What happened to Brandon Swanson? Some Factual and Theoretical Information

By Justin Jones Last updated Dec 6, 2022

At 19 years old, Brandon Swanson successfully completed his first year of study at Minnesota West Community and Technical College on May 13, 2008. In the later hours of that day, he and his buddies celebrated at one of his homes in Canby, where they also had a going-away party for one of his fellow students.

There were alcoholic beverages available during the gathering, and at least one eyewitness reported seeing Swanson consume at least one shot of whiskey.

However, according to a report published in The True Crime Files, Swanson’s companions stated that when he left the party shortly after midnight on May 14, he “did not appear to be inebriated.”

It was said that Brandon Swanson plan was for him to travel from Canby to Marshall, which is where his parents live. The trip should have taken roughly half an hour to complete, given the distance.

At approximately 1:15 in the morning, Brandon Swanson automobile became mired in a ditch. In the beginning, he attempted to get assistance from his pals by calling them. On the other hand, nobody picked up his calls. At approximately 1:54 in the morning, Swanson called his parents and informed them that his vehicle was severely mired in a ditch.

During the call, Brandon Swanson successfully persuaded his parents that he was not hurt and would wait in his automobile. When Brian and Annette Swanson arrived at the place where their son had indicated he was, they could not find either him or his car.

Brandon Swanson and his dad decided it would be best to drive about with their headlights on to locate one another. They were still unable to see one other, which was unfortunate.

Table of Contents

Brandon Swanson Was On The Call With His Father When He Disappeared

Brandon Swanson reported that he could see flashes in the distance, which he believed to be coming from the community of Lynd. He informed his parents that it would be more convenient for him to walk the remaining portion of the path and meet them at the parking lot of a Lynd bar.

The father, Brian, was strolling while talking to his son when they were on the phone together. Brandon Swanson planned to take a shortcut through some of the surrounding areas to avoid waiting on the main road. During the call, he shared with his father that he had seen a few fences and gravel roads. Additionally, he could pick out the sound of water flowing off in the distance.

Brandon Swanson yelled, “Oh s***!” and abruptly ended the conversation after the two had been on call for around 47 minutes, according to Brian added that he and his son had been on call during that time. According to what Brian had to say, “There was nothing after that.” Brian speculates that his son may have lost his footing and fallen.

Brian and Annette tried to get in touch with their son several times by calling him. One of their calls was never returned. Brandon Swanson’s parents, Brian and Annette, continued their search for their son by driving around various locations, but they did not find any signs of either his vehicle.

They contacted the authorities at 6:30 in the morning and asked that a missing person report be filed. However, other sources have advised that you wait because it is typical for men his age to avoid having conversations with their parents.

Brandon Swanson’s Car Was Found but not Him.

The hunt for Brandon Swanson was soon initiated before midday by the official authorities. Around 12:30 in the afternoon, his Chevrolet Lumina was discovered in a ditch on the boundary between Lincoln and Yellow Medicine.

According to Lincoln County Sheriff Jack Vizecky, the vehicle was positioned in such a way as to prevent Swanson from gaining any traction that would allow him to climb out of the ditch. Despite this, there was no apparent damage to the car, nor were there any signs that Swanson had been injured due to the incident.

During the months that followed his disappearance, members of law enforcement and volunteers scoured the area on foot, on horseback, and with all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). In addition to that, they utilized search dogs and combed numerous bodies of water. Unfortunately, no physical evidence of the missing person was ever found.

The fact that the search dogs led their human companions to the bank of the Yellow Medicine River led the authorities to believe that Swanson had most likely fallen into the river.

Brandon Swanson Disappearance Theories:

The disappearance of Brandon Swanson has given rise to several hypotheses, some of which are detailed below.

Officials Believe Brandon Swanson Fell Into A River and Made it back out.

Because the river was investigated, but Brandon Swanson’s body was never found, the authorities believe he was able to climb out of the water and continue traveling after he had drowned. However, because the temperature that morning was barely under 40 degrees, it is possible that he passed away from hypothermia. They do not believe that there was any kind of foul play involved.

In addition, the search dogs indicated that there were human body parts in Mud Creek, located to the north of Porter. However, the authorities never did find any remains to their satisfaction.

The authorities have stated that Brandon Swanson might be anywhere within a 122-mile-square area. Yellow Medicine County Sheriff Bill Flaten made these comments after ten years after Swanson disappeared: “It’s a large area. Who knows what direction he went in and how far he traveled if you consider the immediate region where the automobile was located and the time frame during which he was speaking on the phone with his parents?

The idea that he slipped into the water and either made it back out or drowned has also been disproved and challenged. This is because his phone looked to be operating after the contact with his father was disconnected, suggesting that he either made it back out or drowned.

According to assertions made by Minnesota, if the phone had been submerged in water, all incoming calls would have been sent directly to voicemail. Even while it is plausible that Brandon Swanson lost his phone when he fell into the water, and it was found nowhere near any of the bodies of water in the area, it is still possible that the phone fell to the ground.

Volunteer Firefighter Darrin E. Delzer’s Theory

Darrin E. Delzer, a volunteer firefighter, has indicated a different theory about what happened to Brandon Swanson. This theory is based on other events that he felt were related to the case.

According to Delzer, Swanson had a problem with his left eye and was required to wear spectacles at all times. However, the morning he vanished, he failed to remove his blemishes from his car as he usually would have.

Delzer also pointed out that immediately before he exclaimed, “Oh s***,” Swanson remarked, “Not another fence.” Delzer hypothesized that the adolescent might have stumbled into an unmarked cistern, which is not unheard of in rural areas.

Brandon Swanson had some Mental Breakdown.

According to one more school of thought, Brandon Swanson might have experienced some mental breakdown. However, both of his parents said that he appeared to be in good spirits whenever they spoke with him over the phone, and there were no indications that he had any mental illness in his medical history.

Brandon Swanson Planned his disappearance.

According to a different line of thought, Brandon Swanson may have orchestrated his abduction. It is most likely that the adolescent fled the region on their own and is currently residing under a different name. On the other hand, one would not anticipate it. It was much more plausible that he wanted to be located, given that he had tried to call his friends and was attempting to get in touch with his parents.

Even after 13 years have passed since Brandon Swanson was last seen, the mystery surrounding his disappearance has not been solved. Various theories were floating around about what could have happened to him, such as the possibility that he had taken refuge in an abandoned building, that he had accidentally fallen into a river and survived, or that he had premeditated his disappearance.

However, nothing appears genuine, including the fact that neither his body nor his things were ever found.