to make appropriate changes here in Bridgeport to our department's policies and practices regarding notifying family members of a death. I support and add my voice to the family community
Starting point is 00:07:27 and elected officials who are calling for state legislation on this issue. That is shameful. Shameful. I have never in my life heard of a police department sticking a note on a door. If you're looking for Lauren call this number, how about you fucking sit down at your desk
Starting point is 00:07:42 and try your best to get in touch with me? And that's literally part of what you do as a detective. That's your job. That's your job. Any police detective worth their weight would say to you one of the worst parts of their job is having to inform the next of Kim. Of course. Of course. About what happened to their loved one. Of course. That is literally a standard part of their job. It's insane to me that this is being treated like, oh, we just missed that step. No, it's like, no, that's literally the most important step at that point, is getting that family to know what happened. It's just like so fucked up. This is, I mean, this is their child. This is their sibling. This is like,
Starting point is 00:08:26 fucked up. I mean, this is their child. This is their sibling. This is like friends. Like it's so, this is insane. Like Lauren deserves some fucking justice here in her family does. It's just something's off. So I'm not accusing anyone of anything right now, but I'm saying something's off. It's very something is off. And it's very clear what's going on here. And it needs to be investigated. And a lot of it is. But I's very clear what's going on here. It needs to be investigated and a lot of it is but I'm like let's make sure that this is what you just said investigated properly and Maybe don't wait to do this shit. Maybe do it when you're supposed to do it instead of when the family who is grieving the loss the tragic and brutal loss of their child and Sister instead of waiting until they have to like bang on your door to get you to do it. Yeah. Maybe just do your job.
Starting point is 00:09:10 Exactly. When you're supposed to do it. It's the same thing what we're going to talk about in the Brandon Swanson case when they were like, well, he's 19, he probably just left, and they didn't do their job right away. And they just- But it's wrong with the valuable time. It's so fun. I don't understand that the lack of urgency in some of these police departments,
Starting point is 00:09:28 it's like really wild when your job is all about responding to urgency. Well, I was just going to say, that's exactly what I was going to say. That's your whole job is being urgent. Literally urgent. That's it. In your resume, you should write that you have a sense of urgency. You are supposed to protect and you are supposed to serve. When you do neither of those things, what exactly are you being paid for?
Starting point is 00:09:50 Right. I just don't understand that. And it's so clear that it's racially motivated in this case and it is disgusting. It makes me sick. Well, hopefully this case, I mean, I see people trying to push it on social media. Keep pushing this case on social media the way that, you know, we pushed like Gabby Petito because that got really pushed out there and it helped. And that's the thing, like these cases need to be pushed out
Starting point is 00:10:12 in front of a lot of people so that things can happen. Like this should be international news. That should be everywhere and it's not and it's crazy. So let's keep pushing it out guys because it's just important. These people are getting like lost in the cracks here. It's so fucked, but we're going to keep you as updated as possible on Lauren's case because clearly something has gone awry in that situation.
Starting point is 00:10:34 Something is a miss. That is something wicked this way comes through. That is foul play in my opinion. Yeah. So definitely keep an eye out for that and keep sharing it as much as you can, but let's get into part two of Brandon Swanson because Yeah, dude, let's because the fact that I like I had to wait with you guys just just like what two days not even Yeah, and she wouldn't tell me anything. No, she wouldn't fucking tell me
Starting point is 00:11:01 I had asked you guys like you know if you have if you have any theories, if you have any insights into like little pieces of this, by all means, send them, I would like to like include you guys in this episode because you guys have a lot of like cool and like interesting things to say about this stuff. So you did. So thank you very much. You did.
Starting point is 00:11:18 So I waited just that day to let everybody kind of throw in their theories if they could. And I kind of was just mulling through them. I could, I'll say, um, like first names, but I won't say like your full name or anything like that. Um, but I really appreciate you guys sending them in because it's going to help you everybody kind of understand this a little better and help us kind of peace. What possibly could have happened together? Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondries Podcast American Scandal.
Starting point is 00:11:46 We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our newest series, we look at the Kids for Cash Scandal, a story about corruption inside America's system of juvenile justice. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, residents had begun noticing an alarming trend. Children were being sent away to jail in high numbers, and often for committing only minor offenses. The FBI began looking at two local judges, and when the full picture emerged, it made national headlines. The judges were earning a fortune, carrying out a brazen criminal scheme, one that would shatter the lives of countless children, and force a heated debate about punishment, an America's criminal justice system. Follow American scandal wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:12:32 You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wonder App. Hey there, fellow podcast listener, it's Elena. And Ash! And we're taking you back to the days before streaming services. Whoa! You know when you would come home from high school and it was only a few hours until that TV show everyone was watching was about to come on.
Starting point is 00:12:52 Well, in 1999, that show was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In our podcast with Wondery, the re-watcher Buffy the Vampire Slayer, we take it back to 1999. So get out your knee-high boots and paste that poster of Angel on the wall. It's time to enter the Buffyverse. Some of you avid morbid listeners already know what we've gotten store. Join us.
Starting point is 00:13:15 Join us as we sway our way through Buffy's drama, action and romance. Episode by episode. Slacy. Follow the rewatcher Buffy the Vampire Slayer, wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and add free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. Darryl, Darryl, Darryl, Darryl, Darryl, Darryl. So going back to where we ended, we ended with them finding his car off the beaten path there on that lion's
Starting point is 00:13:45 county, you know, like what was it? Lions Lincoln County Road, I think it is. And they have not yet found Brandon. And to this, to this day, 2022, have not found Brandon. So crazy. Beginning of 2022. I wanted to say something about the car too. I was when I was looking for the images to post on Instagram. I'm pretty sure that the car that pops up that's like totally off the road is not a real crime. Well, there's a few different photos of different cars. Yeah. So we weren't going to post anything because I can't figure out which one is the real one. And most of them are on like paved roads. And we were saying that this was a gravel road. So don't pay attention to those. Yeah. So it feels pretty safe to say.
Starting point is 00:14:26 And everyone agreed in the emails and in all the comments I saw, I think we were all on the same page. That Brandon was likely on those back roads. The reason he was on any back roads was probably to avoid getting pulled over. Yeah. Or going through a sobriety checkpoint of some sort, you know, those things are always on main routes,
Starting point is 00:14:45 like Route 68, that you would take directly to Marsha. And especially around that time of night. It doesn't make it easier to understand how he was so far away from where he thought he was. It just makes us understand why he was out on those country roads to begin with instead of that straight shot. So I agree with all of you, I'm in the same camp. I think he turned off that road to begin with
Starting point is 00:15:06 to stay away from main roads. It makes sense because he was drinking at the party. So he was probably just like I don't even want to yeah, whether or not he was intoxicated it. I'm sure it would still show up on it. Now this is confirmed in my mind when I finally found a police report for Branden's DUI arrest before this. Okay. It was an arrest in, it was 914 2006 that the arrest happened. So it was two years before this. He was 17. Okay. So he was pretty young.
Starting point is 00:15:38 You know, 17-year-olds, you know what I'm saying? It happened. His blood alcohol level was .08, which is considered legally impaired. Okay. He was found guilty and all that mess, like went through the whole thing. It happened. His blood alcohol level was .08, which is considered legally impaired. Oh, okay. He was found guilty and all that mess, like went through the whole thing. So it is very likely that he was really nervous driving home after drinking at those parties. And again, we still don't know exactly how many drinks he had. Officials also believe this is the reasoning for him taking those back roads to begin with.
Starting point is 00:16:03 It's really the only thing for me that makes sense. Nothing else makes sense. Why else would he be doing that? And that's just like such a... Like, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, it just makes sense. Now, investigators have also said though that they don't believe that Brandon was intoxicated to the point of impairment that night.
Starting point is 00:16:20 I cannot find why they feel this way or what led them to this conclusion, but they have stated that. As we said before, his parents are also in agreement with this statement. I don't know if they are just taking the statements from the parents and being like, all right, we can see, or they have something else, I don't know. Yeah. But again, the parents were on the phone with him all night that night. Right.
Starting point is 00:16:43 So they do have, they know their son of course So let's talk about some theories Theory number one. He staged his own disappearance. That's a big theory everywhere. Don't buy it There's absolutely no indication that Brandon would have just wanted to leave without a trace He had a very specific plan academically that he was making like actual strides towards He had tons of friends. He was close to his family. He had that small legal hiccup in 2016, a DUI at 17. That's
Starting point is 00:17:12 not like he was, you know, in some big like ring of criminals or anything like that. No, it's very, yeah. Yeah. And there was, from what I looked in research, there was no other legal thing attached to his name. So there's that like, whoops, hiccup, DUI, it's a routine. We move past it. That's it. Now, the other major thing here is that he voluntarily called his friends for help and then his parents. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:17:36 This wasn't a situation where they reached out to him. He called them for help and stayed on the phone for a long time. In fact, it was 47 minutes so he was on the phone with his father, walking, trying to get towards where he thought was lined. That's not really screaming, I'm faking my own death or disappearance to me. So I say absolutely not to that one. I agree with you.
Starting point is 00:17:57 But it's always something that people grab onto in these situations, like the Bricellus Pisa case is one that comes to mind. That one makes more sense. Where it actually makes sense. This one just doesn't have anything. No, not for this case. Now the second theory, Brandon fell into the river.
Starting point is 00:18:12 Okay, but why didn't they find him? Well, that's the thing. This is absolutely possible. It's possible, but with a caveat in my mind. A caveat. A caveat, if you will. I believe it is entirely possible, and probably, probably actually,
Starting point is 00:18:26 that he fell into the river. Maybe he slipped, his phone fell as he went in, his father did indicate in an interview that he thinks he heard a slipping sound, like Brandon fell. Okay. But I believe he got out of the river. The dogs hit and indicated that,
Starting point is 00:18:41 and also they never found his body in the river. Or his cell phone. Or his cell phone. He never washed up and by now they would have found him. Absolutely. Investigators also don't believe he is still in that river. They were like, I don't think he drowned in that river. No, and the fact that I know like dogs can be like a little bit tricky, but the fact that they got his scent out of the river. Exactly. That's pretty big for me. And it's just they I mean we can talk about it in a second, but that brand that that brand and that river has dried up recently at one point.
Starting point is 00:19:12 It's because like a drought. So it fills in, dries up. Yeah. But when it dried, they found nothing. Yeah, they would have just, no, they would have found something. I believe he very well could have fallen in, but he definitely crawled out or waited through it and out. And maybe that is the problem here, because let's get to the next one. The elements. Theory three. He died from exposure. Yes. So if Brandon went into the water that night and got out, he would be soaking wet, of course.
Starting point is 00:19:37 And it was already 40 degrees. It was below 40 degrees that evening in Minnesota. What clothing in particular is a killer in cold weather conditions, even in like temperate weather conditions. Cold, cold wet clothing can give you hypothermia. It's just waiting to strike. Yeah. Now, survivalists say that if you get soaking wet in cold weather,
Starting point is 00:19:59 you should immediately take the clothing off and ring it out the best to your ability before putting it back on. Good to know. Because soaking wet clothing will suck the heat right out of your body way faster. Oh, that freaks me out. Now, this is because heat is lost via conduction and evaporation. Hypothermia can also happen because of convection while the wind blows.
Starting point is 00:20:20 It will blow the air that your body warms away from you and it will begin to cool you. I'm getting triggered to like six grade science class when I was like not so good at like the difference between Conduction and convection. It's very interesting when it comes to hypothermia though. It is it can also happen by radiation Where heat is lost through exposed areas like your face or head? That's why they always say like we're at lose heat through your head or like don't go out with wet hair That's radiation, but we are going to concentrate for a moment on wet clothes because this is if Brandon fell into the river somehow and got out So wet clothing will conduct heat like water and water conducts heat away from the body Oh water conducts heat
Starting point is 00:21:00 25 times faster than dry air does because it has a greater density So it has a greater density, so it has a greater capacity for heat. Fun. Now I looked back at Brandon's clothing and he was wearing a polo shirt and a sweatshirt. I'm assuming cotton was a big part of these shirts. I saw that like some shirts are like polyester or blend of cotton and polyester. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:21:22 A lot of times these kind of sweatshirts and stuff are like 100% cotton. Yeah. Because it's the fabric of our lives. You know, I'm obsessed with it. If this is if this is the fabric of our lives. There you go. So I'm assuming it could have been cotton. Yeah. Now if this is true, getting those wet and then wandering around for even under an hour could prove fatal for Brandon. Cotton is the worst fabric to get wet in cold or even mild temperatures. And why is that? Cotton absorbs water and the fibers that make cotton up stick together when they're wet, so it will hold a massive amount of water against your bare skin and it will not insulate the heat at all.
Starting point is 00:22:05 Oh, goody. So it'll literally like just kill you by holding all the cold water against your skin. Oh. Since the cold water will absorb the heat faster than the air around you, cotton will cause you to lose heat very quickly, too. So there is a saying in survivalist circles that I found, I'm not a survivalist, so I had to find this. That is cotton kills. So they don't recommend that you wear cotton when you're going on crazy hiking things
Starting point is 00:22:34 and could be exposed elements, like at least have other things as well. Yeah, people usually wear those thermal shirts. Exactly, like things that are going to be able to bring the water away from your body. Now, if Brandon was indeed wearing a cotton shirt or any shirt really, but cotton just really intrigued me with how fatal it is. Well, and I'm sure his shirt, even if it wasn't a 100% cotton,
Starting point is 00:22:52 had some kind of cotton. He also was wearing a white t-shirt underneath the polisher, and that was very likely 100% cotton. Probably hains. It probably was. Fruit of the loom, then. Exactly. Now, if Brandon was indeed wearing a cotton shirt that, and he fell into the water, but managed
Starting point is 00:23:08 to get out, he could have very likely, very quickly died of exposure. Yeah. But here's Theory 3B. Oh. So we're working right off of that thing. Sure, sure. We love an outline. Brandon fell into the water, got wet, started to succumb to the effects of hypothermia,
Starting point is 00:23:25 but passed out somewhere in a field or a farm, because that's what happens during hypothermia I'll get into it, and was run over by farm equipment. Oh. I know you're like, what the fuck? I was like, that's a big job. I know, but hear me out, I shall. This is a real theory.
Starting point is 00:23:42 People really have this theory I've seen in many, many places, and it very much intrigued me. Okay. And there are reports that a dog, some of the dogs, hit on a piece of farm equipment on one of the farms. Do we know what it was? But the owner of the property
Starting point is 00:23:55 wouldn't allow a complete search. Oh. Now, that is something that happens because farms are, you know, places they don't want tons of people trampling over their crops, the dog scaring the cattle, all that stuff. Yeah, yeah. But interesting, especially in like a case where there's like a missing child. In fact, investigators are still searching for Brandon. Like it's it's a very active thing. Still people still go out and search for him. Yeah, as recently as last year in
Starting point is 00:24:22 2021 and they confirm that that there are still places they have not been able to access within the search area. And this is because certain property owners are not allowing them on their property. If the dogs hit a certain piece of farm equipment on one specific farm, would that be enough to get a one investigator say it's not, I mean, it makes sense. Yeah, it's not really fair. It's not probable cause. Right. Apparently a lot of cattle farmers don't want the dogs on their property for that reason. I get it, but like, can we put the cattle away for a minute?
Starting point is 00:24:53 Can we be like, there's a missing person. Yeah. The dogs freak out the cattle and shit. I get it. But, and they don't want to trample over crops. That's how they make their living. That is a very understandable thing that they don't want people just like digging up their farms. Of course.
Starting point is 00:25:07 This is hard. This is a hard thing. And the shared dental ethics. The shared dental ethics. Most farmers and property owners in that area are absolutely cooperative, happy to help this family, happy to aid in this search,
Starting point is 00:25:21 but there's just a few that are really holding out. Interesting. The sheriff. The sheriff. Yeah, it makes the things that make you go, hmm. So sheriff says unfortunately they can't get that probable cause to force a search at these farms. And they kind of just have to rely on the farmers,
Starting point is 00:25:38 just telling them, yeah, I looked around, I didn't find anything. That's me, that's a big hole in this. There's a big hole in here. Well, and it would be one thing if that was just a theory. Like, it's a pretty good theory. But the fact that it also goes hand in hand with a dog, like going right up to a piece of farm equipment.
Starting point is 00:25:58 Oh, yeah. And I'll get to it because I actually have like an statement that confirms that. Now, if it also, if it seems crazy that a farmer might just like accidentally run over a body in a field, because I'm sure that it like, it's like what? Yeah. Like, how would you not notice that or something? Well, in September 2020, a 14 year old boy in Michigan was run over by a corn harvester after falling asleep in a field. Oh, God. And the farmer never noticed he was there until he ran over him. In 2012, a Montana person, a man fell a Montana person, you know, one of those
Starting point is 00:26:30 people from Montana, a guy fell asleep in a corn field and was sucked into a combine that just ran over him. What the fuck? According to the Billings Gazette quote, the farmer didn't see the sleeping man from a top his massive farm equipment. Of course he was hard to see ahead of you. And he ran over him on Wednesday afternoon. Police say he drove for 50 yards with the man stuck in the blades before the machine began to shutter. Oh God. The farmer told told
Starting point is 00:26:56 officers in Billings Montana that he believed he had hit a fence post or an irrigation pipe. Because I'm sure that happens. Absolutely. The Billings gazette reports that the farmer only realized what had happened when he turned off the combine and heard screams. This man lived. What? I know.
Starting point is 00:27:13 In 2021 in Italy. Oh, we're not even, we're going outside. Can you fucking imagine? Yeah, I'm like, yeah. One time I fell asleep in a fucking corn hole. Into a corn hole maze. Corn hole maze. Corn hole the game, the maze is a thing to do. I fell asleep in a fucking corn hole maze. Into a corn hole maze. Corn hole maze. Corn hole the game, the maze is something different.
Starting point is 00:27:27 Corn hole maze. I fell asleep in the crops guy. In a corn combine, just sucked me into the blades. If you go look at a corn combine. I'm about to, okay? Or a farm combine. I will. So in 2021 in Italy, so it doesn't just happen in the United States, two women
Starting point is 00:27:42 or run over in a corn field by a corn harvester, and both of them died. One of them called 911 and said, we've been run over by a corn combine. And they both were found dead. What? They called 911 while being run over. One of them was like, my girlfriend was just run over by, we were run over. She's dead, and I need help. And they couldn't get to the meantime.
Starting point is 00:28:02 Yeah, these are no jokes. And it's hard for farmers to see. and I need help. And they couldn't get to the main time. Yeah, these are no joke. Massive. And it's hard for farmers to see. And it would be easy for that to happen. Yeah, it really was. First. No Jeff Passy is the professional search manager on the case. And he writes the blog, The Search for Brandon,
Starting point is 00:28:22 where he updated in detail the search efforts for years. And he confirms via a post that dogs once hit on a piece of farm equipment he was there for it. Do we know what it was? This is the post verbatim. The fields within two to three miles of the last known position of Brandon were searched early, because the fields were not planted yet or newly planted with no growth, PODs were relatively high. The K9 teams initially avoided searching fields for
Starting point is 00:28:52 several reasons. One, the assumption that the few fields had been planted, that a few fields had been planted when Brandon went missing, therefore the farmers would have found him while planting. Two, farmers tend to be very sensitive about crop damage and we wanted to avoid that issue. Sure. Three, the constant wind blowing through that area allowed the dogs to effectively sample many of the fields from their edges.
Starting point is 00:29:15 OK. Which is cool. I didn't know that they could do that. They could get a sample of that field with the wind blowing off of it. That's cool. Once we determined that the remains were likely within the mud-creek drainage, and we found out that over 60% of the
Starting point is 00:29:29 fields in that area had already been planted when Brandon went missing. We felt we could no longer ignore those fields because they had already been planted. So if he's in there, they might not know. Right. This occurred in the late spring of 2009. Since then, we have been systematically detailed searching each of the fields in the area, an exhausting process. Recently, five different certified HRD dogs gave full-trained final responses on a field cultivator, sitting by the side of a field. This may or may not indicate that the body is scattered in a nearby field. This may or may not indicate that the body is scattered in a nearby field. This is one of the more puzzling findings.
Starting point is 00:30:08 It makes sense. This is a search manager, like the official search manager that said this. Yeah. A field cultivator. Yikes. So there is a real possibility that this happened. And Jeff also indicates in a Q&A that although they can't say the exact location they believe he went into the water, when the dogs hit on that. The dogs indicated an
Starting point is 00:30:30 area that they did search thoroughly. And he said they could tell within a couple of hundred feet where he went in. And he said in a post that it was not deep in these areas or any areas around it. So he probably waited. He said mostly it was less than a foot deep on average and once you fell in it would be easy to get back out. Okay. So say this happened. He fell in. Whoops. Ah, oh shit. Oh shit. Drops the phone. Can't find the phone. Doesn't have his glasses. Doesn't know where that phone is. Maybe the phone is face down and he can't see the light. Uh-huh. You never know. Or who knows? Actually, I think the phone at that point was a flip phone. I was going to see that.
Starting point is 00:31:07 So it probably fell and he can't see it. Again, doesn't have his glasses, which are we're going to get to in a minute, because somebody had a great theory about that. Oh, shit. So he's wet now. Wet clothing. We already talked about what happens in cold or mild weather
Starting point is 00:31:19 when you have cold wet clothing on. You are going to lose heat very quickly. Hypothermia creeps up sometimes within an hour. Yeah. I'm getting them off very quickly. So when this happened, he could have gone through the stages until incapacitation or death occurred. So myotype of thermia is when you start hypothermia and it's going to happen at 36 to 35 degrees
Starting point is 00:31:41 Celsius. You're going to start shivering, but it's going to be involuntary shivering. It's going to be like crazy shivering. You're not going to be able to do complex motor functions, but you can still walk and talk to some two degree. Sure. The blood vessels in your hands and feet are going to narrow because they're going to want to keep heat inside your body. Your body knows what to fucking do when shit is going on. So it tries to keep everything moving, but also keep you alive with us, like the least amount of energy and fuel used as possible.
Starting point is 00:32:10 So when you go into moderate hypothermia, which is 35 degrees to 33 degrees, you may begin to feel woozy here, like you're gonna start feeling off. There's gonna be loss of coordination, there's gonna be slurred speech, violent shivering is going to happen, like uncontrollable. This is when paradoxical and dressing can happen
Starting point is 00:32:29 in this, in the moderate hypothermia, because it starts to make your mind just think arashenally and illogically, then you move into severe hypothermia. Violent shivering follows, but it's going to be violent shivering, and then you're going to have these moments where it just stops completely and then you violently shiver again and then stops.
Starting point is 00:32:49 Is that your body like preserving energy? Exactly. The body is gonna try to conserve glucose, so it's gonna try to shut that shivering down, but it's kind of involuntary at that point. You won't be able to walk anymore. Oh, okay. And we'll naturally curl into the fetal position to try to stay warm.
Starting point is 00:33:04 That is so crazy. That's when your pulse rate is going to decrease. And according to Mayo clinic at 32 degrees Celsius, the body tries to move into hibernation, shutting down all peripheral above foe and reducing breathing rate and heart rate. And then at 30 degrees Celsius, the body is in a state of metabolic ice box. Oh casualty, that's what they called it, and in this article I read, the casualty looks dead, but is still alive. If treatment is not initiated, the breathing will become erratic and very shallow. The level of consciousness will continue to fall and cardiac arrhythmias may develop. So that's when death is coming, basically.
Starting point is 00:33:44 But you will look dead. Like people will think you're dead, right? And you won't be able to move out of the way of say a corn harvester coming towards you or a combine. You're just going to be laying the fetal position in a field somewhere. Yeah, nobody's going to see. So what if this occurred in a field, and the property owner didn't see them? Yeah. And we have, like, it can happen. Examples, I think you give through your phone. And there's many more Google, Google that like, people being run over by farm equipment,
Starting point is 00:34:09 and it's just endless. You can see it everywhere. You still let the FBI guy on your phone see that. No, definitely not. I'm not going to run anybody over with the farm equipment I don't have. But so what if he was run over and this person didn't want to deal with the consequences, and he buried or disposed of him. And that's a really shitty person. It makes no sense to me that his body was never found. To me it feels like someone put him somewhere.
Starting point is 00:34:34 Well, would his body be like very, very, very destroyed in that? Yeah, I mean it could be, it really depends. It's like there could be just a ton of lacerations on his body or he could be completely shredded. Like, it depends. Almost like a woodchipper kind of. It could be, I really, I mean, it could be a thing where it's just, or they just, I don't know, I just don't,
Starting point is 00:34:56 to me, the fact that we have these big missing pieces in the search area and that we haven't found him yet or any part of him, there's no cell phone, there's no key. He had his keys on him, right? The keys weren't in the car, they were with him, where's his keys? Right. Where's his necklace that he was wearing?
Starting point is 00:35:15 Yeah. Like, we haven't found anything of him. Nothing, not a piece of clothing, not blood, nothing. It is really bizarre. It's very strange to me that there's nothing of him over a decade later. So that to me seems pretty likely, but we'll go through a couple more theories because a lot of people have more theories. Okay, yeah, definitely.
Starting point is 00:35:36 Theory 4. There was a wild animal attack. I mean, not a bad theory. I don't love this one because there would be evidence left behind. And dad would have probably heard this happen on the phone, I would think. Yeah. Now, there is the possibility that he was attacked after the phone call went dead. Sure.
Starting point is 00:35:54 That could have. Maybe fell into the river, lost his phone and was attacked while wandering back. Still, I wasn't his phone found and why weren't his clothing. I don't feel it. Yeah. There are black bears, timber and gray wolves, coyotes and big cats, like bobcats and cougars out there in Minnesota. I don't fucking terrifying. But still, I don't really feel this one
Starting point is 00:36:12 because like you said, where is his keys? Where is his phone? Yeah. Where is his phone? I don't love that one. But, 35. He fell into an unmarked sister. What?
Starting point is 00:36:23 Now a sister is basically a well. You're like, he said basically a well. She said what? He fell in a what? He fell in a who? Oh well. Essentially. Oh bitch. No. It's an underground tank for storing water and Minnesota has a ton of them. Now according to Minnesota Department of Health, most of these wells should be visible at least partially. Yeah. Because they should have a steel pipe sticking out of the ground. But older wells are not part of that. Older wells because these wells can be like a hundred years old. Yeah. Well, and you're in like farmland too. Exactly. Older wells can have tops made of concrete, tile, brick, rock, or stone. Uh-huh. And then they can be covered over by dirt.
Starting point is 00:37:01 Oh. Which makes that sound into the ground very dangerous. And if these are hundreds of years old, that is going to weaken eventually. Yeah, of course. And some older wells were actually buried intentionally. That seems problematic. It does. Especially if properties have been built
Starting point is 00:37:17 around or over them. So they're just straight up hidden. And farm properties likely have more wells because of the barns and the need for irrigation and shit on the farm. There's a lot needed on the farm. So do people fall into wells? Yes.
Starting point is 00:37:31 Do you ask? Yes. Yes, Samara. Well. Yes. Well, aside from the big cases like baby Jessica, which I'm sure everybody knows, adults fall into hidden old cisterns all the time. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:37:45 Now in 2016, a man fell into an abandoned sister in Louisville, Kentucky and was rescued. In 2019, a man in Connecticut fell down a sister while renovating his really old historic home in the middle of his living room. Oh my God, it was 30 feet deep and completely hidden. Why? He survived.
Starting point is 00:38:04 And that was just in his whole, just in his whole time home while he was renovating. Also in 2019, a man in Portland, Oregon, a 57 year old private detective named Mike Zerwiss, was walking out to begin gardening in his backyard and literally fell into a 100 year old brick lined 35 foot deep sister. How do I find out if I have a sister?
Starting point is 00:38:24 I don't know. Who do I call? We can go spusters. I have a- Well, not though.foot deep sister. How do I find out if I have a sister? I don't know. Who do I call? We can go spusters. I have a- Well, not though. Sister and sisters. Well, this one was filled with water and he died in there. Oh my God.
Starting point is 00:38:33 Which is horrific, because nobody could hear him. And he didn't have a cell phone. He fell into it. I'm glad I have a new biggest fear. Thank you. Thank you for that. In Pennsylvania in 2021, a man fell into an abandoned and hidden 20-foot deep sister and stayed in there for three days before luckily being rescued.
Starting point is 00:38:51 What a bad bitch. 2021 struck again in Ohio when a horse named Anna fell into an abandoned sister and on a farm but was brought out alive and and was totally recovered. Anna. But like horse just walking along and well never bothered her anyway. So could he have that was amazing. Thank you. That was totally recovered. Oh, Ana. But like, horse just walking along and well never bothered her anyway. So could he have that was amazing? Thank you. That was really great. So could he have been wandering while on the phone with his parents
Starting point is 00:39:13 and could he have happened to fall into a sister and while crossing through one of these farms? Could that actually be the oh shit his father heard? He mentioned farms and at least two fence lines while he was talking to his father. He was walking through these places. So he could have definitely been around some abandoned sisters.
Starting point is 00:39:31 The only problem that I have with that, and this is just not even a complete thought that I'm having, but when he was falling, I feel like it would have been like echoey. Like the oh shit would have been echoey. You would think. Right, I would think. And it would last like longer.
Starting point is 00:39:46 And I feel like he would hear, like the phone would make some kind of noise on the way down. You would think, and I agree. But at the end, I'm like, I don't know what microphones picked up back then on phones. So they'd try to do that. I got this watch as we see, I was we pick up now. I know, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:40:03 I think I'm also picturing this in like a very like cartoon kind of way when you'd be like, oh, shit. Yeah, it's like always, you look, oh shit, and then fell. Like, like, stuff all coming almost, but like couldn't stop. Yeah, yeah. I don't know. It's not a bad theory.
Starting point is 00:40:18 It's not, it's there at least, and it's possible. Now, I just want to get to a couple of questions and theories from you guys because you had some really good ones. So this first one, I actually, maybe I won't say names just because none of you gave me specific permission to, so I don't want to like, none of you said anything that would be like upsetting, but like, you know, you never know. So people are like, this one says, hi ladies, just got done listening to the episode. I love you too, you never know. So people are like, this one says, Hi, ladies, just got done listening to the episode. I love you too, smiley face. I love you.
Starting point is 00:40:47 Just wanted to share my thoughts real quick as a former police officer. Hey, oh. The jargon for the car doors would have been specified in the report. Unsacured would have meant it was unlocked where open would have meant physically opened. Okay.
Starting point is 00:41:01 Not sure if all departments use those terms to differentiate, doesn't sound like that department had it all together anyways since they didn't do anything at first. LAPD, question mark, LOL. Also, I may be jumping ahead, but did the phone record say anything? You said that he had called his friends before his parents. Maybe that's what he was doing in those two hours. Were there any mystery numbers? One more thing. Did they fingerprint the car? Again, maybe you were saving that for part two, but as I was listening, I was yelling these questions at you. So, first of all, thank you for clarifying the open-door
Starting point is 00:41:34 thing. Because that, like, really? I was like, open. They were open, open, unlocked, which one? Someone tell me. So that makes me even more concerned about what the fuck happened here? Yeah, it's just interesting. I could not find anything about fingerprints being taken. And it bothered me as well, because at first I was like, did they fingerprint those doors? Probably not. Probably not. The phone records were not released, but from investigators and from Jeff Hassey, the search manager, the records basically help lead
Starting point is 00:42:05 them to the car by pinging off that minioed a tower. And they helped confirm the parent's stories that evening, like when they had talked to him. They also showed he had made a few phone calls to friends before his parents. There was never a mention of any weird number, any text messages that could be weird, but that almost makes it weirder, that there's no weird thing on his phone. Like nothing, everything was pretty out of the ordinary on his phone. Or it just makes sense. Inside the ordinary on his phone.
Starting point is 00:42:32 So far I'm really going for the farm equipment theory. Me too, that's the one I'm really sick on. It really just makes sense. I'm really sick on it. Now the glasses. This? Why was he driving without his glasses? So we had a listener right in that I was like,
Starting point is 00:42:47 wow, you just gave me something to think about. Oh shit. So this is what the email said. I just listened to part one of Where's Brandon Swan sent it. I wanted to give some insight into being legally blind out of one eye. Okay. I have amblyopia after thirty-four years on this earth. You're going to still know clue on how to pronounce that one.
Starting point is 00:43:04 That's what they say. Which is basically just lazy eye, but not necessarily the kind that wanders. One eye is weaker than the other, and can be so weak that you can be declared legally blind. I would think maybe Brandon had a similar condition, if it wasn't an injury, but I obviously do not know. Anyway, I'm legally blind out of my right eye, but can still see light colors in motion. This primarily affects peripheral vision and depth perception. Okay. I have a few theories about Brandon's glasses being off.
Starting point is 00:43:32 Back in my younger partying days, a drive home on a dark road used to give me a wicked double vision. Like the center line on the road would cross over, even if I had only had one or two light beers. This still happens now if I'm a little too tired. Brand and being not a big guy and minimally having that one shot of whiskey at the last party may be caused him to have the same reaction. When you wear glasses that try to correct help the vision in the legally blind eye, and
Starting point is 00:43:58 you mix that with drinking or and or being sleepy, the blind eye that's working overtime to see stuff gets legit tired. So you end up with weird double vision that is partially normal sight and partially super blurry blind eye sight. Based on the time of night he was driving and that he had gone to a few parties, even if he wasn't inebriated, you might have taken the glasses off to avoid double vision. Like if you think of a time you got too drunk in it order to see straight or stop the spins you closed one eye. Yeah. Taking the glasses off is basically closing the blind eye.
Starting point is 00:44:32 Hopefully all of that makes sense or you can kind of picture what I mean because all of that being said with the glasses off a U-turn or three-point turn in the dark on a dark rural road would be crazy hard because your depth perception is way off, which maybe led to him kind of going off the road a bit or overshooting the amount of space he had to maneuver. Also, if I remember correctly, I don't think backup cameras were super common or maybe not even a thing in 2008. I don't think so. Yeah, depending on which eye he was blinded in, but if it was, but if it was the right eye like me, there's no backing up unless you turn your entire upper body around. And even when, even then, it's ridiculously hard, and you lose all
Starting point is 00:45:11 spatial awareness in front of you. And then walking through a dark field and crossing a river, slash a ravine area, or if there was like a depression in the ground, depth perception would be off, so could result in the oh shit or in a darker thought, someone coming up on your blind side would for sure be an oh shit moment. Anyways, I thought I'd share because it sounded like I was, it was really throwing you off, but when I was listening, my first thought was, oh, we had to take them off to see the road properly. If this is all useless, I'm sorry. Oh no, it's not. That was all very useful. Yeah, hopefully your coverage of this case helps bring in new tips and help find brand
Starting point is 00:45:46 and so his family might have some peace. I agree and also, um, holy shit, that gave me so much. I was like, thank you. Yeah, I didn't even have a big shot. That makes so much sense now. It does because I actually didn't think of this and this is great that this is like my relation to this, but like I used to drink a lot in like my younger years. And I couldn't close both of my eyes if I had the spins, I would close one. Because if I closed both, I would still be spinning. And then two was like really intense. So I would close one eye. That's why like people will tell you to do that. Because it kind of just like balances it out a little.
Starting point is 00:46:19 Because if you close your eyes, you're just going to be spinning in the dark. Right. And then you're just going to vomit everywhere. Yeah. So maybe he was having trouble seeing that he knows his own eyes. He knows what works for him driving. Yeah. He makes that same trek all the time. And I mean, somebody who's legally blind in one eye, like that's a very similar. The exact same thing.
Starting point is 00:46:36 Yeah. Just maybe a different. Yeah. That's crazy. I didn't think of that. I think this might be why his glasses were in the car. But I- So too.
Starting point is 00:46:44 But I also couldn't understand though the part of this that I can't understand is if he needed them so badly all the time, I can understand I'm taking him off to drive because that makes perfect sense, you know, but why would he take them off and then not put them back on when he was leaving the car? Because I think I was thinking that too in my head while you were reading that. And then my brain said to me, well, Ash, he thought his parents were going to be right there. Like he thought they were literally like a little bit away.
Starting point is 00:47:13 And then I think he only thought it was going to take a certain amount of time to get to that parking lot. So maybe it just, like he walked away from the car without even thinking in the first place. And then he already made it so far by that point that he was like, I'll just fucking walk to that parking lot. No, that's true.
Starting point is 00:47:28 That could definitely kind of been it. And maybe it was just like, I don't want to walk back and get them at this point. It was definitely risky as fuck. Because if you need those glasses, like why are you walking in the dark without your glasses? Like that's not a good move. But maybe it was also... But it makes sense that maybe he was just frustrated.
Starting point is 00:47:42 He was definitely... He had a drink. So maybe he just wasn't thinking like he normally would. Yeah. And he was like trying to like focus on that parking lot area. So maybe it would have made it wonky for him. Yeah, trying to focus on that. That's true.
Starting point is 00:47:57 Because he was really focused on those city lights. He was saying that the city lights were kind of far away but far enough, but not close enough that he could walk. Yeah. But he was on that phone for 47 minutes kind of far away, but far enough, but close enough that he could walk. Yeah. But he was on that phone for 47 minutes. So he knew it was far enough away that he was probably gonna need his glasses to get through there.
Starting point is 00:48:12 Yeah, I wonder if it was just a thing of like, I made it this far now. I don't want to turn around. And then I can also understand too, like sometimes who knows if he was wearing his glasses when he was driving. And then when I'm on the phone, if I'm wearing my glasses,
Starting point is 00:48:24 sometimes I'll take them off just to like rub my eyes and like give them a minute. Or I'll even like fid when he was driving. And then when I'm on the phone, if I'm wearing my glasses, sometimes I'll take them off just to rub my eyes and give them a minute. Or I'll even fidget with my glasses. And if you're frustrated, maybe you're sitting there, you took out, he took out his glasses on the phone. And he's like, guys, I'm right here. I'm in the fucking car. Yeah, like holding his head.
Starting point is 00:48:37 He was doing that a lot of, some people, not a lot of people, but a few people were confused when I said that the mom and dad could hear the click of the headlights. They could hear it over the phone. They couldn't hear it. Some people were like, wait, could they hear it outside and they were like, what the fuck is this apparel universe? And I trust me, I was with you on that. I planted that seed in the phone. They could hear it. While they were on the phone, they could hear him. So maybe while you're sitting there clicking those headlights, he's on the phone, he's getting frustrated because he eventually hung up on that
Starting point is 00:49:06 like he was that annoyed. Maybe he's just rubbing his eyes, just kind of being like, dude, I'm tired. I just want to get home, like just find me where I am. I know where I am, even though he didn't. I think that this case, like as it unfolds, is like kind of becoming more like simpler. Like I really agree with with the farm thing.
Starting point is 00:49:26 And parts of it become simpler, but then other parts, I mean, the whole part of where the hell he is is the business that's like, yeah, it doesn't make sense. But it's just, it's like so gut-wrenching because it's like, it just could have been avoided in a couple of ways here.
Starting point is 00:49:37 Right, exactly. Yeah. Now, the next person who wrote and said, and it was just this at the email, and I was like, I appreciate your brevity. I have always wondered if he walked into a sinkhole. That was it. That was the only, that was the email, and I was like, yes.
Starting point is 00:49:52 Like, I was like, okay. I just know the word. I love wood for somebody just, this is my thought. Here it is. That's a valid thought. So this is actually one that I was already considering as well. So when I got this, I was like, there you are.
Starting point is 00:50:03 There's another person. Another fear. So I did some this, I was like, there you are. There's another present thing. Another present thing. So I did some digging and sinkholes are actually very much a thing in Minnesota. Oh. In fact, fountain Minnesota, which is a little over three hours away from Marshall, more maps, is known as the sinkhole capital of the US sometimes.
Starting point is 00:50:22 Sometimes? Just like, I don't know if it's like an official name. I was like, people refer to me. I don't know if everybody agrees, but it's been known as that. What? They're known as cover-collapse sinkholes, and are common because of ground rocks like limestone and dolomite. Now, these rocks are soluble, soluble, and can start fading away as water runs under the soil and mixes with like plant root gases. The water mixes with carbon dioxide, makes a carbonic acid, and that acid erodes the limestone and dolomite.
Starting point is 00:50:56 Once that happens, the ground just weakens, because all of that top soil gets too heavy for those weakened rocks, boom, sinkhole. What the fuck? Yeah, I actually found a recent Facebook post that had been deleted and I was like, what are you trying to cover up? In a city of Marsha, it's like a city of Marshall, Minnesota Facebook group, obviously, where someone was complaining about a sinkhole
Starting point is 00:51:19 in a bike path off of Route 23, or highway 23. That's in the immediate area of where we talked about connecting Route 68 to land. Completing about a sinkhole, like it was just like a really like, like guys who go, fucking sinkhole on the spike top.
Starting point is 00:51:35 So fucking pass me. And when I saw it, I was like, oh my God, cover up. But what if Brandon fell into a sinkhole? And he's still in it. Is that thing? Can you, could we, ah, sinkholes. What if Brandon fell into a sinkhole and he's still in it? It's a thing. Can you, could we, ah, sinkholes? That would also explain the keys and the phone never being found.
Starting point is 00:51:50 They went in with them. That very much explains the possible. Um, could you find a sinkhole and like dig it up? Like how does that work? Uh, I don't know. I don't either. They would have to find the sinkhole, I suppose, but it's probably been filled in by now, but I don't know.
Starting point is 00:52:04 This one, I mean, it's like definitely possible, but it's probably been filled in my now But I don't know this one. I mean it's like definitely possible But it's not like the theory I hang my hat on do you hang your hat on the farm equipment? I do two men. Yeah, but say I mean it is the same like it was sometimes the sinkhole capital of Yeah, you us just sometimes occasionally what it feels like it comes out of hybridation Wooo! I am again. Back back again. Back back again. That, like the sister is a very interesting thing and very possible and very fucking ominous. Very terrifying. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:52:33 I don't know. I can't say for sure. I sink holes. I don't really like understand sink holes because I never know how deep they are. I don't know how they just like happen. They're scary. They just open up.
Starting point is 00:52:43 I don't like them. Yeah, nobody likes sink holes, I think. I mean, if you do. They're scary. They just open up. I don't like them. Nobody likes singles, I think. I mean, if you do, I'm sorry, but. Sorry to. If any singles are listening right now, I'm very sorry, but nobody likes you. So I'm sorry. You should get a new gig.
Starting point is 00:52:55 To the single community, I apologize. But if you are a single listening to this podcast, I apologize, I didn't mean to do that. I don't apologize. Stop just saying the urge Stop just like chill out. Yeah, just need something else. So here's another theory from a healthcare worker. Okay.
Starting point is 00:53:11 This one's very interesting as well. My theory is about the lost time. I'm a healthcare worker. I know it's too. I'm saying. I'm a healthcare worker and deal with concussions and traumatic brain injuries very often. The one thing I can think of is if he crashed,
Starting point is 00:53:24 he maybe his head was unconscious for X amount of time, then woke up without realizing the time difference and called his parents. Okay, concussions and TBI's can do some crazy things, which kinda makes me think that's why he was so confused with where he was even at. Yeah, common signs and symptoms are confusion, anger, unconsciousness, et cetera.
Starting point is 00:53:44 You don't even need to bleed or have any external signs, which is why he thought he was fine. I've had a kid get hit with a football, knocked unconscious, and then be confused and angry at us because he didn't know where he was. They also tend to think they're fine, even if they're stumbling or having other issues. Think buzzed, drunk person actions, and behavior without alcohol. These are just my two cents. I guess we would need to get the phone records to see when he started calling his friends.
Starting point is 00:54:09 Well, that's, and I also think this is just a great point. Yeah. And one that I had not seen explored. One that just, that's so perfectly accounts for the lost time. It makes him in for his confusion about where he was, which is the part that I can't. That doesn't make sense. Right. That makes sense.
Starting point is 00:54:23 Right. There's a real possibility that he knocked his head when the car went off road. Of course. This wouldn't necessarily leave behind any evidence of an injury. All it takes is one good shake of your skull to get a concussion.
Starting point is 00:54:35 Yeah. All it has to do is your brain slapping against your skull. That's it. He was frustrated as hell with his parents, and maybe this is why. Frustration is one of those symptoms. And then I guess that could also account for taking off the glasses, like he may have just taken them off. Had a headache and was like, yeah, just was like, oh, like, right. Or they fell off.
Starting point is 00:54:54 It doesn't say where they were. They were. I don't know if they were properly placed in the glute, like next to him in the sun. Sure. Or if they were on the floor, maybe they fell off when he hit his head and he just couldn't find them. Exactly. That's a possibility. I hate how like this is like being wrapped up, but we still don't know. He wasn't able to convey what he was trying to say, and he's also dealing with symptoms of a TBR concussion. Maybe he's getting frustrated. He's like, no, this is where I am. He has no idea where he is. Right. He could have been stumbling through those fields and complaining about climbing fences and shit to his parents sounding normal and ended up falling into the river or any number of things we mentioned above. Yes. It makes a lot of sense. It also is like really like pissing me off
Starting point is 00:55:36 that back then. You couldn't just send somebody a ping of your location. I know. Isn't it so frustrated? Take why I had a technology. Thank you for not that technology now. I know. Because it saved lives. It has. And the search is for brand and happened to this day. I had mentioned before in 2021, the Yellow Medicine River bed dried up because of a drought. Yeah. It was execuvated. Nothing was found.
Starting point is 00:55:55 They keep running into those issues with farmers, not wanting to allow people in their property. And it's interesting to me that it's only a few farmers. It is. Because they said, in general, these people are very cooperative, very kind, very into the community and this family and want to help. Is this like a group of farmers that like maybe like maybe works together? Like, I'm sure they like trade different things, so.
Starting point is 00:56:18 And it's like, did one of them know some shit and they're just keeping... Yeah. Keeping each other back. But that's like, honestly, if that is the case in your listening farmer, John, that's not cool. Just tell someone you got it. Like it's not your fault. Yeah, you can say it was an accident. You freaked out.
Starting point is 00:56:33 I mean, now it's, it's pretty bad now. But like, like you've been, you've been holding this in for a while, but do you want that feeling? Yeah. That's bad for you. And it's like, this guy has, has family. He says, has a sibling has a mom and a dad searching for him. Just give them peace. Yeah. If that's the case, that's really,
Starting point is 00:56:51 that's really shitty. It's really jacked up. I hope that's not the case, but I also hope it's not the case that he fell into a fucking hole. None of these are good scenarios for sure, for sure, for sure. But at least it's like, I would hope that what I would hope that like he didn't suffer too much. Yeah. And hopefully, which if it's type of thermia, it's like that's horrific. So I don't love that. There's like there's really there's no good outcome here. There really isn't. But one good thing that happened was March 12, 2009, a year after Brandon went missing, Brian and Annette Swanson,
Starting point is 00:57:22 his parents took action. They spoke in front of the house and got Brandon's law passed. It's an expansion of Minnesota's Missing Children's Act, and basically gets investigators moving quicker for missing and endangered adults. Is it it's a fact that they had to do that? They had to literally get a law passed
Starting point is 00:57:39 to be like, you should look for people. It takes that waiting period away and would stop what happened in Brandon's case from happening again. They waited, they argued with the parents instead of immediately looking for him when they were clearly showing that they were distressed and that he was distressed. Invaluable time, valuable evidence was lost as a result. Because that's the other thing if this God forbid was the farm thing. They would have found his body before that had happened, if that is the case.
Starting point is 00:58:06 Because they would have found him that night, hopefully, or in that morning, or at least told farmers in the area, there's a guy missing, search your meals, don't run your equipment right away, or be on the lookout. And this could have ended. They could have even found him in the early stages of hypothermia before it progressed to death.
Starting point is 00:58:22 And maybe save him. Right. Well, it was officially signed into law by governor Tim Paul Lentey on May 6th 2009 good went into action in June so if you know anything about this case have any information they are still taking tips so please call the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at 651-793-70000. 7000-0, sorry. Lincoln County Sheriff's Office at 507-694-1664.
Starting point is 00:58:52 We also mentioned a couple of others in the first episode, so please just, if you know anything, if you're in Minnesota, if you were in Minnesota, you know anything, just give them a call for real. We got it. And if you're one of those people, won't let them search your properties. Let them search your property. Yeah, come on, go on, just do it.
Starting point is 00:59:12 We got to get an answer here. Put the cattle in the barn for a minute. The corn. Honestly, can get another year. There you go. Another year for corn, another year for corn. There's plenty of corn. We'll we'll end you some. Yeah. I mean like corn is a band as well. So yeah. Like
Starting point is 00:59:33 there might be like children in the corn. Like yeah Malachi. Isaac they might be in there. Yeah. He walks behind the rows, you know. You don't know. But in all seriousness, I truly believe he definitely went into that river at one point either by accident or tried to wait through it. I think he probably had some exposure issues. I think hypothermia played a role here. I think hypothermia played a role here.
Starting point is 00:59:58 I wonder about the farm equipment. I really do. That's the strongest theory. I think it's a strong theory. It's a horrific theory, but yeah, I don't know what else could have happened, but thank you guys for writing in with your theories and for clearing some things up because you truly did. Like you were a massive part of this episode because real. They were things I didn't think of.
Starting point is 01:00:19 It glasses the TBI, the sinkhole. I mean, with the fuck knew that sometimes it was the sinkhole capital. You never know. That's nuts. But thank you guys. But thank you so much for writing in for all your comments on this and hopefully this gets some memories taken of somebody who knows something. Some consciousness. Just starting saying some consciousness. Consciousness. Consciousness. Consciousness. I always get those confused. It's hard to say. Consciousness is... Consciousness is... I always get those confused. It's hard to say.
Starting point is 01:00:45 Consciousness, but... Consciousness. Hopefully, Brandon, one way or another, can be brought home to his family at some point. Let's make 2022 the year. I know. Get him home. You deserve this. The swamps and family deserve it.
Starting point is 01:00:57 They do. But thank you for sticking in here. And we hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it. Wee! But that's everything. We'll let the police search your farm for a boy that's been missing for a really long time because his family deserves to bring him home. And we hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it That's everything we'll let the police search your farm for a boy that's been missing for a really long time because his family deserves to bring him home And if you're not going to be able to let them search your farm Then that's just not very nice of you and I think that you should let them because it will wash away the icky feeling that's been on your
Starting point is 01:01:15 Contras for a really long time by yeah I'm going to be a little bit more patient. Hey, Prime Members! You can listen to Morvid, Early, and Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen Add Free with Wondery Plus and Apple Podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wundery.com slash survey.

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