On May 14, 2008, Brandon Swanson drove his car into a ditch on his way home. He called his parents for help, but he couldn’t determine his exact location. After 45 minutes of being on call with his parents, he exclaimed, “Oh shit!” and abruptly ended the call. He was never heard from again.
Brandon Swanson was a 19-year-old student from Marshall, Minnesota. He studied at the Minnesota West Community and Technical College’s Canby campus and was just done with his spring semester.
On May 14, 2008, after celebrating the end of his semester, he drove his car into a ditch while he was on his way home. Fortunately, he was uninjured and called his parents to come to pick him up, but he was unsure of his exact location. He told his parents that he might be near Lynd. However, when they reached Lynd, they couldn’t locate him.
He remained on the phone with them for 45 minutes while signaling with his headlights. But neither of his parents could see any signs of him nor could he see his parents. Suddenly, he exclaimed “Oh shit!” and abruptly ended the call. He was not seen or heard from again.
The police found his car in Taunton nearly 40 kilometers from the place Swanson said he was, but there were no tracks to determine which direction he might have gone. He was believed to have drowned in a nearby river, but his body was never found. His parents lobbied to pass “The Brandon Law,” which requires police to begin investigations immediately after an adult is reported missing.
In April 2006, Brian Shaffer entered a bar in Ohio to celebrate with his friends but disappeared a couple of hours later. The security cameras show him entering the bar but never leaving it. He is still missing to this day.
Brain Shaffer, a 27-year-old medical student at Ohio State University, went out with his friends to celebrate the beginning of spring break. Do you see a theme here? His friend, William Florence, and he met at the Ugly Tuna Saloona, a bar near the south campus, at 9 p.m. on March 31st, 2006.
The two went bar hopping until they met Florence’s friend, Meredith Reed, who offered to drop them off at the Ugly Tuna Saloona bar again.
The three were seen entering the bar at 1:15 a.m. At about 1:55 a.m., Shaffer went outside the bar and was seen speaking to two women. After a short while, he seemed to say goodbye and walk back into the bar, but that was the last anyone saw him. He seemingly disappeared into thin air.
His two companions tried contacting him but in vain. The two left shortly after, believing that he might have gone to his apartment without informing them.
Shaffer and his girlfriend had booked a flight for Miami in the following days, and when he didn’t turn up, he was reported missing. The footage from the security camera in the Ugly Tuna Saloona pub and the nearby pubs showed no trace of Brian Shaffer after 2 a.m.
The entrance door of the bar was the only way in and out of it. So, the investigators were not able to determine what occurred, and he is still missing to this day. There are again multiple theories that state that he might have left to start his life afresh elsewhere, but these theories couldn’t be proven due to a lack of evidence. (1, 2)
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8 Lenny Dirickson
In 1998, Lenny Dirickson, while having breakfast with his son, was interrupted by a man inquiring about a horse Lenny had for sale. Lenny left with the man but never returned home afterward. It was later discovered that Lenny had not advertised that he was selling a horse sale at all.
Image Credit : Michael Kaercher/Shutterstock.com
On March 14th, 1998, Lenny Dirickson and his son Jared were having their breakfast when they were interrupted by a man who pulled up in a pickup truck. After speaking with the stranger for a few minutes, Lenny came back inside and told Jared that he was leaving with the man to show him the horses he had for sale.
He told him that they were planning to travel to Elk City, Oklahoma, and Mobeetie, Texas to see the horses. Little did Jared know that this was going to be the last time he would see his father.
When Lenny did not return that day, the police were informed about it. They soon found out that Lenny had not advertised a sale of his horse, so the stranger most likely knew Lenny beforehand. But the police couldn’t determine if the stranger was responsible for the disappearance.
Lenny was never found, though there were two sightings of him that were reported. He seemed to vanish every time the police arrived at the site to investigate. The authorities believe that there might be foul play involved, but there is no evidence to support their theory. (1, 2, 3)
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9 Michael Dillard
In 2018, Michael Dillard, a West Virginia teen, after helping his mother carry some things from the car to the house, darted behind the house and never came back.
Michael Dillard, 15, was last seen on Friday January 12, 2018 at his parents’ home in Calvin, West Virginia. Despite numerous ground, dive, and helicopter searches, his whereabouts are still unknown.
On January 12th, 2018, Michael Dillard, a 15-year-old boy, said that he was having the best day of his life. The next day his good mood continued, but on January 12th, he seemed depressed when he returned from school.
His sister, Brittany Craft, said that he was usually a hyper and obnoxious kind of boy, but on that day he barely spoke a word with her when his mother and he visited her. Michael and his adopted parents lived in Calvin, West Virginia and visited his sister every so often. She spoke with him nearly every day.
Michael and his mom soon left Brittany’s house and arrived home at 4:30 p.m. After helping his mother carry some supplies into the house, he darted behind the house without saying anything. When he didn’t return, his mother grew concerned and reported it to the authorities. It was a stormy night and the temperature in the area dropped to minus 22° F degrees.
The family and the authorities looked for him all night, but they couldn’t find him. The only thing they found was his jacket at about 300 yards from the house after one and a half weeks of searching. Without his jacket, they thought that he might have not made it through the night, but since he was not discovered, the case remains unsolved. (1, 2)
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10 Anne-Elisabeth Hagen
Anne-Elisabeth Hagen, the wife of a Norwegian billionaire, has been missing since October 31st, 2018. She was presumed to be kidnapped because there was a ransom note demanding nine million euros in cryptocurrency. She has not been heard from since, and there is no evidence that she is still alive.
Anne-Elisabeth Hagen was a 68-year-old woman who was reported missing on October 31st, 2018. She was the wife of Norwegian billionaire Tom Hagen, whose fortune amounted to $2 billion in 2018.
The police believed that she was abducted since there was a ransom note demanding nine million euros in cryptocurrency. The kidnappers also mentioned what they would do to Anne-Elisabeth if the police were involved. Despite this, Hagen involved the police in the case.
The police extensively investigated the case but came up with no suspects. She has been missing for the last 18 months and there was no communication with the presumed kidnappers. The case suddenly took a turn this year when the police began to suspect Tom Hagen for the disappearance of his wife and arrested him.
They believe that the ransom note was written just to sidetrack the investigators. Hagen, however, has refuted these claims. There is no information on her whereabouts nor any evidence of her being alive or dead. The case is yet to be solved. (1, 2)
