MINNESOTA HOUSE AND SENATE PROVIDE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP BY PASSING MISSING PERSONS’ LEGISLATION BRANDON’S LAW
 
BRANDON’S LAW WILL HELP MINNESOTA FAMILIES BY BROADENING STATE’S MISSING PERSONS’ STATUTE
 
Saint Paul, Minnesota, April 30, 2009—Today the Minnesota Senate unanimously passed the Minnesota Missing Persons’ Act (HF 1242) or Brandon’s Law, named in honor of 19 year old Brandon Swanson, missing near Marshall, Minnesota since May 14, 2008.  Passage of this legislation will have a positive impact on those who suffer the misfortune of having a loved one go missing.  Brandon’s law will broaden Minnesota’s Missing Persons Statute that up until today focused on missing children and will create criteria and protocols for clear guidance and standards to law enforcement officials when confronted with a missing persons’case.
 
“The law expands the definition of a missing person, acknowledging the rest of humanity–those over 18 years of age and endangered persons, adults missing under dangerous or precarious circumstances.  David Francis, president of the Jon Francis Foundation, a family advocate said. “We are pleased that Brandon’s Law has been passed. I believe that this is good public policy that resulted from the leadership of Minnesota lawmakers and law enforcement, and particularly families and individuals who are suffering because of our growing number of unsolved missing person’s cases.”
 
“I hope that Brandon’s Law will save others from the pain that I encountered when local law enforcement resisted filing a missing persons’ report and said to me, ‘well ma’am your son is 19 and he has a right to go missing,’” said Annette Swanson, mother of Brandon, who initiated this legislative effort.
 
Key criteria that law enforcement would consider to determine if a missing person is endangered include:
 

    * The person is missing as a result of a confirmed abduction or under circumstances that indicate that the person’s disappearance was not voluntary.

    * The person is missing under known dangerous circumstances such as near a lake or river.

    * There is evidence that the missing person is in need of medical attention or prescription medication such that there will be serious, adverse effect on the person’s health if he or she does not receive medical care.

    * The missing person is mentally impaired.

    * The missing person has been the subject of past threats or acts of violence.

    * Evidence that the missing person is lost in the wilderness, back country, or outdoors where survival is precarious, presenting a critical situation that requires an immediate and effective investigation and search and rescue efforts.

 
Brandon’s Law allows room for law enforcement discretion in determining if a missing person is endangered during process of gathering and reviewing evidence and looking at other possible factors.  In addition, Brandon’s Law requires that law enforcement file a detailed and standardized missing persons report “without delay” and begin an investigation.
 
The standardized report of a missing person will be sent to the state’s clearinghouse for missing persons’ information located at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s (BCA) Criminal Justice Information System.  Reported information will then be sent to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).  Currently in Minnesota, there are a significant number of unsolved missing persons’ cases and unidentified remains cases.  This sharing of missing persons’ information will help solve missing persons’ cases.
 
Brandon’s Law implements effective, consistent and streamlined procedures that will ultimately help law enforcement solve missing persons’ cases and will ease the burden on families and individuals who suffer the grief and unresolved loss resulting from a missing loved one.


The Jon Francis Foundation

The mission of The Jon Francis Foundation (JFF) is to support and empower others, coping with the disappearance of a loved one, by providing hope, knowledge and resources and to reduce incidents of loss through wilderness safety training and information. Jon Francis Foundation is an approved Minnesota, nonprofit, IRS tax exempt, 501(c) (3) corporation.