Key facts
- Name: Susan Anne “Sue” Swedell
- Born: February 13, 1968
- Age at disappearance: 19
- Last seen: January 19, 1988 — at the K Station gas station on Stillwater Boulevard and Manning Avenue, Lake Elmo, Minnesota
- Case references: NamUs MP335; NCMEC case 1283176
- Status: Still missing — $25,000 reward offered
- Investigating agency: Washington County Sheriff’s Office (651-430-7810)
The prison outreach
In January 2025, investigators took Sue’s case inside Minnesota’s state prisons. Washington County criminal intelligence analyst Blake Trantham, who had been working Sue’s case for six or seven years, led an outreach effort asking incarcerated people for information about the 19-year-old who vanished in 1988. “We hope someone is ready to speak up after all these years,” Trantham said.
Sue was 19 when she disappeared in 1988. A $25,000 reward stands for information in her case. Her mother Kathy and her sister Christine have spoken publicly about the decades of not knowing. “I never learned how to drive because I thought somebody was going to take me,” Christine told Dateline. “I never got married because I’m afraid of men.” The case file is more than 2,000 pages long — Sue Swedell’s is the department’s oldest missing-persons case.
The investigation
Sue had grown up in Lake Elmo, graduated from Stillwater High School, and spent a year at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls before getting homesick and coming home. She lived with her mother Kathy and her younger sister Christine and worked two part-time jobs: one at Body and Soul, a clothing boutique at the St. Croix Mall in Oak Park Heights, and another at the Kmart in the same shopping complex. Coworkers described her as pleasant, mild-mannered, friendly, and kind.
Tuesday, January 19, 1988, started like any other. Sue opened the boutique at 9:00 a.m., then worked a Kmart shift starting at 1:30 p.m. She was seen at both jobs. That evening a blizzard swept across Lake Elmo. Around 9:00 p.m. Sue called her mother, scared of the weather. Sue never made it home. At about 11:00 p.m., Kathy called the sheriff’s office. Deputies found her car parked at a gas station about a mile from her home. It was empty. It was locked. Her purse and glasses were inside.
The next morning the missing-person report was filed, and the gas station attendant filled in what happened. Sue had stopped at the K Station at Stillwater Boulevard and Manning Avenue with car trouble and asked if she could leave her car there overnight. A man had pulled in behind her in an older-model, full-sized, two-door, light-colored car — “in good shape, but it was very dirty” — and the two spoke for about 15 minutes before leaving together. “She got into the car of this man that she was talking to, and she was seen — last seen going in the direction of our house,” Christine told Dateline. The attendant’s description changed over the years, and detectives question a composite sketch built a decade later.
Then the stranger details. Five days after Sue vanished, Kathy drove Sue’s car to a grocery store and it started smoking — so the family took it to a mechanic. He found the radiator’s drain plug had been loosened, leaking coolant and causing the overheat — possibly tampered with, though authorities had no proof. A man had also been calling for Sue at the boutique in the weeks before her disappearance; he was never identified. A week after she vanished, the family came home to signs someone had been inside — a back-door key in the wrong spot, dirty dishes, a pair of red pants under Sue’s bed. Nothing was taken.
In the early 2000s, a hit on Sue’s Social Security number surfaced. It turned out to be identity theft. In the 1990s, Christine and Kathy Swedell’s DNA had become the first relational DNA ever entered into Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension records, and unidentified remains have been run against it dozens of times since. There have been no matches.
Theories: what might have happened
A staged breakdown, then abduction by a stranger. What supports it: the loosened radiator drain plug, which a mechanic said had to have been tampered with; the mysterious caller at the boutique in the weeks before; and the man at the gas station who drove off with her. What undercuts it as a finding: tampering was never proven, the caller was never identified, and the attendant’s description of the man changed over time. No suspect has been publicly named; no one has been charged.
Voluntary departure. What undercuts it: Sue left her purse and glasses in a locked car, had no reason to leave, and never contacted a mother and sister she was “extremely close” to. “I never have. She had no reason to run away,” Christine said.
Accident in the blizzard. What undercuts it completely: her car wasn’t crashed or in a ditch. It was parked, locked, and empty at the gas station, with her belongings inside. “Her disappearance in ’88 was weird. It was suspicious. It was out of character,” Sullivan said.
No suspect has been publicly named; no one has been charged. Any living person is presumed innocent.
Have information?
Contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at (651) 430-7810. A $25,000 reward is offered for information. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- February 13, 1968 — Susan Anne Swedell is born.
- January 19, 1988 — Works both jobs; calls her mother around 9:00 p.m. from the K Station gas station; last seen getting into a man’s car.
- January 20, 1988 — Missing-person report filed; the gas station attendant describes the man and his car.
- January 2025 — Investigators conduct prison-inmate outreach seeking tips (analyst Blake Trantham).
- 2028 (upcoming) — The 40th anniversary of her disappearance.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Susan Swedell still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, she has been missing for more than 38 years; her case remains open with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Was Susan Swedell ever found?
No. No trace of Sue has been publicly reported since January 19, 1988.
How old was Susan Swedell when she disappeared?
She was 19 — born February 13, 1968. She would be 58 today.
Who was Susan Swedell last seen with?
A gas station attendant saw her talking with an unidentified man — described as having sandy brown shoulder-length hair under a stocking cap, driving an older light-colored car — before she got into his car.
Was Susan Swedell’s car tampered with?
A mechanic found the radiator’s drain plug loosened and believed it had to have been tampered with. Investigators never proved tampering, and it remains an open question.
Is there a reward in Susan Swedell’s case?
Yes. A $25,000 reward is offered for information leading to answers in her disappearance.
Who is investigating?
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office, (651) 430-7810.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Washington County Sheriff’s Office (case open; (651) 430-7810); statements from analyst Blake Trantham and Detectives Nick Sullivan and Cooper Valesano via NBC Dateline (2024); NamUs MP335; NCMEC case 1283176; Minnesota BCA DNA records.
- News: Pioneer Press reporting (2018); Fox 9 interview with Christine Swedell (2022).
- Reference: The Charley Project (retrieved Oct 2026).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.