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By Mitch Teich
August 3, 1999
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LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS stopped just short of calling Michelle Swanson and her boyfriend, Dale Jenson, chief suspects in three-year old Jessica's disappearance. At a press conference in Cannon Falls, State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Commissioner Nicholas O'Hara outlined a series of unanswered questions and inconsistencies that all lead back to the couple. O'Hara says one of inconsistencies is Dale Jenson's drive to work on June 27th - the morning Jessica Swanson disappeared.
O'Hara: At this time, law enforcement is not satisfied with Mister Jenson's account of his activities and his location and movement that morning. We know he left his residence about 7:25 am, and arrived at work in Zumbrota at about 8:12 am - elapsed time of about 47 minutes for a trip that should have taken about 26 minutes at normal speeds.O'Hara says that's one reason search teams will return to search the area around two major roads on which Jensen typically drove to his job in Zumbrota. He says investigators also want to know why Michelle Swanson changed her description of what Jessica was wearing the morning she disappeared, and why a nightgown Jessica was wearing was found in Jenson's car. Goodhue county chief deputy Dean Albers, in a somewhat unprecedented move, also made public one part of the investigation based solely on rumor.
Albers: That's part of the investigation that we cannot really comment on. There is a rumor that's been circulating around that started from day one, about a party and about a fall from a refrigerator, and to date - and I just want to say that because we get hundreds and hundreds of leads and calls on this - to date, we cannot substantiate that at all.Albers says investigators are making their questions public, in part, because Michelle Swanson has stopped cooperating with them.
Albers: What we're saying is that these were the last two adults that had control and custody of Jessica until the babysitter arrived. And we need to get some answers from them as to the details of it.Efforts to reach both Michelle Swanson and Dale Jenson were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, as the reward fund in the Swanson case continues to grow, Cannon Falls residents continue to pay close attention to the case. On Main Street, resident Faith Bergman was in front of the Hi-Quality Bakery in downtown Cannon Falls, enjoying a midmorning snack with her daughter. Bergman says she maintains some suspicion about Michelle Swanson and Dale Jenson, and she believes others share those suspicions. But she thinks the reward continues to increase because the community's chief concern is finding Jessica.
Bergman: I think it would be a more insidious thing if they were involved. I think right now they're just concerned - and whether she's alive at this point, I think even for the family it's just important to find her even if she isn't alive at this point.The $60,000 reward expires in 60 days. Law enforcement officials concede that they'll have a hard time searching the thousands of acres of farmland between Cannon Falls and Zumbrota. So they're also asking people in that area to search for anything wrapped in sheets or in plastic, or to be on the lookout for any freshly-turned earth.
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