Awareness=Answers

“I am very shaken right now and need to share what just happened to me.” That was the first sentence in a lengthy email sent to me over Father’s Day weekend.

The woman and her boyfried were walking their dog on the wooded paths around Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota.  On a hot summer evening, Lake Minnetonka is teeming with people walking, running, boating and drinking.  It was late and the woman was near several hot party spots.  “Just then,” she says,  “a dark blue big van pulled up on the road and stopped.  The man driving had the lights on in the van and he seemed to be typing or searching on a police like radio.  My boyfriend and I were scared so we began to run up the path.  A young man between the ages of 21-28 came walking past us.  He was alone and looked a little afraid.  We continued to walk down the path and about one minute later the boy came running from behind us.  He stopped when he got to us.  I asked him if he was okay.  He said that he wasn’t okay and that he was afraid.  He said it was a terrible night and that he couldn’t even begin to talk about it.  He said that he was sorry because he was messed up.  He didn’t seem messed up though to us.”

The young man walked away from the water and towards the street. The woman and her boyfriend searched for the young man, but couldn’t find him.  They got in their car to drive home and spotted a police cruiser. She says that they  flashed their lights at the car, but the officer didn’t pull over.  Instead, the cruiser sped away from the busy area and into a more deserted neighborhood. The woman and her boyfriend turned away and called police. She says the dispatcher took her information.

The woman says, “I am scared.  I know that the boy was running away from the van.  It is like the van knew that he would be walking down the path and was waiting for him.  We tried to alert a cop and he speed away from us.  Whoever was in the van must have been in contact with people at the bar and in the area and I know it sounds crazy but a cop too… I am afraid for the safety of the boy.  I wish I would have told him to come with me but he looked terrified and he could have been dangerous.  Please get this information to the investigators or whoever you think would benefit from it.”

To verify the details, I asked the woman to get her police report or a record of her call to police. She says the police department does not have any record of report. The woman’s phone has a record of the call and the duration of it.

 The woman is now on a mission to spread the story of  SFK and is encouraging people to read about it and take precautions.

Kristi Piehl Uncategorized

Brandon Scott

“Hey Ma, it’s your only son,” those are the words Michelle Villadores says she misses hearing from her son, Brandon Scott.  Michelle says,  “My son would do anything in the world for me,  his children and his family to keep us safe from harm.”

On January 5, 2008, Brandon, a father of three, couldn’t protect himself. The 25-year-old was last seen leaving Premier Nightclub in Stockton, California. His body was found later that month in a nearby deep water channel. Michelle says, “No knife wounds, no gunshots, no blows or beatings.  Bible in his pocket, as he always had it, some of his money missing, not all of it.”  

The toxicology reports revealed a blood alcohol content of .19 and high levels of GHB (commonly called the date rape drug). Officially, Brandon’s case is open and his death is considered “suspicious,” but not homicide.  

Michelle believes her son was targeted, drugged, thrown in the water and left to die. Under the influence of GHB, it would’ve been nearly impossible for Brandon to try to swim or scream for help. Michelle thinks she knows who did it.  “He and his crew have bragged about what they did to my son. It comes out more and more each day.” Michelle says, “I just need someone to not feel as if they are snitching, but are helping a grieving mother and sisters and children and their mother and family and friends who loved Brandon very very much.”

 Michelle is now helping raise Brandon’s three kids and still fighting for answers for her son. This Father’s Day is another difficult milestone. Brandon’s 12-year-old sister created this poem (at right, clicking on it to enlarge) and is publishing it in their local newspaper.

Note: There are many circumstances that make Brandon’s death different from SFK. In fact, Brandon’s brother was murdered and his family believes the two deaths are connected. Michelle suspects that the night Brandon’s brother was shot, Brandon was the intended target and his brother died protecting him.  Click here to read more about Brandon and the possible connection to his brother’s death.  I think Brandon’s story is an important one to tell because it shows that GHB and alcohol can make someone a potentially ideal drowning victim. 

Thank you to Michelle for opening up and sharing with me.  

Kristi Piehl Uncategorized

Dan Zamlen

The ruling that Dan Zamlen’s death was the result of an “accidental drowning” is coming as a surprise to some of the Eveleth, Minnesota man’s friends.  A high school classmate of Dan’s told the Duluth News Tribune, “I have always known Dan to be a very careful person. He had a good head on his shoulders and I just find it startling that the autopsy came back as an accident. It just doesn’t seem to me that the puzzle pieces are really fitting correctly.”

The body of the college freshman was recovered in the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minnesota on May 1. Dan was last seen early April 5th.  His friends lost contact with Dan after he left a party near the University of St. Thomas.

Dan’s family is not releasing his blood alcohol level and St. Paul Police say that it is not public information. However, investigators have said that alcohol was a factor in Dan’s death and there is an active investigation underway to find out who supplied alcohol to the 18-year-old on the night he died. 

Dan’s parents have not commented on the autopsy results. However, they do have a message for the hundreds of strangers who were moved by Dan’s story. Here is a portion of what they posted on www.finddan.org, “We will never know all the people who volunteered in the search effort, participated in a benefit or offered thoughts and prayers for our dear son and his family.” 

Click here to read more reaction from Dan’s friends.

Kristi Piehl Uncategorized