Moorhead police share most detailed information to date on unsolved homicide of NDSU student 10 years ago

The Moorhead Police Department on Friday shared the most detailed information to date on the unsolved homicide of a college student that has been under investigation for 10 years.

Tom Bearson, a standout basketball star from Sartell, Minn., went missing Sept. 20, 2014, just weeks into his freshman year at North Dakota State University in Fargo. The 18-year-old’s body was found in a Moorhead RV sales lot three days later. Little information has been shared publicly since then and no arrests have been made as Bearson’s family and friends await answers and accountability in his killing.

But on Friday, police did what Bearson’s parents do every anniversary: implore those who know what happened to come forward, this time with a level of detail not seen in the past decade.

Capt. Deric Swenson said in a phone interview Friday that the FBI created a detailed list shared in a Facebook post directed at individuals familiar with what happened who may have exhibited:

• Altering of physical appearance, such as changes in hair color or cut, growth or removal of facial hair.

• A change in normal routine, which might include missing work, classes or appointments.

• Unexplained injuries (cuts on hands, bruises, for example) during the period Tom was last seen alive.

• A sudden departure from the area after Tom’s death.

• A change in someone’s mood or displays of anxiety, nervousness, or irritability.

• Cleaning of vehicles.

• Intense interest or noticeable disinterest in the investigation or unexplained knowledge of the situation.

“What we’re trying to do is, you know, there may have been people that didn’t want to get someone else in trouble. There may have been people that were afraid to tell ... what information they had,” Swenson said. “Now that you’re probably at a different point in your life: Where are you? What are you willing to share?”

Swenson wouldn’t say if there are any suspects or persons of interest. “But do we have people that keep coming up? I would say yes.”

What investigators are trying to do is push a “theme of evolution,” he said, both when it comes to technology and with people familiar with what happened to Bearson.

“People that spent the last moments with Tom were 18 years old. ... Now they’re in their late 20s, and they have their life and maybe things they didn’t think were significant back then, they can look back and realize that maybe that’s something I should have shared with the police.”

Swenson said the agency also is reviewing DNA evidence previously collected to use advances in DNA technology.

Bearson was last seen with friends in the early morning hours at an NDSU off-campus residence. Later that morning, his parents called the police when he didn’t catch a ride home to Sartell as previously planned. Bearson’s father has maintained that some of the individuals last seen with his son didn’t cooperate with investigators.

The last new information to come out about Bearson’s homicide was revealed in 2019 when the Fargo Forum obtained his death record. It showed he died of asphyxia. Previously authorities described his killing as homicidal violence.

Frank Weber, a forensic psychologist, told the Forum that asphyxia related to homicide suggests Bearson was strangled or suffocated by someone he knew, which is supported by FBI crime data statistics.

Police have a designated phone line and email address to share information: 218-299-5119, bearson@moorheadmn.gov. Anonymous tips can be texted to 847411 with the keyword TIPMOORHEAD.