One phone call, and Shirley Mitchner says her son Brandon may still be alive.
Wednesday, on the three year anniversary of Brandon's death, Shirley will be retracing his last steps walking from downtown Lansing to where Brandon disappeared in the Grand River.
On June 28, 2014 Brandon, then 22, went out for drinks to celebrate a friend's birthday. He and an acquaintance were walking along the Grand River near downtown when Brandon fell in. No one immediately called 911. The next morning police pulled Brandon's body from the river. They say he accidentally drowned.
For Shirley the thought that Brandon could have gotten help haunts her.
"If that's not cold-hearted, senseless, uncaring, I don't know what," Shirley said. "Why didn't you offer him a ride home? Why didn't you call iCab? How come everybody else made it home but Brandon? I don't understand that."
For three years, Shirley has been pushing for a Duty to Act law in Michigan, requiring people to seek help if someone they're with needs it. It's gotten the attention of Sen. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge) and former State Rep. Theresa Abed (D-Eaton County), but nothing panned out.
Now Shirley is hoping a new tactic, holding a memorial walk, will make the difference.
"I finally decided enough is enough, we're going to walk Brandon's walk," Shirley said. "My husband and I, my family, we're going to get through this somehow because I've never walked his walk. I just want people to feel it, to understand it, to see it."
For Shirley the goal is holding people accountable and asking them to step up when someone, like her son, is in need.
"Call 911, scream, holler, yell, get help. Don't just leave them lying there dead," Shirley added.
In the meantime, reminders of Brandon fill the family's home while his bedroom door at the top of the stairs stays shut.
"I know he's gone but I can't go in," Shirley said.
Now hoping her pain and the chance of Duty to Act legislation can help save at least one person's life.
"It could have saved Brandon's life," Shirley added.
The Mitchners are asking anyone who can, join them Wednesday at 6 p.m. for the memorial walk. It starts in the 200 block of South Washington Ave and continues down to South Street ending at the river.
