"Any news would be good… would be good to have," says Annette Swanson
Seven weeks after their 19 year old son Brandon Swanson disappeared, bad news would be better than no news.
"We're just sort of stuck in an in-between space. We can't move forward and we can't move back," Annette says.
But no news is all the Swansons have received.
On May 14th, they believe Brandon had just driven through a field road, and got stuck on an approach. As he walked across fields toward the light of a town on the horizon, Brandon called his dad Brian from his cell phone.
"We talked to him for 47 minutes on the phone. And then at 3:10, he slipped, or something of that sort, to where the phone went dead," says Brian Swanson.
Those 47 minutes offer many clues as to where Brandon might have gone. But that call also adds to the confusion. Brandon thought he was stuck near the town of Lynd, just a couple miles south of Marshall, where the family lives. So the Swansons couldn't find him that night, not knowing they were looking in the wrong spot.
"When we said do you see us flashing our lights, his response was don't you see me flashing my lights?" Brian says.
Brandon told them he was walking along a gravel road, taking a shortcut through a field, walking along a fence line, before saying something about water. And that's when the phone call ended with curse word, then silence. Annette says, "When we lost cell phone contact with him, I just had a real sinking feeling in my stomach. I knew, and I don't know why I knew, but I knew it was bad."
The phone didn't actually go dead, because when the Swansons called it, it would ring several times before going to voicemail. But Brandon no longer answered. It wasn't until the next day, after tracing those calls, the Swansons learned Brandon's car was actually stuck near the town of Taunton... several miles in the opposite of direction of Marshall.
And that's when they began to fear Brandon had fallen victim to the fast flowing waters of the Yellow Medicine River.
Annette says, "There's a lot of water out there. And on May 14th, there was a lot of water out there. And it was running fast, and it was high. And that's my biggest fear."
A fear that seems to make sense. Brandon must have slipped into the river in the dark, and gotten swept. If only
searchers could find something."Given the amount of searching that's been done in this section of Lincoln county and the first mile of Lyon County. I am surprised that something hasn't turned up," says Jack Vizecky
Weekend after weekend, volunteers led by Lincoln County Sheriff Jack Vizecky and Gary Peterson from Spring Valley, Minnesota walk the banks of the Yellow Medicine. Bloodhounds led them to one spot, where they found nothing. But Peterson believes it's just a matter of time.
"It just takes continual searching of that river What are we looking at? Is there something that time has now removed the cloak of secrecy from?" says Gary Petersen.
The lack of results doesn't change what they think might have happened.
"There is nothing to indicate foul play or anyone else in the area or anything like that," sas Vizecky.
And Brian says there's nothing telling him Brandon ran away.
"I would think that if he waw, if he was still alive I would assume that he would have tried to get some money eventually," says Brian, "and why would he ever call us if he were going to run off? That doesn't' make any sense."
The mysterious 47-minute phone call that ended with Brandon abuptly swearing, then disappearing for good. It has volunteers and authorities vowing to find him.
"I feel it's an oath I took, something I'm required by statute to do, and it's important to me to bring closure to the family, whatever that would be," Vizecky says.
And it has a family waiting for answer.
"I'm not sure what happened, so I don't' really know how to feel yet."
"I pray for closure. I pray for the end of the searches," says Annette.
"It's difficult, because you don't have an answer yet. An answer would mean a lot to us," says Brian.
