Going West: True Crime - Brandon Lawson // 363

Episode Date: December 8, 2023

In August of 2013, a 26-year-old man disappeared from the side of a highway in Texas after running out of gas. In what has become an infamous phone call to 911, he pleaded for help, saying that he was being chased by someone in the desert. Professionals and internet sleuths alike have attempted to break down his every word to determine exactly what happened to him – especially after remains were found in the area in 2022. This is the story of Brandon Lawson. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 Patreon: patreon.com/goingwestpodcast CASE SOURCES 1. Help Find Brandon Lawson Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/helpfindbrandonlawson/' 2. Missing Brandon Lawson: https://www.missingbrandonlawson.com/ 3. GoSanAngelo: https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/news/2022/02/04/brandon-lawson-missing-911-call-remains-possibly-found-family-says/6668447001/ 4. The Charley Project: https://charleyproject.org/case/brandon-mason-lawson 5. BrainScratch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQSDIQe9Du8 6. Go San Angelo: https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/news/local/2018/07/12/five-years-gone-disappearance-brandon-lawson-west-texas/630518002/ 7. Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonlawson/comments/b4mqlm/brandon_lawson_911_transcript_the_final_cut/ 8. 911 call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWNPUjeLQNQ 9. San Angelo Live: https://sanangelolive.com/news/crime/2016-01-12/life-goes-after-brandon-lawsons-disappearance-questions-remain 10. San Angelo Live: https://sanangelolive.com/news/county/2013-09-25/missing-dead-or-run-where-brandon-lawson 11. All That's Interesting: https://allthatsinteresting.com/brandon-lawson 12. Uncovered: https://uncovered.com/cases/brandon-lawson 13. Oxygen: https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/brandon-lawson-who-vanished-in-2013-after-911-call-found 14. Thought Catalog: https://thoughtcatalog.com/jordan-windnagle/2020/02/heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-disappearance-of-brandon-lawson/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on True Crime fans? I'm your host Tee. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody. Hope you're doing so well. Somehow we didn't have any recommendations for this case in our email. I don't know how that's possible. But Heath and I have been gripped by this story for so many years now. And although it's not a lesser-known case like we do cover a lot of, we wanted to open up the conversation about this one with you guys because it's just

mind-boggling. It really is, yeah. And I'm sure that some of you guys did recommend this case over the years, but- Somewhere. Couldn't find them in the email, so if you did, thank you so much for doing so. And, did. We almost didn't cover this because it is more well-known,

like I said, but, you know, sometimes with these types of stories that just grip us all, it's really interesting to dive into them, so we decided to go for it. I hope that's okay with you guys. Yeah, and just go back and look over the details as well. Yeah, and especially because this is still a big mystery, so it deserves to be talked about over and over again. So without further ado, shall we?

Yes, we shall. Alright, guys, this is episode 363 of Going West. So let's get into it. In August of 2013, a 26-year-old man disappeared from the side of a highway in Texas after running out of gas. And what has become an infamous phone call to 911? He pleaded for help, saying that he was being chased by someone. Professionals and internet sleuths alike have attempted to break down his every word to determine exactly what happened to him, especially after remains were found in the area in 2022. This is the story of Brandon Lawson.

Brandon Mason Lawson was born on November 18, 1986 in Fort Worth, Texas, to a mom named Kimberly and a dad named Bradley or Brad. Completing Brandon's tight-knit family are a brother named Kyle, a sister named Brittany, and a half-brother named Billy. Brandon grew up spending time outdoors and loved to hunt, camp, and fish. A Texan through and through, he was also a massive fan of the Dallas Cowboys. As a kid, he dreamed of owning a pickup truck, which is a dream that would someday come true for him, but also be a source for the mysterious fate that befell him. While attending Joshua High School in Joshua, Texas, Brandon started dating a young woman named

Amanda and the two had a baby daughter that they named Mackenzie. But the relationship didn't last and by his junior year of high school, he was single again. Then that school year, he met a sophomore named LaDessa Lofton and he really set his sights on her. According to LaDessa, he approached her very confidently in the hall one day, striding up to her and asking, do you know who I am? To which she replied, no, am I supposed to?

And then he requested that she write down her phone number on a piece of paper, which she did, and the two started dating shortly afterwards. They finished out high school as a couple couple and by the time they were 20, they welcomed a daughter whom they named Destiny. Ledessa fondly remembers Brandon's charming, magnetic personality, his infectious laugh and striking blue eyes. The two were devoted partners and parents and loved fostering their family unit, later adding two young sons, named Whitten and Nolan to the mix.

Ledessa remembers quote, we weren't the perfect couple. We grew up together, we were babies, but we were happy, we loved each other. Brandon especially took pride in instilling his love of camping and fishing in his children, but they definitely had their struggles. The family relocated to San Angelo, Texas, which is about four hours southwest of Joshua,

where he and LaDessa attended high school. And there, Brandon took a job working in the oil fields, which is a position that was grueling and demanding not to mention time-consuming, as he would routinely pull 60-hour work weeks that sometimes stretched all the way up to 90 hours. Yeah, working on those oil rigs, that's no joke. That is no joke. Yeah, I'm sure many of you listening, know somebody that does this or does it themselves

and man, it just seems really tough. So Ledessa could really feel the strain that his work was putting on Brandon both physically and emotionally over this time. In the summer of 2013, Ladesa and Brandon welcomed their youngest son, Nolan, and as excited as they were about this new addition, it was another layer of responsibility at home, and Ladesa recalls them both being stressed out. Before his fourth child was born, Brandon struggled with addiction after turning to methamphetamine to handle the pressure that he was facing with work.

And according to his family, Brandon even had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in another county due to a previous drug charge. But Ladessa and Brandon's parents and siblings are staunch in their assertion that Brandon was an excellent father and caretaker, and that his inner minute drug use should not define him. Brandon's brother Kyle remembered, quote, my brother might have been a felon

and might have messed with drugs and might have relapsed. My brother worked for what he had. He loved his children. He took care of his children. He was a good person. He wasn't some dope fiend living on the streets robbing people or trying to get over on someone to get high again. So in August of 2013, 26-year-old Brandon could proudly say that he had been clean for six months. However, one rough night would change all of that, and set into motion a string of events that has left his family baffled over 10 years later. On the evening of Wednesday, August 7, 2013, Brandon failed to return home to LaDessa and the

children. According to Kyle, Brandon called him that evening, asking him where he could get met them fetamine to use that night. Now the following day when Brandon returned home, Ladesa was furious with him, not only at him having potentially used drugs again, but that he had left her and the children to fend for themselves overnight. So a fight broke out between the two and Brandon stormed off. At around 11.54pm on the evening of Thursday, August 8, 2013, Brandon got into his Ford F-150 pickup truck and sped away from their home. He's believed to have been heading to his parents' house in Crowley, Texas, where they relocated after Brandon had graduated high school.

Crowley's back in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, about four hours away, but given how rattled Brandon was, it seems plausible that he wanted to just kind of take some space to himself. Ledessa remembers, sadly, quote, "'For a long time, I blamed myself. I will never get those words back." At midnight, presumably while Brandon was on his way to Crowley, Ladesa called him and tried to convince him to come back home, concerned about the prospect of him driving such a long distance so late at night, because he'd be driving all night from midnight until at

least 4 a.m. or so if he was going to his parents, so it just wasn't safe if he hadn't gotten any sleep and she knew this. But Brandon continued to drive because basically, Ladesa and Brandon had this agreement that they would kind of allow each other to cool off after arguments in order to prevent the fight from spiraling out of control, so Ledessa allowed him his space and started getting ready for bed. About 40 minutes after he left home and a little over 30 minutes after Ledessa spoke with him, at 12.34am.

Ledessa missed a call from Brandon. Then missed subsequent calls from him at 12.36am and 12.38am, so he is clearly trying to get a hold of her. 12.38am is also when Brandon is believed to have run out of gas on Highway 277, just south of Bront, Texas. So Brandon called his brother Kyle, telling him that he was stranded on the side of the road, and asked Kyle to bring him some gas to get him to braunt so that he could fill up his truck. Now according to Kyle, in this phone call, Brandon also claimed that he was being chased by

quote, the Mexicans in the neighborhood, but didn't give any further context. When Kyle asked him if he had been using methamphetamine and was simply hallucinating that he was being pursued, Brandon denied it. But Kyle said later that he believes that his brother was on drugs that night and was possibly suffering from delusions, though unfortunately, there's no way to prove

if this theory is true or not. Kyle and his girlfriend Audrey called Ledessa alerting her of the situation, and Ledessa said that she would leave a gas can outside for them so that they could go and help Brandon. She then told them that she was gonna hop in the shower and head to bed. So Brandon had their only phone charger with him,

so she plugged her phone into the car's charger, leaving it there overnight and went inside. And this would lead to, you know, her missing a lot of upcoming calls. So she later lamented, quote, branding called me three times and never left a voicemail that night. I'll never forgive myself for not having my phone on me, which is so sad because obviously she's just trying to charge her phone.

She has no idea that something was gonna happen. Yeah, she's letting Brandon blow off steam. She's probably thinking that he's gonna be back and maybe the next day or maybe in a few hours or something. Exactly. So Kyle, Audrey and their four-year-old son picked up the gas can from LaDessa and Brandon's house and headed toward Bront to find Brandon.

Then at 12.50 AM, so about 15 minutes after, Brandon spoke with Kyle on the phone about running out of gas, Brandon called 911. In what is the most eerie, harrowing, and analyzed aspect of Brandon's disappearance? The 9-1-1 call turned a seemingly trivial request for roadside assistance into a full-blown mystery. Before analyzing the call, we're going to play it for you guys.

It's about 44 seconds long, so we're going to play it once. We're going to talk all about it, and then we're gonna play it once we're gonna talk all about it and then we're gonna play it again 9 2 thousand 13 0 50 and 38 seconds no way, emergency yes I'm in the middle of the field of type we're just reaching guys over right here going to a job went on both sides much better now to gas, we're going to go to the devil and I'll go to the other side. I'm not going to gas, I'm going to go to the other side. Please hurry.

Okay, no, run that round. I'm not talking to you. I told you I didn't know. You ran into him, okay. Just the first guy. Do you need an ambulance? No, I need the call. Okay.

Is anybody hurt? Hello? Hello? Hello? Actually, we're gonna go ahead and play that one more time. And then we'll only emergency. Yes, I'm in the middle of the field of sight. We're just reaching out over. We're not here going to go down the window, but that's not talking out of gas.

There's one car here that got stuck to the wood. Please, first. Okay, now run that down. I'm not talking to you. I told you I didn't know. Ah, you went into him, okay. Just a first stop. Do you need an ambulance?

No, I need the call. Okay. Is anybody hurt? Hello? Hello? Hello. Hello. Hello. It's just such a tough call because, you know, he has his Texas accent and, you know, they're kind of talking over each other and he's panting like something happened and she is even she's like okay run that by me one more time she's like she doesn't even

know what he's talking about. Yeah he's he's talking quickly because you know it seems like there's something something going on so he's out of breath you know he's he's rushing the conversation to get to get the information out. Exactly so we're gonna play it in a little bit slow down so you guys can kind of hear it a little better. But let's talk about this call. So first of all, when branding called 911, it actually rang to a local nursing home facility. Because it's a remote area, an operator at the nursing home would feel 911 calls and decide whether to dispatch the police or an ambulance accordingly. and decide whether to dispatch the police or an ambulance accordingly. So the call rang at a facility in Robert Lee, Texas,

which is about 15 minutes away from Braun. This practice has been highly criticized in the aftermath of Brandon's disappearance, as some believe that the staff member who answered the call was maybe not experienced enough to know which questions to ask Brandon in order to get him the proper assistance or be able to understand in the aftermath of his disappearance what he was actually calling to report.

Yeah, and we've talked about this before where I guess there's a lot of procedures that have to be done with a 911 operator. One of the first things is asking the address or figuring out like the area in which a person is. Which is so difficult because she's not like a regular dispatcher. Right. So it's like, I don't really blame her,

but it's also like, you know, I don't know why they didn't have somebody trained properly to do something like that. Maybe this area doesn't see a lot of emergencies like probably not. Yeah, there could be a lot of factors But either way it doesn't make it any less fortunate in this situation. So when the operator answered the phone Brandon can be heard saying yes, I'm in the middle of the field if you can just bring some guys over Right here going towards Abilene on Bront side. That's what people think. Like Abelene, Texas on Bront side, we've talked about Bront a few times in this episode.

There's one car here and guys chasing me into the woods. Please hurry. That is what it seems like Brandon is saying here. But obviously, the recording is garbled and again, Brandon is talking quickly. So many people have alleged to hear different words within his transcript But I agree with this one. I know he agrees with this one So we're just going with that right now

But let us know if you guys hear something different in the comments on our social media Because the discourse about it is is very divided like by his family by professionals and online sleuths alike his family by professionals and online sleuths alike. Some people purport to hear, quote, we're just pushing guys over, whereas we said, if they could just bring some guys over. So that's also what's difficult as people hearing different things. It kind of reshapes what he's saying happens, so it reshapes what could have happened. Right, so you can hear many different things and it doesn't make the whole call any easier to decipher.

Exactly, so with this possibility of we're just pushing guys over, makes it seem as if Brandon maybe came in contact with other people on the side of the road and then a physical altercation ensued. If there was in fact another car either parked there or stranded there, it is plausible that there were other people with him, but in the desolate desert that this particular stretch of Highway 277 cuts through, it seems unlikely that there was anyone else there. Others claim that they heard Brandon mention seeing a staper, stapler, or struper, and

that he meant to say staterooper, but maybe just jumbled his words or they kind of merged together. And this theory alleges that instead of saying, yes, I'm in the middle of the field, if you could just bring some guys over, Brandon actually said, yes, I'm in the middle of the field, if you could just bring some guys over, Brandon actually said, yes, I'm in the middle of a field, a trooper has one guy pulled over. So this would give credence to a later theory that the police were involved in whatever happened that night. Brandon's friend from high school, Jason Watts, who was later credited with helping find

items of Brandon's clothing, claims that he believes Brandon was trying to say State Trooper. This theory, as explained by his family's website, asserts quote, 1 word, what is it? Staper, stapler, scaper, escapeer, taper, possibly. Yes, I'm in the middle of a field. A steeper just pulled some guys over. That is what a lot of people think it is. And I'm actually going to play that little segment right now since I'm talking about it. A lot of you guys might be like, wait, I don't remember that. I'm going to play that little part for you right now.

Yeah, it's coming in the middle of the field of Cypurgis, just searching God's over. Yeah, it's coming in the middle of the field of Cypurgis, just searching God's over. Yeah, it's coming in the middle of the field of Cypurgis, just searching God's over. Now Brandon continues by telling the operator that he quote, tried talking to them, seeming to mean whomever else he believed was out there within, and then adds quote, I totally ran into them. The operator, assuming that Brandon meant that he rear-ended the other car on the shoulder, says, ah, you ran into them, okay. And to this, Brandon responds with what sounds like either, got the first guy, or just

the first guy. And to me, I feel like it sounds like he's saying got the first guy or just the first guy, and to me I feel like it sounds like he's saying got the first guy. But regardless, there are noises in the background which have also been picked apart by those investigating this case, and some believe them to be gunshots, others say that they hear people talking. When asked if he needs an ambulance, Brandon replies, no, I need the cops. After the operator asks if anybody's hurt, more rustling noises can be heard in the background,

and many maintain that those are also gunshots. After that, Brandon is silent while the operator attempts to get his attention repeating, hello, multiple times. So we're gonna play the call for you again at a normal speed and then we're going to play it again slow down so you can pick apart what he's saying a little bit better. And then we'll only emergency. Yes, I'm in the middle of the field of sight.

We're just reaching down over. We're right here going towards that window, both sides. Much better now to gas. There's one car here that's got to take the word. Please, first. Okay, now run that down. I'm not here going to go down the window, both sides. But I'm talking about a gas. There's one car here that got stuck to the wood. Please, first. OK, now run that down.

I'm going to pop it through. I tell you where it is, though. You ran into him, OK. Just a first stop. Do you need an ambulance? No, I need the call. OK. Is anybody hurt?

Hello? Hello? Hello? No, I to emergency. Yeah, some of the middle of the side, we're just searching guys over. Right here going towards that, we went on both sides. Watch out for him out of gas. There's all part here, you got to check the wood. Police work.

Okay, now, that roundings. And then I talk to you. Why, so you're in it, no? You ran into him, okay. Just the first stop. Do you need an ambulance? No, I need the call. Okay. Is anybody hurt? Now, one minute after Brandon placed the call to 911, his brother Kyle called to check

on him again, leaving a voicemail when Brandon didn't answer. After hanging up on the 911 operator, Brandon called LaDessa again at 12.51am, the same time that Kyle was calling him. Which is interesting that right after getting off, well first of all, that he got off the phone anyway, because you can hear it's not like, oh, the call ended, he accidentally hung up or something happened to his phone like there you can hear rustling and kind of wishing silence yeah as she sang hello you know and so it's kind of like what occurred

in those few seconds that past where he's not saying anything at all to disconnecting the line and then calling likeadeza. Like what is going on on the other end of that call? Yeah it seems really strange. Did he drop his phone in the dirt? Like what happened here? But then interesting that he's calling Ladeza instead of calling 911 again to finish reporting whatever he is potentially seeing. Right, right. So with her phone still charging in her car, La Dessa obviously didn't answer this phone call.

Around this same time, a long haul truck driver placed a call to 911 as well, claiming that there was a pickup truck parked on the shoulder with its tail lights on, and its truck bed hanging into the lane of oncoming traffic. Which means that, you know, that's dangerous because somebody could hit it, especially in the middle of a highway in such a desolate area.

Yeah, at night where it's probably, you know, pretty dark out, super dark. So one minute later, at 12.52 AM, Kyle's girlfriend, Audrey tried calling Brandon twice and both times the call went to voicemail. At 12.54 a.m. Kyle again called Brandon, then three minutes later Brandon placed a call to his neighbor, which again means like over five minutes have gone by by the time that Brandon gets off this 911 call and calls other people including his neighbor.

So he is coherent after that 911 call ended. He's calling other people. So what the hell? But also it's like other people are trying to call him and he's not answering those calls but he's calling other people. Well, one minute after calling his neighbor at 12.58 a.m., Brandon called a Kyle back and called again when Kyle did an answer.

So it's like everybody's calling each other and not able to reach them within just this few minutes of time. So at that same time, Brandon's neighbor returned his call because he didn't answer, calling three times and Brandon didn't answer, calling three times, and Brandon didn't answer any of those times.

So it's really weird that nobody is answering, but they're calling each other right back and not answering. Like, what? So a few minutes after this, at 104AM, the operator, about 10 minutes after their call got disconnected, called Brandon back, hoping for more information, as Brandon had not given his exact location. After leaving a voicemail, she called again, but he didn't answer either call. Which doesn't make any sense, because five minutes later at 109 AM, Brandon called Kyle

three times in a row. Then three minutes later, Kyle called him back, three times in a row to no avail. Yeah, I think what we're dealing with here is probably a reception issue because maybe the calls are not going through, maybe they're barely going through, and I imagine if they're out on this like desolate like back road or whatever, maybe on this like, desolate, like, back road or whatever,

maybe it's not super desolate, but who knows what the reception was like in that area? And I'm just saying that as a possibility, I'm just assuming that that could be the issue. It's definitely possible because it is really weird. You would imagine that if they keep missing each other's calls, their priority is to say, okay, if they call back, I'm right here, I have my phone, I'm holding it. So yeah, it's possible that reception played into

this a little bit. So after Kyle called him back three times after branding called Kyle three times, at one 15 a.m. Brandon made the final two calls from his phone both to Kyle again. They went on answered. At 119 AM, phone calls to Brandon's phone began going straight to voicemail. So there is almost 30 minutes of time between when Brandon gets disconnected from 911 and when his phone starts going to voicemail, that's a pretty hefty chunk of time, you know, calling back and forth to people and that's 30 minutes

of time that nobody is actually speaking to Brandon to know what's going on. Right. Yeah, what is he, what's happening with him right now? What is he doing in that 30 minute time frame? Exactly. So in Brandon's calls to his brother, where they were able to speak before the 911 call, Kyle remembers that.

Brandon was speaking a bit incoherently and that he would usually blur something out quickly and then hang up. 118 AM would be the last time that anyone would speak with Brandon. And this is just one minute before his phone started going to voicemail. So at 118 AM, he spoke to Kyle and mentioned that he was, quote, running through a field and bleeding, or, quote, 10 minutes up the road and bleeding,

leading Kyle to believe that he fell in the brush while walking away from the car. So again, even when Kyle's talking to him, leading, leading Kyle to believe that he fell in the brush while walking away from the car. So again, even when Kyle's talking to him, he can't figure out exactly what he's saying. But if he did mention the through a field part, that would match up with what he told 911 30 minutes earlier. Right. But still, it doesn't make any sense. And now he's bleeding.

So again, what happened between the time he called 911 or just before it and the time he's talking to Kyle because Kyle is still not able to discern like a proper story here. Now a local Cote County deputy pulled up behind Brantons truck around the time of this 118 phone call responding to the call from the truck driver who reported that his car was parked over the line on the shoulder of the highway. Around the same time, Kyle pulled up behind the deputy still on the phone with Brandon. EARLY! Kyle remembers the last thing Brandon said, being, quote, can see you, I'm right here. But Brandon was nowhere to be found. And after the call got disconnected is when his calls started going to voicemail. So, before that quick break, we heard from Daphne that the last thing that Kyle remembers

hearing Brandon say was, I can see you, I'm right here, and then the phone gets disconnected. And Brandon is never seen again. That quote is so, so scary, like reading that that I got the chills so hard. Horrifying. Horrifying. Really scary. Yeah. Because the fact that he said I can see you means that he knew that Kyle had just pulled up to the scene and just pulled up behind the cop who pulled up right behind Brandon's truck. But then they get there and he's not there so where was Brandon when he was saying those terrifying words? Well, neither the deputy who responded to this call, nor Kyle, nor Audrey, could see

or hear Brandon anywhere. So puzzled, Kyle and the deputy discussed what could have happened to him, and didn't think that he could have gone very far. Now the area in which he stopped was pretty desolate as we mentioned, it's farmland and brush about 4.5 miles or 7.2 km south of Bront, and was known for animal activity. Back in 2005 when Brandon was a teenager, he received a felony drug charge in Johnson County located in suburban Fort Worth, where he was last living at the time.

And this warrant was still outstanding, and Kyle believed that Brandon may have been hiding from the police based on the fear that he would be arrested due to this warrant. So Kyle was unaware that Brandon himself had actually phoned 911 about 30 minutes earlier, hoping for the police to come. Audrey texted Brandon, quote, a cop is at your truck. Repeated calls to his phone failed to go through, and Kylin Audrey drove up and down that stretch of highway, combing the shoulder and the murky black of the fields for Brandon, but they just didn't see any sign of him.

Now, on our socials, we're gonna post photos of what the side of the highway looks like in this stretch, because there are some trees, so it's not just totally open farmland, because obviously if it was, there would be nowhere for him to hide, they would see him right away. But other than the brush, there are some trees,

and that kind of explains a little bit from what Brandon said in the call, which was, guys chased me into the woods or whatever that line actually is. I'll play it really quick so you can hear it right now. So I'm trying to turn it out of gas. There's one part here that I've taken to the woods. Please hurry.

So I'm trying to turn it out of gas. There's one part here that I've taken to the woods. Three parts. So he does mention the woods They're throwing out a gas, there's a little part here, and I've taken the wood. It's pretty hard. So he does mention the woods, and that's because there are collections of trees there. It's not like woods, like you might be picturing a forest, it's not like that. It's farmland that has large collections of trees as well.

Yeah, scattered trees throughout. Exactly. So after looking for Brandon for quite a while, Kyle and Audrey just eventually gave up and they drove home. Assuming that his phone had died or that perhaps he just wasn't getting service and that he would return to his car soon, Kyle left the gas can in the bed of Brandon's truck and then he headed home.

Right, because they're probably thinking, oh, maybe he's, you know, they're still thinking that he's hiding from the police because of his warrant and that when everybody leaves that Brandon will sneak out behind from a tree somewhere and grab the gaskin and fill his truck up. Go home, go home. Exactly. So the deputy he responded to the call about the vehicle obstructing traffic put the

emergency lights on in Brandon's truck, which had been left unlocked. And obviously this was kind of a smart thing to do to let people know, hey, there's a truck here, don't fucking hit it. So this deputy locked up the truck and then vowed that he was going to come back and tow it. Now, later that morning, around 4 a.m., Ladesa went out to her car to retrieve her phone and saw that she had missed calls from Brandon, Kyle, and their mom Kimberly.

But when she attempted to call Brandon back, the call went straight to voicemail. Now the realization that Brandon was missing came slowly, but as his family and friends began communicating that no one had heard from him, that his truck was still parked on the side of the road and that he never made it to his parents house, fear began to set in. So Kyle headed back to where Brandon's truck was parked to cruise that section of highway again, just hoping to see Brandon on the side of the road, but the area was static, with no sign of him or any of his belongings. Because, leaving it a hazard,

the Sheriff's Department had Brandon's truck towed by 9 a.m. on the morning of August 9, 2013. So that means that hours and hours and hours passed with Kyle and the deputy being gone, where Brandon didn't come out and get back in his truck. So where was he all that time? As the hours ticked by with no word from him and his loved ones became increasingly concerned,

they began congregating in the area in which his truck was abandoned to kind of fan out and search for him, but continued to find no trace of him, his phone, or items that he may have had with him, or anyone else who may have been lurking in the area that night. By August 12, so three days after he vanished, the Texas Rangers had joined the search efforts. The following day, August 13, Ledessa officially reported Brandon loss in missing. Over the course of the next two months, extensive searches were conducted, focusing on the finite area from which he was believed to have disappeared, and slowly expanding outward. In addition to the efforts of the police along with volunteers and Brandon's family and friends, rescue efforts employed multiple helicopters,

thermal imaging equipment, drones, ATVs, and six different cadaver dogs. After one human remains dog indicated slightly northeast of the initial search area, the border was expanded. Two experts were even brought in from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, but still, the search brought forth nothing. Kyle remembered, quote, for a person to have a wallet, keys, and a full keychain, socks, shoes, a shirt, a wallet full of cards and money and an ID and a cell phone, a cell phone case, all of that. And not one single thing to be found out there? I just don't understand that. Brandon's family did everything they could to lead the search efforts. They were consistently walking the area looking for any sign of him, they circulated in missing posters and formed both a Facebook

group and a website to spread the word about his disappearance. But sadly, no one came forward with any information. So the rumors began to churn and everyone seemed to have an opinion about what had happened. And reports online are still very divided, especially concerning the 911 call, as everyone is hearing Brandon say different things as we mentioned. One of the earliest theories, which was considered viable by the police as well, was that Kyle was assisting his brother in disappearing in order to shirk the outstanding warrant and avoid arrest.

Now right off the bat, this seems very flimsy, as Brandon had managed to avoid facing the warrant for the past 11 years. It seems unlikely that he would partake in something as drastic as the complete abandonment of his job, life partner, and four children. Brandon's involvement in his own disappearance was also largely debunked in the early days of the search, because he didn't have access to his phone or money after the morning that he went missing. Bullsturing this theory is the fact that Brandon withdrew from his 401k shortly before his

disappearance, which was confirmed by Lidesa. However, it's unclear whether or not he was actually able to access that money before vanishing. And even if he had, it would not have been enough to live off of indefinitely. And he didn't have a car, so no means of transportation, he's in the middle of nowhere, where would he go? Exactly, seems pretty far-fetched. So he deposited a paycheck earlier on the evening of August 8th before his fight with

La Dessa, and that money was never touched. So, Kyle was obviously very shocked by these suspicions, and he consented to and passed two polygraph examinations, and he was ruled out as having assisted his brother in going missing. Ladesa also claimed that Brandon's arrest warrant has been vastly blown out of proportion since his disappearance, and that he was not actually very concerned about it in the day to day. The couple were consulting a lawyer to get it taken care of, and she stated, quote,

Brandon would never run from his kids, and while he had an outstanding warrant, we were in the process of saving to pay his fine and addressing it through our lawyer. As is the status quo when someone in a relationship goes missing, the spotlight also shifted to Lidesa. After about six weeks of searching for Brandon, she decided her three children all of whom were under 10 at the time and one of whom was under the age of one needed more stability. She wanted the help and support of her family, so she relocated back to the suburbs of Fort Worth, which many found suspicious, but she's maintained staunchly that she has nothing

to hide. Though the couple may have been in a routine argument on the evening that he disappeared, there was just nothing that would have made her want Brandon to leave, including a relapse. It does appear that Brandon had found himself in the middle of a relapse, which means that his disappearance was probably not taken as seriously as it would have been if he was not believed to be under the influence of drugs. With that being said, methamphetamine is known to cause hallucinations, so it's entirely possible that he was experiencing drug-induced psychosis, and that he thought that there was someone out there in the wilderness with him.

This could also explain his final phone call with Kyle, again his brother, and why Brandon told him that he could see him. He may have just been confused or paranoid or disoriented and some people have gone so far as to speculate that Brandon was dealing drugs on the side which may have made him enemies and landed him in danger. But Lidesa protested that these claims were ridiculous and unfounded. Saying quote, how could Brandon be a drug dealer when he worked 95 hours a week? He worked. He was a good dad. He took drug tests at a job and passed every one. Brandon had a past. Yes, everyone has past, but he wouldn't do anything like that. Investigators have been very quick to note the unforgiving landscape in which he disappeared. I mean, the ground is dry and uneven.

It's dotted with mesquite trees, cacti and brush. In this area is known to host both rattlesnakes and feral hogs, the latter of which have been heavily linked to the possibility of Brandon having an accident. Like maybe he came upon a pack of them and lost a physical altercation,

but it's also possible that he fell unconscious or was injured, and that a hog partially consumed his remains. Because feral hogs can grow to be over 400 pounds, by the way, and are known to cause more than 50 million dollars of damage annually to Texas farms, and there are believed to be about 2 million of them roaming freely. And if you don't know these things are huge so we will post a photo as well even though you know this isn't confirmed that he went up against a feral hog but just so you can see how big they are to understand the possibility. Others have posed the theory that Brandon may have unknowingly stumbled upon a drug

operation or cartel given the remote area from which he disappeared. There's also the possibility of a police cover-up, which is consistent with the hypothesis that Brandon did in fact mention state troopers in his 911 call. This case had garnered a cult following online, and critics of the investigation have been quick to point out that the Koch County Sheriff, who was conducting the investigation, co-owned the local newspaper, the observer enterprise with his wife. When they reported on the incident and the days following, they allegedly addressed it only as a stranded motorist having run out of gas. There were no further details about the dire nature of the situation, or the possibility

that foul play was involved. This is the publication responsible for reporting locally on the investigation, so a conflict of interest in bias was certainly possible. One local commented on this theory saying, quote, The cops blocked LaDessa at every turn when it came to searching, and the sheriff's wife was constantly fighting with everyone in Facebook comments. It was all very strange.

Your idea of the cops being involved definitely fits with their behavior. The family did what they could to keep Brandon's name in the headlines and keep his investigation alive. They held annual memorials and balloon releases, and groups of volunteers still regularly search the area for any sign of Brandon. Ladessa struggled under the weight of her guilt after having fought with him during their last interaction, saying, quote, I'm so scared we're never going to find him.

My kids are going to be having their own kids or getting married and still not know what happened to their dad or where he's at. After nine long years filled with anguish, theories and unanswered questions, the family would finally get some much needed closure. On February 4th, 2022, the Lawson family announced via their help find Brandon Lawson Facebook group that a few items Brandon was wearing that day were recovered, and nearby, human remains were found. Though the remains had yet to be confirmed as belonging to Brandon, due to the proximity, it seemed an obvious conclusion.

Though the family had assumed that this was the case, they were saddened, but thankful to see the conclusion of their search. The family wrote, quote, although DNA tests are needed to confirm identification in our hearts, we know that it's Brandon. On a ranch property in the vicinity of where Brandon's car was recovered, a team set out to search a small corner which the property owner claimed had not yet been surveyed. It was there that they found both of Brandon's Nike Airmax tennis shoes encased in the dirt about 75 feet apart, as well as the camouflage shorts that he'd been wearing that evening.

So obviously finding his clothes is huge because he couldn't have gotten far without him. So when the search group notified Ledessa and Brandon's parents of their discovery, the investigation was revived because, as you can imagine, you know, nine years have passed, almost nine years, and so many people are invested in this story. Everybody wants to know what happened to Brandon. He just vanished. There was no sign of him ever again. And now they found some items of clothing that are consistent with what he was last wearing in the general vicinity. But then around two weeks later after meticulously calming the vicinity where the clothing was found, law enforcement

came upon human remains. Though DNA testing would be necessary to confirm that, obviously they belonged to Brandon Lawson like Heath just said, the assumption is that they do. However, now, 20 months after the discovery was initially made, his family is still awaiting official confirmation of the identity. As reported by his family, the sample of human remains may not be linked to Brandon. Due to almost 9 years of exposure to the elements and possibly animals, the abilities of the investigators were super limited.

So in September of this year, his family posted a bit of an update that reads, quote, we know that all of you have been waiting anxiously to hear the results of the DNA analysis of the human remains found early last year. Unfortunately, we still do not have those results. I know with this statement, the question many of you have is, why? What is taking so long for these results? Here are some not all of the answer to those questions. As Ladecestated a number of weeks ago, very little remains were found.

This presents a challenge at the laboratory because, with each attempt of analysis, a small portion of the remains is destroyed in the process. The remains were exposed to the open elements for over eight years. This causes extreme degradation of DNA in the remains. So far, the remains have been to two separate laboratories in an attempt to overcome these challenges. All of this, no doubt, causes frustration. Bear in mind, no one is more frustrated by this than Brandon's

family and loved ones. The Texas Ranger currently in charge of Brandon's case is weighing other options in an attempt to ID these remains. In respect to his investigation and the case itself, we cannot reveal what these options are. We will update everyone further as soon as we are able to. And again, that was posted in September of this year, which is 2023. And this is, I mean, obviously it's such an important update, but it's also really interesting to know

that if these are his remains, since they're able to discern that those were his clothes that they found that he didn't leave the area. So what happened to him? If he went out there, did he die from exposure? Did somebody kill him out there? If he was indeed being chased and there was some sort of altercation, like it just makes you wonder so much, especially if they only have partial remains, if we'll ever know how

he died if those are his remains because just knowing that he didn't flee he didn't or again i'm saying all this under the pretense that those are his remains like that would mean that he didn't leave the area and go off on his own volition and and that he he wasn't taken out of the area but that he possibly was hiding and something happened him after that and then also thinking about the but that he possibly was hiding and something happened to him after that. And then also thinking about the fact that he made that comment, you know, I can see you, like, could he actually see his brother pulling up and the deputy pulling up? Was he unable to get to them?

Like what happened if he was so close to that same area where his truck was was left. And if he was like mostly coherent during that last call with Kyle, what happened between then and whenever he died? Because if he was for whatever reason waiting for the police to leave, which also doesn't make sense because the warrant aside, he called 911. He wanted them to show up. So why was he hiding if he was in fact hiding? Like, it's just there's so many questions and his death just doesn't make a lot of

sense. Like, what caused his death out there? You know, unfortunately, we may never know what exactly happened that night, but hopefully his family does get those answers and they'll be able to have some sort of closure in this case. Yes, well, his family is still very much hoping to positively identify him and be able to hold a proper burial for him over 10 years since he disappeared. His dad Brad maintains, quote, he deserves to be brought home to his family. If you have any information regarding the disappearance and probable

death of Brandon Lawson, please call the Texas Department of Safety at 512-4. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode and on Tuesday we'll have an all new case for you guys to dive into. I know this is such a complex and confusing story, especially with the 911 call, having so many different options of what was said. So please let us know what you think, go follow us on social media if you want to see photos and be able to comment your thoughts.

Our Instagram is at Going West Podcast, Twitter at Going West Pod, and we're also on Facebook. We have a Facebook group called The Going West Discussion Group. And we're also of a regular page just called Going West True Crime. Alright guys, I think that's it for today. So we'll see you guys next time. So for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%

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