Teen vanished visiting friends at Michigan State. Mystery remains 3 months later
Almost three months ago, 18-year-old Brendan Santo vanished while visiting friends at Michigan State University over Halloween weekend.
A search for the missing teen continues as mystery surrounds his disappearance. There have been no confirming sightings of Santo since he went missing on Oct. 29.
“It is unfathomable to believe in this day and age someone can just disappear,” Brendan’s aunt, Dawn Brewer, told ABC News. “Our family is desperately begging anyone with information to come forward even anonymously.”
Any credible information that leads to bringing the teenager home can qualify tipsters for a reward over $20,000, Michigan State University (MSU) Police shared in its latest update.
In the Dec. 23 update, the department shared that its “investigative work has been reviewed by our local, state, and federal partners and we still do not believe foul play is involved.”
Campus police said its team continues to investigate, and the search has ledofficers to focus on the Red Cedar River, though other locations are also being explored. About 2 miles of the river runs through the campus.
“The water search is complex and challenging,” police said. “We have used sonar, canines, and other underwater technology as part of the river search to identify areas of interest in the water. While we have searched these areas of interest in the Red Cedar with divers, it is not possible to search the entire river with divers.
“Challenges of searching the river is the current, depth, visibility, obstacles present, as well as other underwater entanglement hazards,” the department continued. “We have consulted with engineers and water experts as part of our search operation to determine next steps.”
This comes as the department says police have received hundreds of tips in Santo’s disappearance.
Tips can be sent to MSU Police at 844-996-7873 or tips@police.msu.edu, and they can be submitted anonymously.
Sightings of Santo should be called in to 911.
“We just want Brendan back,” his family told ABC News.
The 18-year-old is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a black T-shirt, a black baseball hat and white Converse high-top shoes.
His disappearance
Santo was last seen walking on the MSU campus near Yakeley Hall on Oct. 29, just before midnight, McClatchy News previously reported. Yakeley Hall is a female-only residence hall in the North Neighborhood of campus.
At the time, campus police said it was possible he was planning to walk to the Brody Neighborhood, about a half-mile away. The early search into his disappearance included interviewing everyone Santo had spoken with and reviewing surveillance cameras along with cellular, smartphone and GPS data.
But campus security cameras “where Santo’s cellphone was last detected” weren’t working at the time, police said, according to WDIV.
“Finding out what happened after Brendan left Yakeley Hall is the key to finding Brendan, or at the least adding another piece to this horrible puzzle,” Brewer told ABC News.
Santo was a student of Grand Valley State University before he went missing, WDIV reported.
“It’s not every day that a young college student goes missing without a whole lot of leads,” Chris Rozman, of MSU Police, told the Detroit TV station. He added that “some of his friends” reported Santo had vanished.
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