True Crime Cases: November 2018 Discussion

This part of the story has been confirmed by Coke County Sheriff Wayne McCutchen, Lawson’s girlfriend Ladessa Lofton, and Lori Norris. What happened thereafter, however is where the story gets murky.

When deputies were on the scene, no mention was made concerning the potential whereabouts of Brandon Lawson. It wasn’t until two to three days later that Kyle Lawson came forward and admitted to the Sheriff that his girlfriend had been on the phone with Brandon while Kyle was talking to the deputies, Sheriff McCutchen said.

According to Norris, who has been assisting in the search for Lawson since his disappearance six weeks ago, “Kyle went down the road and waited for the Sheriff’s deputies to leave, and went back and was calling out to Brandon.”

Lofton added that Kyle had driven up and down the highway looking for his brother until 4:30am, and claimed that a few of his co-workers had assisted in the search, however was unable to say whether or not anyone stepped out of the vehicle to search in the brush where Brandon had reported he was hiding.

Lawson is said to have been ‘hiding in the bushes because he was scared,’ and, according to his brother’s girlfriend, his last words were ‘I’m bleeding, I’m bleeding.’ Shortly thereafter, the cell phone cut out and contact was lost.

“That’s the last anyone’s seen or heard from Brandon,” Norris said.

No one seems to know why Brandon Lawson was hiding out in the bushes, however an outstanding warrant from 2005 out of Johnson County has aroused suspicion in the authorities and in Bronte residents.

“It (the warrant) was possession of a controlled substance. That’s where all the confusion is coming from,” Norris says. “People are assuming Brandon ran, but if he ran, why hasn’t he spent any money, why hasn’t he contacted anybody? Nobody has heard from him. And his vehicle was found out there; And he called 911 on his own.”

Lawson’s truck revealed no damage whatsoever upon inspection, and who or what Lawson claimed to have hit in his 911 call has remained a mystery. While there are many theories surrounding Lawson’s disappearance, the most sobering comes from his girlfriend, Ladessa Lofton.

“I think he’s out in that field,” said Lofton. “There are wild hogs, there are wild snakes, you know, there all kinds of things out there that can do stuff to you, and coyotes…There’s so many ditches, so many wells, so many stuff that you can fall in, you know?

“I think something got him—I don’t know what got him, I don’t think a landowner would have got him…I think an animal got Brandon or, I don’t know; did somebody pick him up, did he hitchhike a ride, did they kill him? I don’t know,” said Lofton. “I don’t know what to think anymore. My head’s thinking of 50 million things, but I think Brandon is in that land somewhere.”

Since Lawson’s disappearance, there have been four aerial searches, one put on by the Coke County Sheriff’s Office and three privately-funded aerial charters paid for by Lofton. The authorities have also conducted a grid search on foot, however none of the searches have turned up anything.

“There were two or three Texas Rangers, deputies from Tom Green County, Coke County, San Angelo Fire Department, DPS Highway Patrol, DPS Criminal Investigation, and a Search and Rescue Tracker…there was somewhere between 20 and 25 people [looking for Brandon],” Sheriff McCutchen said.

“They covered about 3,000 acres…We only have one point where we know he was at. You can’t search all of Coke County, it’s a physical impossibility. And we have no idea if he went north, south, east or west. We don’t know if he got picked up by a truck driver, we don’t know if a member of the family came out there and got him, we just don’t know,” Sheriff McCutchen said.

Since his disappearance, Sheriff McCutchen has received three or four anonymous calls proclaiming to know the whereabouts of Lawson, and these vary from San Angelo to Fort Worth and in between.

The Sheriff’s deputies have been keeping a look out when they make routine patrols, however up until now, no further information or evidence has surfaced.

The Sheriff’s Department does not suspect foul play in the case of Brandon Lawson, and he is currently listed as a missing person.