Thomas G. Bearson — 18 years old. Does anyone remember Thomas? Let me remind you.

Tom was a young man from Sartell, Minnesota … a high school basketball, track and football player; a young man with an outgoing personality; a student who got to know many around him as a freshman at North Dakota State University in Fargo. According to reports, he made friends easily and was fun to be with. He had a great sense of humor — a jokester.

Like many first-year college students, Tom was known to party. He was no stranger to alcohol. After a while, though, his drinking activity was said to be cut down dramatically.

He owned a silver iPhone 5 and wore neat white Nike Air Jordan tennis shoes, size 9½ .

On Sept. 20, 2014, at about 3:40 a.m., he was last seen leaving a party six blocks south of his NDSU dormitory in an intoxicated state. Later that same day, his family reported him missing when he missed a family gathering.

About three days later, his body was found on the property formerly known as Larry’s RV in an industrial park in Moorhead, which is about 30 blocks east of the Red River. His left shoe and cellphone were missing. To date, neither has been found.

Tom did not die from alcohol or drug ingestion. He was the victim of a cold-blooded murder, the details so horrific that they have not been published, presumably so as not to interfere with the investigation of the case. I was told what condition his body was in. I haven’t confirmed it, and, if I had, I would not publish it.

Police released one tweet from Tommy that stated: “It’s Jake. Come pick us up. We are so lost and we are going to die.” This tweet allegedly was sent about two hours “before” he went missing. If that timing is right, he was still at the party and knew where he was. If the timeline is wrong, it might have been directed to his killer(s).

Think about it. A young man in his first year of college attends a party is murdered, but no one has (so far as the public knows) come forward with essential information to solve the crime.

According to a Grand Forks Herald report, Bearson’s girlfriend disclosed in a series of Facebook posts that some of Tom’s friends (including the last one to see him alive) have declined to take lie detector tests sought by the police. Also, a male who answered the door at the address of the house party where Tom was last seen declined to comment on the Herald story.

His parents, too, have made known their anger and hurt at these “friends’” failure to cooperate.

Now, some of my legal friends would advise these individuals to lawyer up and not speak or cooperate for fear of self-incrimination. That’s not necessarily true. First, lie detector tests aren’t admissible evidence. Second, most of those young adults would have little to fear, since the vast majority could not have been involved.

If it had been my college friend and this had happened to him, you can bet your life it wouldn’t take the police to get them to pony up what they know. The people I once ran with would have made the job simple.

Somewhere, there is a person who knows something that will lead authorities to the killer(s). Somewhere, one or more people have a hideous secret. In the name of all that is holy, share it! Sharing what you know is all that will allow you to live a decent life. You can contact the authorities anonymously, by mail, text, phone or on horseback — but contact them you must.

This young man deserves your information. His parents will rest easier when the perpetrator is caught. That lowlife, cowardly excuse for human waste must be caught, and too much time has passed to wait any longer.

If anyone knows anything, regardless of how insignificant it may seem to you, contact the Moorhead Police Department or anyone you may know in law enforcement personally. Please do what you know is right.

This reminds me too much of the unsolved murder of Andrew Sadek, another case that defies explanation in terms of the official report. In the case of Tom Bearson, I am told the authorities have worked closely with his family. In the case of Sadek, I’ve been told that is not the case. Attorney General (now candidate for governor of North Dakota) Wayne Stenehjem has not met with Sadek’s parents to this day, even after their repeated requests.

Authorities will tell you the public has nothing to worry about in either case. Probably so. The question, though, is this: If two students have been murdered (one for certain; the second, Sadek, seemingly by the laws of gravity) and if their killers have not been identified, how can anyone who was in any way involved feel secure for a single minute? If the killer(s) know who you are and suspect you know something, I wouldn’t suggest keeping any secrets from authorities … or you, too, might become a statistic as a victim of another unsolved crime.

Supreme Court deniers court disaster

Since I’m on the subject of the legal system, congratulations to North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who met with the Supreme Court nominee of President Obama. Unlike Sen. John Hoeven, she knows that there are three co-equal branches of government — executive, legislative and judicial. She also understands that in the case of the Supreme Court, the president appoints and the Senate must give or withhold its consent by an up or down vote on the nomination. The U.S. Constitution does not give the Senate the luxury of failure to act on the nomination.

The people who are apparently off their meds claim this appointment should be withheld until “the people vote.” Here’s a bulletin for narrow-minded folks who can’t read or add: The people have already spoken. They elected President Obama by millions of votes to a second term of of four more years in 2012.

The president is doing what he is required to do. Those obstructionists who don’t know the law ought to get their job done … or someone may figure out how to compel them by way of impeachment or another legal process to mandate that they do their job and honor their oath of office.

To be sure, the Democrats have pulled some similar foolishness in the past. Ultimately, though, they have always acted on the nominations of Republican presidents. They, too, were wrong then, as the Republicans are now. The big difference now is the hatred and bigotry some are directing at this particular president, not because he is a Democrat, but because he is black. Call that “using the race card” if you will, but I’ll call it what it truly represents — prejudice, hate and bigotry.

When I refer to Democrats and Republicans, I do know full well that the majority of both parties are decent, caring people. But we decent, caring people have elected some real clowns. You can enjoy clowns to your heart’s content … but do not vote for them. Amen.