EAST LANSING, Mich. – New evidence has been revealed in the death of Brendan Santo, thanks to private investigator Ryan Robison, who has connections with the case.
Officials for the Michigan State University Police Department investigated the disappearance initially, and they determined Santo had drowned, but Robison never stopped investigating the disappearance.
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The 18-year-old Grand Valley State freshman disappeared from Michigan State University’s campus on the weekend of Oct. 29, 2021, during the Michigan Wolverines rivalry football game.
Officials said Santo visited friends that weekend and was last seen leaving Yakeley Hall around 12 a.m., walking near Michigan Avenue and Beal Street.
His body was found by Robison 84 days later in the Red Cedar River. Robison said he was interested in the case before talking to Santo’s father for five hours.
“I mean, we know where he ended up,” said Brendan’s father, Brad Santo. “We just don’t know what happened to him. A lot of questions.”
Robison began his search for the 18-year-old college freshman on Jan. 6.
After two weeks, he said he noticed a spot in the river where several pumpkins had been collecting, causing him to take underwater photos in the area where he noticed Santo’s unique shoes.
Officials for the Michigan State University Police Department investigated the disappearance initially, and they determined Santo had drowned, but Robison never stopped investigating the disappearance.
Robison found significant evidence, leading him to believe the Santo case deserved to be re-opened.
For starters, Robison’s findings revealed that Santo, during his autopsy, showed no signs of water in his lungs or stomach.
He said that X-rays were performed, and Oakland County Chief Medical Examiner Ljubisa J. Dragovic said the drowning could not be confirmed as a cause of death.
After his death, officials said Santo’s cell phone pinged around 12:09 a.m., and then the phone went dead. Then, unbeknownst to the parents, Brendan’s phone pinged again at 2:39 a.m., which was a full two hours and thirty minutes later, which had everyone asking, “Who turned on Brendan’s cell phone?”
Officials are not sharing the location of the ping at 2:39 a.m., but witnesses who spoke to Robison said Brendan was on the north campus around 2 a.m.
According to police, there was a Motorola cell phone found in the area where Brendan was believed to be, which MSU police did not keep for evidence.