Right 2: Age-progressed by NCMEC to age 48 years; 54 years
Right 2: Age-progressed by NCMEC to age 48 years; 54 years
Name: Susan Anne Swedell
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: January 19, 1988
Location Last Seen: Lake Elmo, Washington County, Minnesota
Date of Birth: February 13, 1968
Age: 19 yrs old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 100 lbs
Hair Color: Sandy/Light Brown
Eye Color: Hazel
Nickname/Alias: Sue
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Pierced ears
Dentals: Available; extensive dental work
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: Winter jacket; short skirt
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: None
Susan Swedell was last seen on January 19, 1988, as she left work at a Kmart in Oak Park Heights, bound for an evening of movies with her mother and sister at home in Lake Elmo.
On the night of her disappearance, a snowy evening, Susan called her mom to let her know she planned on coming home. Just before leaving the store at the end of her shift, Susan changed her clothes out of the red pantsuit she had worn for her shift and into a mini skirt. Later, a gas station clerk let her leave her overheated car at the gas station on the corner of Manning Avenue and Highway 5, a mile from home. When she walked out, she walked up to a man who was pumping gas. She talked to him for a few minutes and then got into his car. Witnesses described him as unshaven, tall with shoulder length, curly hair, well built and wearing a leather jacket.
When Susan hadn't come home by late evening, her mom and sister called the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Deputies found her car at the gas station, which was closed. Susan's driver's license was found in her car. Thinking she may have tried to walk home -- in the midst of a storm that dumped 7.5 inches of snow on the metro area -- they searched roads and ditches. Investigators didn't learn she had left the gas station with a man until the next day. For a while, they treated her as a runaway. A mechanic later told Susan's mother that the petcock on the radiator had been loosened somehow and the car had no water in it, so it overheated. As they investigated some of her acquaintances and learned her car had probably been tampered with, they came to suspect foul play.
At the time of the disappearance, Susan's family were renting a home in downtown Lake Elmo. Susan had graduated from Stillwater High School and was working two jobs. She attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for a semester, but found that she was not yet prepared to attend college away from home. She was active at Christ Lutheran Church. She is described as naive for her age and very trusting of people. She was very close to her sister. Foul play is suspected in Susan's case.
Agency Name: Washington County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Det. Nicholas Sullivan
Agency Phone Number: 651-439-9381
Agency E-Mail: sheriff@co.washington.mn.us
Agency Case Number: 95019042
NCIC Case Number: M282670457
NamUs Case Number: 335
NCMEC Case Number: 1283176
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
NamUs
NCMEC
MN DPS
Lake Elmo Leader - Jan. 16, 2008
St. Paul Pioneer Press - Jul. 13, 2002 & May 9, 2019
Added: Prior to 2006; Last Updated: 01/14/2024
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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