Mar 12, 2009 6:55 pm US/Central
Parents Ask Lawmakers For Missing Adult Searches
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ―
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Brandon Swanson, of Marshall, Minn., was reported missing on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 and hasn't been seen since.
Lyon County Sheriff's Office
Grieving parents are asking the Minnesota legislature to require law enforcement searches for missing children even if those children are legal adults. That's in the wake of two high-profile missing Minnesotans: one who was found dead, and one, Brandon Swanson, who is still missing.
When 21-year-old Jon Francis of Stillwater, Minn. went missing in the Idaho mountains his father said the sheriff searched for his son for only 29 hours.
"The sheriff came to us and said 'David and Linda you need to give your son up to the mountain.' They packed up and rode out of town," said David Francis.
The Francis family organized their own search party but their son's remains weren't found for a year. Now other families of missing adult children are asking federal and state legislatures to require law enforcement searches.
Brian Swanson's father was too overcome with emotion to finish his testimony in a state house hearing. The 19-year-old from Marshall, Minn. disappeared last May, after calling his parents in the middle of the night to help him get his car out of a ditch.
"And when I told them Brandon was 19, the first thing they told me was 'You know ma'am, he's an adult and he has the right to be missing," said Annette Swanson, Brandon's mother.
The bill requires law enforcement to search for missing adults if they are under 21, missing over 30 days, lost in a dangerous outdoor setting or the victim of threats.
Brandon Swanson is still missing, and his parents say much more could be done.
"Please. Lets do everything we can to help families with a missing loved one," said Annette Swanson.
Law enforcement officers say most Minnesota missing adults turn up later, and that extensive searches are often expensive.
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