Swanson family wants rumors squashed
By Rae KrugerAt the same time Brian and Annette Swanson heard Gov. Tim Pawlenty would sign Brandon's Law officially as a law today, they were also dealing with a rumor that sickened them.
Annette Swanson cried Wednesday as she said her family was still dealing with the rumor her son Brandon's body had been found in a field near Taunton or St. Leo.
"It just sucks," she said.
The family was in Mankato on Wednesday to celebrate Annette's birthday and to get away.
The persistent rumor, which appears to have started Tuesday, followed them on Wednesday.
"My family is struggling with this," Swanson said.
She and her husband were getting communications about the rumor, as was their daughter Jamine.
"Jamine is getting text messages saying, 'This is what we heard,'" Swanson said. "It's not just me dealing with it, it's our whole family."
The Independent as well as at least one other medium heard the rumor Tuesday. The Independent called the sheriff's departments in Lincoln and Lyon counties and was told the same thing: Swanson had not been found.
Swanson believed the rumor would disappear once the public knew there were no news reports on finding her son.
It didn't.
"This is just painful. We need to squash this thing," Swanson said.
Brandon Swanson has been missing since May 14, 2008, after a cell phone conversation with his parents ended abruptly. His car was found in a ditch near Taunton along the border road of Lincoln and Lyon counties near the Yellow Medicine River. Multiple searches have not resulted in any of Swanson's clothes or other evidence, although search dogs have shown interest in several areas.
Swanson has been in the news recently because his parents have been working on a law that would allow a more aggressive response from law enforcement when young adults up to 21 are reported missing or when older adults are reported missing in dangerous circumstances.
The law was supported by the parents of Dan Zamlen, whose body was found in the Mississippi River in St. Paul last week. Zamlen, a college student, was reported missing in April and his parents shared with the media their frustration with the response from law enforcement.
Swanson said the media coverage of Brandon's Law, the discovery of Zamlen's body and the upcoming one-year anniversary of her son's disappearance may have caused the rumor, but the details of the rumor make her also believe differently.
The rumor includes a body found by a farmer near St. Leo or Taunton.
"I just wish people would realize what this puts a family through," Swanson said. "It just spread like wildfire."
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56two58
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05-11-09 12:06 PM
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I didn't know about the rumor. I found out because the paper reported on it. I admit, I was intrigued by the headline and wanted to find out what the rumor was. I was shocked to find out the paper actually published the rumor - I didn't think it would actually state what that was. I'm not sure what the line is between reporting fact and tracking down a rumor. But, I certainly don't recall any sort of reporting on various other rumors: if Schwan's is being sold to Kraft, when Menards is coming to town, etc.
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JasonsStorm
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05-10-09 8:39 PM
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Edmund, what is wrong with you? The swanson family is going through a hard time. Why do you want to be such a prick. Be respecable for once. The Independent is just clearing up a bad rumor.
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Tarnished
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05-08-09 7:43 PM
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....
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shellshock12
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05-08-09 6:30 PM
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Edmund...your comment "the stale thinking minds such as those which have produced such dramatic success during the past year's searches...." I happen to be one of those minds!! Every weekend I was able, I got up and traveled to Taunton and walked the nooks and corners the best I could, as did COUNTLESS others. I wonder what you did on the weekends during that time. Sitting on your stale butt perhaps? Here is a fresh idea for your "staleness": Get up! Help your neighbor. Make a difference. Do what you can and then do some more. Be part of the solution...not the problem. I live in Kansas City, Kansas now and count on the Independent for updates (and I thank them). When it's possible I will return this summer to help. Maybe I will see you there. THAT MY FRIEND IS THE AMERICAN WAY. Michele Miller
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hartman75
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05-08-09 2:56 PM
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Edmund, freedom of speech is a right, irresponsible behavior is not. The way we exercise our right comes with some qualifications and responsibilities. Your thoughtless and insensitive comments have no useful purpose and serve only to hurt others. Any integrity you had has been denigrated by your misguided attempts at humor. I should think anyone, with even an infinitesimal amount of self-respect, would publicly apologize rather than lash out at others. Otherwise, I have truly underestimated your total lack of common sense and human decency.
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ruralroute
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05-07-09 7:12 PM
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56two58 - you need to understand what the role of a newspaper is. It is to report news, but it is also to use facts to eliminate rumors. Let's use a hypothetical example: Let's say there is a rumor of a murderer on the loose in Marshall. Nobody reports it, people spread it, and residents go nuts. Don't you think the Independent calling the police to verify that this isn't true -- and publishing a story to quell the fears -- good? And isn't it better for the Swanson family to have the rumor ended publicly in the paper than having them receive hundreds of phone calls over several days asking them if it is true or not? And to the clown Edmund Fitzgerald, if you don't like the Independent, don't go on its Website or buy the paper. No one is forcing you to.
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merioncooper
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05-07-09 7:04 PM
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Furthermore, when there is information running amok, any news organization is going to check it out, do interviews. Not every rumor/report checked into leads to a story, but some do. This one warranted it, because of the inaccuracies being bandied about -- plus the Swansons themselves contacted the Independent, I am told, heavy in grief. That's the emphasis of the story -- insensitive gossiping adding to their pain -- not the rumors themselves.
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merioncooper
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05-07-09 7:00 PM
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Free speech, as in the First Amendment, guarantees you the right to say what you want. It doesn't guarantee you a forum for saying it -- Edmund, if you want to free to say whatever, start your own web site, don't abuse this one. I think the Independent should do a story on you: A Neanderthal who can actually turn on a computer, type and write in English -- how on earth do you manage on the limited brain capacity Neanderthals possess?
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trident_t150
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05-07-09 3:48 PM
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"Freedom of Speech" is a right. However, everyone's rights end where the next person's start. Edmund doesn't seem to understand that.
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Williams
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05-07-09 3:29 PM
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Edmund - I am not the only one who found it offensive. If you had a heart you wouldn't write such cruel statements. You could have written your comments about the article in a way that were more thought provoking and may have even had people agreeing with you. Instead you launched a personal attack on a family. Free speech all you want but don't be so rude.
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dzk100
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05-07-09 3:11 PM
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Edmund I do not think that free speech does or should apply to torturing families who have tragically lost a son with thoughtless comments. I think that any 'normal' person would find someone saying what you did offensive and not a 'new approach' to saying that you disagree with a story that the Independent reported on. How was what you said helpful to proving your point? There is a line called human decency and you have crossed it. I fully agree with Williams they hitting the report abuse link and think it is a fine example of what that link should be used for. I wish I would have thought to have done it myself. I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with the story written here or the point you were trying to make. I do think that this story was a little boarderline in it's topic and worthiness to be printed. But I also have a heart and would never go about it the way that you did.
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ZorroW
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05-07-09 2:29 PM
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Bystander, you're right about "quash." However, "squash" sounds so poetic. Kind of like what happens when a really fat woman sits on you!
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EdmundFitzgerald
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05-07-09 2:17 PM
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Good job, Williams. Just “report as abuse” anything YOU find offensive. Free speech is only for stale-thinking minds such as those which have produced such dramatic success during the past year’s searches. Let’s not think differently than others or try new approaches. To do so would be counter-productive and anti-American. Good job, Williams.
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bystander
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05-07-09 1:40 PM
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Um...the word is quash...not squash.
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Williams
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05-07-09 12:40 PM
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I had to hit the "Report Abuse" on that South Dakota coyote comment by EdmundFitzgerald so that comment was removed. What a demented person.
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56two58
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05-07-09 12:16 PM
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While I agree that EdmundF crossed the line with his comments, I do think the notion of a newspaper reporting on the basis of qwelling a rumor is absurd and frankly may have the opposite affect (as EF pointed out in his initial post). This point could have been articulated in a manner that was respectful. I wish the Swanson family peace and closure as they continue their search.
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smsugirl
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05-07-09 11:56 AM
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Edmund your comments are absolutely uncalled for...you much be one cold hearted person to make comments such as your last one...Like fellow commentors have said you are a jerk. And you need to be banned from making comments! Maybe you should grow up a little bit!
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ruralroute
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05-07-09 11:49 AM
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Part of a newspaper's job is to clear up rumors with facts. That's all this article did. It DID NOT create the rumors, as they were running wild already. The paper did its journalistic duty. Would you rather have it cleared up one day in the paper or let the rumor mill run for days on end? And how do you know that the Swanson family didn't approach the paper to get this cleared up? The paper has been very supportive of this family's ordeal and very fair...
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dzk100
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05-07-09 11:31 AM
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The comments you are making are surely not hurting the Independent's feelings, but if the family of Brandon reads them, most certainly are causing further unnecessary pain for them. I pray that they do not have his misforture of reading this. Your point could be made without attacking a poor family who has lost more than you could possibly know. You are being childish.
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dzk100
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05-07-09 10:54 AM
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EdmundFitzgerald that last comment is really uncalled for. What if that was a member of your family??? That was totally insensitive and smallminded. Keep it to yourself.
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EdmundFitzgerald
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05-07-09 10:45 AM
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Hey, Independent! I just got a Twitter that coyotes dragged Brandon to Gary, South Dakota!
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momtotwo
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05-07-09 10:27 AM
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The Independent gave basis to the “rumor” by publishing this. Edmund - We live in a small community with a community newspaper. This is news in Marshall. If you hate the Independent's reporting and reporting style to this extent it's a wonder you keep coming back. This is a sad enough situation. You should really get your anger in check - and I agree - quit being a jerk.
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Williams
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05-07-09 9:39 AM
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EdmundFitzgerald what is wrong with you? Thank you Independent for continuing to support the Swansons and keeping Brandon in peoples hearts and minds.
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onewhocares
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05-07-09 9:39 AM
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Wow EdmundFitzgerald, you are really making yourself look like a total prick! This is a family who is suffering. They would desperately love to know where their son is and hearing false reports is heartbreaking. This is a little bit more than a little rumor. Don't be a jerk.
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EdmundFitzgerald
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05-07-09 9:05 AM
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Hey, Independent! My neighbor, Billy Hank Miller, says that our President, Barack Hussein Obama, wasn’t really born in the United States as the Constitution requires. I can’t understand how Billy Hank could spread such outlandishness. Please interview me immediately to squash this! The consideration that my President might be a fraud is causing me great emotional anguish!
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