Brandon Mitchener was a 22-year-old man who lived in Lansing, Michigan with his parents. He had big dreams. He earned his Associates Degree from Lansing Community College. He had studied Business and started his own clothing line called (M.I.Y.M) Make It Your Mission to do the right thing.


Unfortunately, he would never live to see his dreams come true because he would be found dead in the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan. Law enforcement ruled Brandon’s death as an accident, but his family and closest friends don’t believe this. They believe his death was the result of something more sinister.


Back in late June 2014, Brandon had plans that evening. He was going to meet with his business partner to celebrate another friend’s 21st birthday on a party bus. The young men planned to take the party bus to different bars and have some fun and drinks. According to police reports, after the party bus returned from its round of hitting several local bars in downtime Lansing, Brandon began feeling sick. According to security footage, Brandon was seen walking down the road on June 29th with his business partner following him.


Law enforcement said Brandon stumbled down the end of South Street, fell into an embankment and into the river and drowned. Brandon’s business partner told the police he lost sight of Brandon and assumed he had gotten home okay. He would then return to his friends and continue socializing with them. He never called 911 or any of Brandon’s family to let them know something may have happened to Brandon. After Brandon disappeared, his siblings and friends began searching for Brandon. One of his relative’s found a shoe and hat belonging to Brandon.



During an interview on Dateline, Shirley Mitchener said she has theories about Brandon’s death. One is that he was thrown into the river by the friends he met up with on the party bus. A second theory is that Brandon was pushed into the river. The police theory is that he was intoxicated and fell into the river.


For this story, I spoke to Shirley Mitchener about her relationship with her son and how she continues to grieve for him over eight years later. This is the first part of a two part story. Please listen next week to the conclusion of this tragic story.


If you know anything about this case, you can provide tips to the Lansing Police Department by calling them at 517-483-4600. For additional information about this case, please visit the Justice for Brandon Mitchener Facebook page. And if you would like to purchase anything from Brandon’s clothing line, there is a link to the shop on the page or click here to access the site: https://www.miymshop.com/shop. The family has also offered a reward for information about this case leading to a break in this case.


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