'Brandon's Law' heading to the floor

After some emotional testimony from the parents of a missing teen, committee approval was given to a bill that could help find their son.

Sponsored by House Minority Leader Marty Seifert (R-Marshall), HF1242 would expand the state's missing children's law to include adults who are missing and endangered.

Approved by the House Finance Committee, the bill now heads to the House floor. (Watch the meeting.) A companion, SF1146, sponsored by Sen. Dennis Frederickson (R-New Ulm), awaits action on the Senate floor.

Referred to as "Brandon's Law," after Brandon Swanson, who has been missing for almost a year in southwest Minnesota, the bill would require law enforcement to accept missing person reports without delay and provide that a law enforcement agency shall conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if a person is missing or endangered.

Seifert and law enforcement representatives worked together to create the bill's language. There is no fiscal impact on the state budget.

It also creates a privately funded working group to develop a standardized missing person's form and a model policy that incorporates procedures and information to be provided to interested persons working on a case.

The bill also suggests that when an agency updates its policies for missing persons, it consider the use of subpoenas or search warrants for electronic and wireless communication devices, computers and Web sites.

Testifying in support of the bill were Dale and Sally Zamlen, whose son, 19-year-old Dan, went missing April 5 along the bluffs above the Mississippi River in St. Paul.

"We want people to be able to use all the resources available to them," Dale said.

Sally said Dan was heard on his phone saying "Oh God, Oh God" before his phone cut out. She said that even though his phone account was in her name, she was told that she could not access the phone records without a court order because Dan was a legal adult.