Susan Anne Swedell, a 19-year-old from Lake Elmo, Minnesota, went missing on January 19, 1988, under suspicious circumstances. That evening, during a snowstorm, Susan left her shift at a K-Mart in Oak Park Heights. She told her family she planned to head straight home to watch a movie with them. Strangely, before leaving work, she changed from the red pantsuit she had been wearing into a short skirt, despite the cold and snowy conditions.
While driving home, Susan's car, a maroon 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass, overheated about a mile from her house. She stopped at a gas station on Manning Avenue and asked the attendant if she could leave her car there. Shortly after, witnesses saw Susan getting into a vehicle with an unidentified man who had been waiting at the station. He was described as tall, with shoulder-length curly hair, unshaven, and wearing a leather jacket. This was the last time anyone saw Susan.
Her car was later examined and found to have had the radiator's petcock loosened, leading to the overheating. Investigators believe this might have been done intentionally. Despite a thorough investigation and the discovery of Susan’s personal items, including her purse and eyeglasses, inside her car, no sign of Susan has ever been found. Her mother even suspected that Susan may have briefly returned home days after her disappearance due to the discovery of moved items and the smell of smoke in their apartment.
Although early theories considered the possibility of Susan running away, investigators now believe foul play is involved in her disappearance, which remains unsolved after more than three decades.Last Seen: Jan 19, 1988
