Read about the Texan mystery of Brandon Lawson and his final drive before he disappeared forever. Was his strange disappearance an unfortunate accident as the result of bad decisions and drug abuse, or something more sinister?
Who was Brandon Lawson?
August 8, 2013
Brandon Lawson was a 26 year old oil miner who lived in Fort Worth, Texas with his long term girlfriend, Ladessa Lofton, and their two young children – one of which was less than a year old. On the surface, he appeared to be a happy family man who lived a tough, but rewarding life. But in reality, Brandon was living an extremely stressed individual, and was finding himself more and more unable to cope with the realities of raising a new child while working 60-hour weeks.
To alleviate his stress, Brandon turned to the use of drugs, and quickly became addicted to methamphetamine. This caused significant difficulties in his relationship with Ladessa, who strongly opposed bringing drugs into the family household. As Brandon’s drug abuse problem grew, so too did his problems with Ladessa, and he would often leave their house for the night when their arguments reached a boiling point.
Brandon’s Last Drive
It was one of these nights when Brandon got into his car, and went on his final drive before disappearing off the face of the Earth forever.
Brandon and Ladessa had just gotten into another fight over meth use – Brandon had broken a promise and come home high again. In a fit of rage, Brandon stormed out of the house and called his father to ask if he could spend the night at his house, approximately three hours away.
When his father agreed, he immediately began to drive towards his childhood home. But after about thirty minutes, Brandon noticed his car had run out of gas. He pulled to the side of the road, haphazardly parking before calling his brother Kyle to ask him if he could bring him some gasoline.
Kyle’s Story
By this point, Brandon was several months into his drug abuse, and his brother Kyle began to notice. According to his interview on the Generation Why podcast, Kyle had experience with methamphetamine, and immediately recognized the symptoms of its use in his brother. On one particularly desperate night, Brandon, who was feeling the effects of withdrawal, called his brother to ask him where he could possibly find some meth to buy. Unsupportive of the behavior, Kyle refused to help.
But on the night of August 8th, Kyle agreed to bring his stranded brother some gasoline. During their first phone call and the ones that followed, Brandon spoke in odd sentences, and repeatedly mentioned that he was being followed by three Mexican men who were trying to chase him out of town, before abruptly hanging up. Believing these to be hallucinations from drug use, Kyle ignored the warnings, and began driving to bring Brandon some gasoline.
As he was waiting for his brother, Brandon also called the police to ask for immediate help, claiming his life was in danger from the three Mexican men mentioned earlier. This was extremely odd, because Brandon was currently wanted by the police for breaking several drug laws. To call them, he must have been extremely confused from drug use, or in serious danger.
Never Seen Again
Kyle soon arrived with the gasoline, and the police arrived almost immediately after – But Brandon’s car was completely empty, and he was nowhere in sight.
Confused, Kyle called his brother. Brandon answered, and claimed he could see his brother standing near the police, but he was hiding and didn’t want to move yet. Kyle assumed this was because his brother knew he was wanted by the police and had several warrants, making him hide out of fear of being arrested. So, he returned to his car and waited for approximately 45 minutes, long after the police had left. Yet, Brandon still refused to come out of hiding, and was no longer answering Kyles’ calls.
Tired of waiting, Kyle decided to return home with his family (who were also in the car) and come back in the morning, assuming that the drugs would take some time to lose their effect. Before leaving, he filled up Brandon’s car with the gasoline he brought, and yelled out to the surrounding area that he was going home now to drop off his family.
Kyle returned at dawn the next day to find everything as he had left it – The car was untouched, even though Kyle had filled it up the night before so that Brandon could leave when he was sober and ready. When he attempted to call his brother, Kyle discovered that Brandons’ phone went straight to voicemail, implying that it had run out of battery or been turned off. Little did he know, that phone call they had the night before would be the last time Kyle would ever speak to his brother.
The Public Perception
To many, it seemed as though Brandon had simply disappeared after one too many uses of his favorite drug. Perhaps he wandered off and got lost in the woods nearby, or maybe he had an unfortunate accident and hurt himself while hiding from his brother and the police. But, few suspected that any foul play could have been involved.
But when the phone calls between Brandon and the police were released, they brought up some interesting questions that led many to believe that there might be more to the story.
The Phone Calls
Remember how Brandon repeatedly claimed he was being chased by three Mexican men? After listening to the phone calls, many began to believe this could have had some truth.
On the phone calls, Brandon was speaking extremely erratically, as if he was terrified of some nearby threat. At some points in the call, he can be heard running in fear, whereas at other points he seems to be standing completely still. Perhaps most perplexing of all is the second voice that can be heard early on in the phone calls, saying “protect yourself” before the sound of three loud bangs (which could be gunshots) are heard.
If Brandon was alone, where did the second voice come from? It’s possible he picked up a friend or drug associate and was driving him to the town where his father lived, but why? And, what were the three loud sounds heard over the phone, if not gunshots? They sounded mechanical, not like the cracking of a tree branch.
New Evidence Is Discovered
Nearly ten years after Brandon’s mysterious disappearance, new evidence has been discovered that raises more questions than it answers
Less than one mile away from his parked car, the clothes that Brandon was wearing were discovered, along with human remains quickly identified to be what was left of Brandon. To put that into perspective, the average human can walk a mile at an average pace in about 15 to 20 minutes, and the police claimed to have thoroughly searched the area where his remains were discovered several times already.
This leads to two possibilities – the police were incompetent in locating Brandon and potentially saving him before his death, or they were involved in his disappearance.
Your thoughts
So, what do you think happened to Brandon? Did a drug-induced state lead to an unfortunate accident and his subsequent death, or was there foul play involved? Write a comment below with your thoughts using some of the new vocabulary you learned, and we’ll respond!
