Out of Gas

0:00Today, I'm going to tell you the story about one of the most talked about mysteries on the internet. I think part of the reason why this story remains so mysterious is because there's this really unsettling audio recording that sort of confounds the whole mystery and really forces you to take a stance about what you think really happened. So, I'm going to tell you that story, and then at the end, I will share that audio recording, and then you can be the judge about, you know, what really happened here. But before we get into that story, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right place because that's all we do, and we upload four times a week.

0:36Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridays. So if that's of interest to you, please offer to do the dishes for the follow button. But instead of cleaning them, just smash them on the ground. Okay, let's get into today's story.

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2:13At 1230 a.m. on August 9, 2013, a man named Kyle Lawson was asleep in his bedroom with his wife at their home in San Angelo, Texas, when his cell phone rang and it woke him up. Kyle looked at the caller ID and saw that the call was coming in from his 26-year-old brother, Brandon. And so, you know, Kyle picked it up, but before he could even say hello, his brother said he needed help. And then he launched into this big story that really sounded completely insane. He told Kyle he was currently driving north on Highway 277, which is this totally desolate two-lane country road that runs through West Texas, and that three men were chasing Brandon.

2:51And on top of that, Brandon told his brother that he's trying to get away from these men, but his truck was about to run out of gas. And so what he wanted Kyle to do was to, right now in the middle of the night, come meet him secretly to hand off a gas tank so Brandon could officially escape these three men. But as Kyle listened to this, he was not really actually concerned, at least in terms of Brandon being in any sort of real danger with regards to these three men that were chasing him. In reality, Kyle's reaction to this was just being so annoyed at Brandon. Because after hearing this story, this frantic story Brandon's telling him in the middle of the night, he was sure that really there were no three men.

3:30That instead, his brother Brandon was just high again. And he was hallucinating. He was basically having an episode that was substance-induced. So Brandon had a history of methamphetamine use. He'd been clean for the last six months or so, and he'd been working on, you know, being a better partner to his fiance, Ladesa, and also a better father to his four children. But just two days ago, Brandon had also called Kyle, but it had been to ask Kyle if he knew where he could get some drugs. Now, Kyle did not immediately say, oh, here's where you go to get drugs. Instead, he tried to tell Brandon, like, don't do it.

4:04Like, you should not get high. You're clean. Like, you're doing good. But he was pretty sure Brandon had not listened because ever since that phone call, even though Kyle didn't give him any resources for drugs, Brandon must have gone and gotten drugs anyways because his behavior had just been completely crazy in general. In fact, right now, Kyle knew from having spoken to his parents earlier that the whole reason Brandon was even driving on Highway 277 right now was because he got into a big fight with his fiance and was supposed to be going to his parents' house to chill out. Like, he was basically going to time out for bad behavior.

4:38That's why he was out right now. Now, Kyle knew Brandon was very likely high, and so this was not going to be a good time to reason with Brandon and tell him to, you know, just come home or just go to your parents' house because, you know, there's no such thing as these three men. Like, you're just high. You know, he's not going to listen to that. So instead, Kyle just focused on trying to calm Brandon down because, again, Kyle is not thinking Brandon is actually in danger. He's thinking this is just a hallucination. But as Kyle tried to do that, Brandon did not calm down. He got more and more anxious and he's continuing to talk about these three men that are gaining on him.

5:13And finally, Kyle just said, dude, Brandon, have you relapsed? Is that what's going on here? But as Kyle expected, Brandon swore up and down that he was not high. And he just kept on begging Kyle to come help him fast before these men caught up to him. Like, come give me the gas I need so I can escape. Come on, man. At this point, Kyle felt like there was no point even talking to Brandon. And in some ways, he just wanted to hang up and forget about this whole thing. Like, this was crazy. He has his own life and his own responsibilities. Like, he shouldn't be babysitting his younger brother. But at the same time, Kyle was very close with his brother, even if, you know, he resented it.

5:48He did love his brother very much. And even though he did feel like there is no imminent danger here, other than maybe Brandon to himself, Kyle decided, you know what, I'm just going to go out on Highway 277, I'm going to find Brandon and just get him back home. So he told Brandon he'd be right there, and then he hung up. About 45 minutes later, Kyle drove north on Highway 277, along with his wife in his passenger seat and their four-year-old son in the back. Kyle's wife had not wanted him to be out in the middle of the night dealing with his crazy brother all alone, so she'd insisted that she and their son come along.

6:24And so as Kyle drove down the road, he kept an eye out for Brandon's truck. Now, to set the scene for you, this really is like a desolate highway. There's no real traffic. And really, in either direction, it's just kind of open plains and some shrubs and small trees. Like, this is a big, wide-open area. It's pretty easy to see way out in front of you. And so he's got a great view, even though it's nighttime. But he can't see any vehicles. Like, there's no truck. There's nothing. Like, his brother is nowhere to be seen. But Kyle just kept on driving and kept on looking out. He was even just sort of looking out into the fields in case, you know, his brother had veered off the road somewhere, which seemed entirely possible.

6:59But eventually, after driving for some time, way up ahead, sort of parked half on the road, half off, was a truck. Its lights were off. You know, it's just sitting there. It's not even idling. It's clearly turned off. But as Kyle got closer, he realized it was Brandon's truck. So he had found Brandon. And so Kyle, he pulls over to the opposite side of the road. He parks his car and he tells his wife and his son to stay in the car. and he's going to go talk to Brandon, who at this point Kyle is assuming is sitting in his truck, you know, waiting for Kyle. And also keep in mind at this point, Kyle's thinking, well, there's nobody else out here.

7:31There's no three men chasing my brother. He's probably just sitting here high as can be. And I'm going to talk to him and he's just going to go home and we're going to move past this. But when Kyle walked over to the vehicle, there was nobody inside of it. Brandon's gone. And he's thinking to himself, this really doesn't make any sense because on the ride to the truck as they were on Highway 277, Brandon kept repeatedly calling Kyle over and over and over again, being like, come on, you got to hurry up. You got to get here. They're gaining on me like I'm in trouble. Bring that gasoline. You got to get here.

8:04And now that he's here, he's finally reached clearly Brandon's truck. It's right here. And Brandon's gone. He's gone from his truck. He didn't tell him that on the phone. Like, where is he? What's going on here? And so Kyle, he's like looking under the vehicle. He's searching the vehicle now for his brother, which is totally crazy. Like, what's his brother doing here? But as he's searching the vehicle for his brother and looking around the area for his brother, Kyle's phone rings. And it's Brandon. And so Kyle, who at this point is feeling really annoyed, he answers the phone and he's like, Brandon, where are you?

8:35And Brandon goes, bro, I'm right here. And Kyle's like, no, you're not. Like, I don't see you. There's no one here. Your truck is here. You're not here. But just then, Kyle looked out and there was a car coming towards him. So he saw the headlights and he realized it was a cop car. And so he's on the phone with Brandon. He's looking out at this cop car that's coming up this road towards him and clearly slowing down. Like the police officer is going to stop and talk to Kyle, presumably. And so as this cop car is coming in and slowing down right in front of him, Brandon on the phone says to Kyle, run away from that cop.

9:08Now think about this. That meant Brandon had to be somewhere nearby because he can clearly see the cop car approaching Kyle. He's watching the scene. Even though Kyle has not found his brother, Brandon is clearly actually nearby. But Kyle, he's sort of quickly interpreting this and he's thinking, like, where is Brandon? Because he's looking out and it's just open fields in either direction on either side of this highway. It's like this barren wasteland out in the middle of Texas. Like, where is he hiding? There's nowhere to hide. There's a couple of shrubs and really small trees sort of off in the distance, but like there's really nowhere to hide.

9:44So where is Brandon? And Kyle, he's just feeling furious at this point. Confused, but furious. It's like, what are you doing, Brandon? He knew the reason Brandon wanted Kyle to run also is because Brandon had an active warrant out for his arrest that had to do with a drug charge. And so he's just protecting himself, like don't get involved with the police, like keep me out of it. And it's like, Kyle, he's already out here in the middle of the night doing this crap for his brother, who's completely office rocker. Like, he was so annoyed. But again, it's like, what does he even do? He has no idea where Brandon is.

10:15And so Kyle, he was about to say something to Brandon to demand, you know, where are you? Come out here. But Brandon hung up.

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13:29Expedited transfers available for a fee. Tips are voluntary and don't affect the service. Available in select states. Terms and restrictions apply. Visit earnen.com for full details. Now, by this point, the police officer had arrived on scene. He had parked his car and he walked over to Kyle, who now is standing right next to his brother's vehicle. You know, he's put his phone back in his pocket. And the officer, when he got close enough, he introduced himself as Deputy Neal of the Coke County Sheriff's Department. And he told Kyle that he was responding to a 911 call from a trucker about a stranded driver on the road.

14:03And so he asked Kyle if maybe that was him. Is this your truck? Are you the stranded driver? You know, pointing to Brandon's truck. But Kyle said, no, it was not his. It belonged to his brother. But despite how much he really wished he could say the truth, he wanted to protect his brother. So he couldn't tell the deputy that, well, you know, the reason my brother left his car here is because he's probably high on meth. And he's somewhere nearby hiding. And also he has a warrant out for his arrest. So instead, Kyle said, well, you know, I think he went off to get some gas because he called me and he said he had run out of gas.

14:32So he parked his car here. So he probably has walked on and, you know, I just got here. is it okay with you if I get back in the car with my wife and son and just drive up and down the road here to find Brandon? Because I'm sure he's fine, but he called me to help get him gas. So do you mind if I do that? And surprisingly, the deputy was like, yeah, that's fine. Go ahead. And so Kyle, he got right back into his car with his wife and his son, and he did fire up his car, and he drove farther down the highway. And as he did, he kept looking over his shoulder to see what the cop was going to do. And the cop was just still parked next to Brandon's car.

15:04and eventually, when Kyle drove far enough that he knew the cop couldn't see him anymore, he pulled over to the side of the road and he began really angrily calling his brother over and over and over again to get him back on the phone. But Brandon never answered the calls. And so at this point, Kyle has no idea what's going on with Brandon. I mean, he didn't before, but now especially. He's out of contact with his brother. And so Kyle and his family would sit there for a little bit longer, like continuing to try to get in touch with Brandon, but to no end. And eventually, Kyle's four-year-old son began crying and complaining because it's so late and he's tired.

15:37And, you know, Kyle's wife is tired. It's two in the morning. And Kyle, he's just so over it. He's like, you know what? Brandon is an adult. I tried to come out here and get him out of this mess. But if he doesn't want to be in touch with me and he wants to hide off the side of the highway, that's on him. I'm taking my family and I'm going home. And so that's what he did. He turned around. He drove right back the way he came. And he actually passed by his brother's truck that was still there. so Brandon clearly is still in hiding. And standing next to his brother's truck is still Deputy Neal. He presumably was waiting for Brandon to show back up.

16:09He drove right past them, went back to his home, and they went to bed. And he figured, you know what, tomorrow I will likely hear from Brandon and he'll tell me some crazy story explaining what really happened, but you know what, whatever. That's on him. Not long after Kyle had driven past Deputy Neal on his way back home, Neal decided, you know what, like I'm not just going to sit here all night waiting for Brandon. You know, he had searched Brandon's truck, and there was nothing concerning inside of it. There was, you know, no phone, no wallet, no keys, things that people would not leave behind if they ran out of gas and decided to go walk to get gas.

16:41So it seemed very much like that is what happened. Brandon had pulled his car over, gotten out, and begun the walk. And then his brother showed up, and the whole thing was playing out here. And so Neil figured, okay, well, I have other calls to go to. It doesn't seem like this is a huge emergency. And so he just reached inside the truck, he turned on the hazard lights, then he locked all the doors and shut them, and then he got in his own vehicle and he took off. Because again, he had other calls to attend to that night.

17:07The next morning, around 8am, Deputy Neal was back out on Highway 277 just to make sure Brandon had eventually come back and claimed his truck. But no, the truck was still sitting there, hazards on. Now, at this point, Deputy Neal was starting to get a bit concerned about Brandon because, you know, he's out on foot walking to get gas for his truck. And even though it seemed like the risk was sort of low for him, it is possible something could have happened to him. And that's why he had not come back to his truck. You know, maybe he was hit by a car or, you know, got lost or something. Who knows?

17:38Like anything could have happened. Or, you know, maybe Brandon decided not to claim his truck yet. Maybe he just went home and he's going to get it later. But regardless, it just seemed like Neil really had to go follow up personally with Brandon just to make sure he was okay. And so Neil drove back to the sheriff's department to see if he could find the contact information for Brandon. But when he walked in the door, he didn't have any time to do any digging because another employee told him that while he was out, the department had gotten a call from Brandon's fiance, Ledessa. And Ledessa had given them a very different story than the one Brandon's brother, Kyle, had told Neil the night before.

18:13According to Ledessa, she and Brandon had been fighting for the past few days. And last night, so on the night that this whole truck thing happened, Brandon was supposed to be on his way to his parents' house to cool off from the fight he was having with Ledessa. But he never arrived at his parents' house, and he never came back to Ledessa's house. And so Brandon was totally unaccounted for. And on top of that, nobody could get in touch with Brandon. They were calling and texting him, no response. After hearing this, Deputy Neal was surprised and also pretty angry, because clearly Brandon's brother Kyle had acted like everything was totally fine the night before, but that had to have been a lie, you know, because Ledessa is saying this totally different story.

18:54And so the first thing Neil did is he went and spoke to Kyle and also to the rest of Brandon's family to get the story straight here. And very quickly it became clear to Deputy Neil that any omissions or even lies were not because the family was hiding something. I mean, they were kind of trying to protect Brandon, but it was because they didn't understand how serious this situation really was. And so now that Brandon really was missing and nobody knew what happened to him, the family was very forthright, that they really didn't know what had happened to him and that, yes, maybe he was on drugs, we don't know, but he really is missing and you gotta go look for him.

19:28And so that's what Neil did. Over the next four days, there was this huge search that Neil led all around Highway 277, where the center of the search was where Brandon's truck had been found. But despite using canines, helicopters, and these huge search teams, some of which had thermal cameras which would allow you to see body heat, like despite covering this vast area all around where Brandon clearly had been, there was absolutely no sign of him. And they also spoke to the homeowners and the property owners sort of roughly in the area to see if maybe they had seen something strange, maybe seen Brandon or those three men that apparently had been chasing him on the night he went missing, but nobody had seen anything.

20:08And so basically, Brandon was definitely not here. And there was no sign he had been here other than his truck. That was it. And so Deputy Neal and the rest of the authorities who were involved in this search ultimately came to the conclusion that, based on the fact that Brandon had clearly been fighting with his fiancée, that he had an active warrant out for his arrest, and that he had not been seen in days and there was no sign of him anywhere, nothing, that what must have happened here is Brandon fled. That he's not here because he chose not to be here. That he was never in any danger. He fled the area and looking here is going to do nothing.

20:44We basically have to wait for Brandon to show up at some point. And so for the most part, this seemed like a pretty open and shut case. Until Brandon's fiance, Ledessa, came into the station in person with a bombshell.

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