MN MN - Susan Swedell, 19, Lake Elmo, 19 Jan 1988

hoppyfrog

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http://www.startribune.com/local/east/13842956.html

17 Jan 08

Twenty years ago this week, 19-year-old Susan Swedell of Lake Elmo walked out of a gas station, got into a car with a man and disappeared.

Her family is asking that everyone light a candle on Swedell's behalf and remember not only her, but other missing people as well.

Swedell was last seen on Jan. 19, 1988, at a gas station about a mile from her home.

Employed by Kmart in Oak Park Heights, Swedell frequently received calls at work from a man she called "Dale." On the night she disappeared, she called her mother from work and said she was heading home to watch a movie.

more at link

pic
1coldcase.jpg
 
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: January 19, 1988 from Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: February 13, 1968
Age: 19 years old
Height and Weight: 5'4, 100 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Sandy brown hair, hazel eyes. Swedell's ears are pierced. Her nickname is Sue. She has had extensive dental work.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A short skirt, a winter jacket and earrings.

Details of Disappearance

Swedell was employed at the K-Mart retail store in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota in 1988. She phoned her family members from work at 4:00 p.m. on January 19, 1988. Swedell said that she planned to go straight home after her shift ended to watch a movie. She changed into a short skirt before she departed from work, which was considered odd due to the snowy conditions at the time.

Swedell's vehicle overheated during her drive to her residence. She stopped at a gasoline station at the corner of Manning Avenue and Highway 5, approximately one mile from her home in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. The attendant allowed Swedell to park her car at the establishment. The employee told authorities that she entered a vehicle driven by an unidentified male shortly afterwards. The man appeared to have been waiting for Swedell near the station. He is described as having shoulder-length curly hair and a well-built physique. The witness said that the man was tall and was unshaven. The individual was wearing a leather jacket at the time Swedell entered his car. She never returned home and has not been heard from again.

When authorities searched Swedell's car, they found her driver's license inside it. Swedell's mother drove the vehicle to a repair shop. Mechanics discovered the petcock on the radiator had been loosened, and the car had no water in it, which explains why it overheated. Investigator theorized someone loosened the petcock deliberately and followed Swedell's car, waiting for it to malfunction so they could offer her a ride.

Swedell's mother believes her daughter came back to their apartment a few days after her disappearance. She stated there was an odor of cigarette smoke in the residence and dirty dishes in the sink. The red pantsuit Swedell had been wearing on the day of her disappearance, before she changed into her skirt, was found balled up on her bed. There was no sign of Swedell herself at the home, however, and it is unclear whether she was ever actually there.

Swedell attended the University of Wisconsin at River Falls for a semester after she graduated Stillwater High School, but she decided she was not ready to live away from home and returned to live with her mother and younger sister. She worked two jobs at the time of her disappearance, and was active at Christ Lutheran Church. Her loved ones reported that she had been receiving telephone calls at work from a man named Dale in 1989. It is not known if the person is connected to her disappearance.

Authorities detected activity on Swedell's Social Security number in 2006, but it turned out to be a case of identity theft. Foul play is suspected in Swedell's case.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/swedell_susan.html
 
In the third paragraph from the bottom it says a few days after the disappearance there was an odor of cigarette smoke in the residence and dirty dishes in the sink. The red pantsuit Swedell had been wearing on the day of her disappearance....

How unusual. Most abductors do not allow the victim to return home.
 
I guess so but the disappearance sure seems like she was targeted by someone. I wonder if anything was missing form the home that she could have gone back to get.
Maybe it was her abducter returning to dispose of or even pick up any evidence he could have left. Maybe she had been stalked or her house had been vandalized prior to her abduction by this person.
 
SSwedell1.jpg

Susan Anne Swedell

Endangered Missing

Missing From: Lake Elmo, Minnesota

Missing Since: January 19, 1988

Age: 19 -- Height: 5'4" -- Weight: 100 lbs -- Hair Color: Sandy -- Eye Color: Hazel

Susan's nickname is Sue. Her ears are pierced.


Susan was last seen on January 19, 1988 as she left work at a Kmart in Oak Park Heights, bound for an evening of movies with her mother and sister at home in Lake Elmo. On the night of her disappearance, a snowy evening, she called her mom to let her know she planned on coming home.

Later, a gas station clerk let her leave her overheated car at the gas station on the corner of Manning Avenue and Highway 5, a mile from home. When she walked out, she walked up to a man who was pumping gas. She talked to him for a few minutes and then got into his car. Witnesses described him as unshaven, tall with shoulder length, curly hair, well built and wearing a leather jacket.

When Sue hadn't come home by late evening, her mom and sister called the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Deputies found her car at the gas station, which was closed. Sue's drivers license was found in her car. Thinking she may have tried to walk home -- in the midst of a storm that dumped 7.5 inches of snow on the metro area -- they searched roads and ditches.

Investigators didn't learn she had left the gas station with a man until the next day. For a while they treated her as a runaway. A mechanic later told Sue's mother that the petcock on the radiator had been loosened somehow and the car had no water in it, so it overheated. As they investigated some of her acquaintances and learned her car had probably been tampered with, they came to suspect foul play.


Doe Network

NamUs

Charley Project
 
Wow! LucyOso did you submit this possible match to LE? She is a good physical match (weight and height are in range and eye color matches) The timing is only approx. one month from her dissapearance as well. I think you should definitely submit.

I don't know how to submit...LOL.
 
Suggesting that she wasn't abducted.

I agree. It is possible she got into a relationship that was way over her head. He may have been controlling and abusive. The UID I posted above would make sense in that case. Many cases of domestic violence occur on Valentine's Day.
 
I submitted this today via email...

Good morning Elayne,

I am an amateur sleuther who was searching for missing persons who may match the Jane Doe found in Westchester County, New York on February 14, 1988.
Jane Doe is Namus case # MEW 88-410. I found Susan Anne Swedell missing since January 19, 1988 from Lake Elmo, Minnesota who may match the vital statistics of Jane Doe .
Please see the comparison below:

Susan's vitals in comparison:

Vital Statistics

* Approximate Height: Susan: 5'4, 100 pounds and Jane Doe: 5'3, 105
* Distinguishing Characteristics: Susan: Sandy brown hair, Hazel eyes, ears pierced and Jane Doe: Light brown hair, Hazel eys, pierced ears
* Estimated post-mortem interval: Susan disappeared in January and Jane Doe was found in February. Susan's disappearance may have been related to a man she was seeing at the time. Jane Doe's death occurring on Valentine's day, suggesting intimate partner violence.
* Age range: Susan 19 years old and Jane Doe ages 18-30

Susan's case is NamUs MP #335. The link is below along with Jane Doe's NamUs profile. I also included a link from the Charley Project as it has more details about Susan's disappearance.


IdentifyUs https://identifyus.org/en/cases/10229
NamUs https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/335/0/
Charley Project http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/swedell_susan.html

Thank you for your time and consideration. If she has been ruled out, I do apologize.

Sincerely,
Real name
 
I got a response back!!!

On Tue, Jul 10, 2012 at 10:43 AM, Bruski, Lori <Lori.Bruski@unthsc.edu> wrote:

Thank you! I’m not sure these two case were ever compared but I am making sure they are now.



Lori



Lori Bruski

Regional Systems Administrator

National Missing & Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)



Web: www.NamUs.gov

NamUs @ UNT Health Science Center

3400 Camp Bowie Boulevard, 6th Floor

Fort Worth, TX 76107

ORI: TX220035Y

Phone: 817-718-7904

Fax: 817-735-0251

Email: Lori.Bruski@unthsc.edu

Web: www.untfsu.com
 
Great job, Lucy! :rocker:

I deal with Lori at NamUs fairly often and she is very dedicated to helping locate missing persons and identifying UIDs.

I will be anxiously awaiting the outcome of this one, because it looks like a very close match IMO.
 

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