OH OH - Brian Shaffer, 27, Columbus, 1 Apr 2006 #6
- Thread starter dotr
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June 2023
''Around 2 a.m. that morning, Shaffer, who was 27 and a Ohio State University medical student at the time, was seen inside the since-closed Ugly Tuna Saloona in the North High Street area. Cameras inside the bar captured Shaffer talking to two women but walking away. He is not seen on any camera footage leaving the bar and has not been seen since.
''In 2021, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation released an age-progressed photo of what Shaffer might look like in his 40s.''
''In 2020, a photograph of a homeless man in Mexico was sent to the FBI for facial recognition software to be used to determine if it was Shaffer. The FBI determined it was not him. ''
From Brian Shaffer to Billy Milligan: 6 local true crime cases featured on TV and podcasts
Have you ever wondered about central Ohio cases that are featured in true crime? Here's a few that have seen the spotlight.
www.dispatch.com
''In 2021, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation released an age-progressed photo of what Shaffer might look like in his 40s.''
''In 2020, a photograph of a homeless man in Mexico was sent to the FBI for facial recognition software to be used to determine if it was Shaffer. The FBI determined it was not him. ''
Otterplop
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Why were the last two women who ever spoke with Brian/saw him at the Ugly Tuna never polygraphed? I don't put much stock in polygraph, but they were literally the last two people to see him at the bar. One of the girls is associated with an address next to the road where his phone pinged and investigators went to check a field over there with cadaver dogs. This same woman has said in interviews that Brian was kissing her neck that evening, which I never saw evidence of in the footage released to the public. I find it a little suspicious, IMO, that this woman was not looked into further. On the Unfound podcast, the host said he's friends with Kelly Bruce, a Columbus local who made a series of podcasts on Brian's case. Kelly has interviewed tons of people associated with Brian's case but disclosed to the Unfound host that this woman in question hung up on her after some discourse when asked a very specific question about Brian's disappearance. I think the police have always been looking for a body in Brian's case, but I'm worried that the lack of investigation on these two women and their male friends could've botched this case. Again, IMO, but I don't find one of these two women to be entirely truthful.
PlatinumGirly
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After having caught up with the latest discussion/newest information on the case I have a couple thoughts/theories I just wanted to write down.
1. Whilst I’m not of the belief that Clint necessarily had anything to do with Brian’s disappearance, I do think their friendship dynamic was interesting.
According to information revealed Clint and Brian had several arguments in the time before Brian’s disappearance, Clint apparently fancied Meredith, who in turn fancied Brian and Clint apparently also fancied Alexis, who was with Brian. I wonder if Clint was resentful of Brian seemingly getting all the girls? Especially when it didn’t seem he was that much into Alexis, judging by his behaviour the night of his disappearance in terms of flirting with other girls, kissing them, taking their phone numbers, etc…
2. I believe that the search dogs tracked Brian’s scent firstly to what was once a Wendy’s nearby and then on to a factory/warehouse space. It was said that the scent hit on in Wendy’s lot in particular was the bodily fluids variety specifically. I’m assuming he went into the lot to urinate. Makes sense knowing how some people get after alcohol with needing to go.
3. I’m not sure whether I believe he managed to make it home to his apartment that night or not, but more likely that he didn’t and that something happened to him in the early hours of the morning whilst making his way there.
4. In the CCTV footage shown outside the bar with the 2 females- initially I thought he was tapping the girl to get her attention as at that point she had turned her back to him and appeared to be on the phone, but having watched again I notice that Brian appears to be eyeing the security guards before taking something out of his pocket and then possibly depositing it into one of the ladies handbags whilst turning his back to security. Could it have been drugs he wanted to offload for fear that they’d be discovered on him? If so, I could see why she wouldn’t have come forward after the fact- I mean who would believe her that somebody else put them there? She’d probably be scared of being accused of taking/dealing drugs herself. It also begs the question that if Brian ‘lost’ his drug baggy before taking cash for them, if he worked in a dealing capacity then could the higher ups of came after him? I imagine they’d be angry if no drugs nor money.
5. I believe like many others that Brian exited a different way then via the escalators due to avoidance of others. Whether those others were Clint and Meredith, the security guards standing at the top of the escalators or somebody else entirely I do not know. But I do believe that was the motive for the different exit.
1. Whilst I’m not of the belief that Clint necessarily had anything to do with Brian’s disappearance, I do think their friendship dynamic was interesting.
According to information revealed Clint and Brian had several arguments in the time before Brian’s disappearance, Clint apparently fancied Meredith, who in turn fancied Brian and Clint apparently also fancied Alexis, who was with Brian. I wonder if Clint was resentful of Brian seemingly getting all the girls? Especially when it didn’t seem he was that much into Alexis, judging by his behaviour the night of his disappearance in terms of flirting with other girls, kissing them, taking their phone numbers, etc…
2. I believe that the search dogs tracked Brian’s scent firstly to what was once a Wendy’s nearby and then on to a factory/warehouse space. It was said that the scent hit on in Wendy’s lot in particular was the bodily fluids variety specifically. I’m assuming he went into the lot to urinate. Makes sense knowing how some people get after alcohol with needing to go.
3. I’m not sure whether I believe he managed to make it home to his apartment that night or not, but more likely that he didn’t and that something happened to him in the early hours of the morning whilst making his way there.
4. In the CCTV footage shown outside the bar with the 2 females- initially I thought he was tapping the girl to get her attention as at that point she had turned her back to him and appeared to be on the phone, but having watched again I notice that Brian appears to be eyeing the security guards before taking something out of his pocket and then possibly depositing it into one of the ladies handbags whilst turning his back to security. Could it have been drugs he wanted to offload for fear that they’d be discovered on him? If so, I could see why she wouldn’t have come forward after the fact- I mean who would believe her that somebody else put them there? She’d probably be scared of being accused of taking/dealing drugs herself. It also begs the question that if Brian ‘lost’ his drug baggy before taking cash for them, if he worked in a dealing capacity then could the higher ups of came after him? I imagine they’d be angry if no drugs nor money.
5. I believe like many others that Brian exited a different way then via the escalators due to avoidance of others. Whether those others were Clint and Meredith, the security guards standing at the top of the escalators or somebody else entirely I do not know. But I do believe that was the motive for the different exit.
arielilane
Justice for Liz Barraza
I agree with you on most, however, not on par with paragraph four, respectively. Offload drugs... in front of two Columbus police officers, no, imo.
arielilane
Justice for Liz Barraza
Recently caught up with Justin Gaines (almost forgot about his case) case, and see a lot of similarities to Brian’s case. Again, my thoughts are that Brian met with foul play and unfortunately his body has not been found yet. Hopeful that one day it will be. moo
SheerLuckHolmes
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My head hurts from all this reading. I have changed my mind a couple of times on what I think happened, and let's face it, until Brian is found, either dead or alive, none of us will know.
That being said . . . one of the things that strikes me, being someone who spent more than a decade researching and digging into cases of murder and mayhem back 100+ years ago, for my profession, is that too little was looked into initially.
(1) I know dogs are not 100% reliable, but when that is all you have, why don't you at least follow up on that? I do think Brian left the UT, and I do think he ended up outside Wendy's. Even if he did not go inside, why didn't LE check with employees to see if anyone saw anything outside the windows, or if customers ever said anything to employees about something happening outside?
(2) Likewise, when they lost the scent at the warehouse, why was it not JUST AS IMPORTANT to search that place inside and out as it was the construction site? I think again, LE dropped the ball here, since THIS was where the tracking scent ended. It is doubtful it was the Dollar Tree then, so being an empty building, and perhaps one where drug deals were made or drugs were taken, why not search it?
(3) MOO is that Clint wanted to offer nothing to LE because he knew something. Was it something about drugs, or something simple, like the way Brian constantly hit on other women when supposedly Clint liked Alexis and would not have wanted to see her dissed? Or, was it possibly something that Clint knew which IF he would have failed a polygraph eventually, making him look bad, was actually a different secret . . . perhaps like he knew that Brian was going to disappear.
One thing I have learned is that in order to cover things well, whether it be a crime, or something like a disappearance (I uncovered a doozy that covered several states, murder, and a shootout with cops that left two people dead), the more "foolproof" your alibi is, the better.
For instance, one of the first things we learn is that Brian had bought tickets for him and Alexis to travel to the beach for spring break. Now, anyone in their right mind would not spend that money if they were going to disappear right before the trip - right? Wrong! That is just the sort of thing I would do! It would throw everyone off my track much faster! Would he have confided to Clint he was going to disappear, and THAT is what the arguing was about, and that is what Clint did not want to come out? We will probably never know.
(4) I wish we could see all the footage from that night at the bar. According to several, Brian was drunk. But was he? He did not seem real inebriated on the video where he pulled something from his pocket and possibly dropped it in a girl's purse, AFTER watching the cop closely to be sure he was not watching. (If indeed he did drop something in her purse.) I tended bar for a few years and while some people can drink a lot and seem practically sober, there are tells, and Brian, with those two girls, seems quite sober. Was being drunk around Clint and Meredith just acting? How do we know he drank all those drinks sat before him? I have seen people do all sorts of things to get rid of a drink. He could have concealed this from a camera easily. What if he planned on staying sober, as he was taking off with someone that very night? Again, a nice red herring to make everyone think he was too drunk to walk home and so must have either been mugged or murdered in a drug deal, and the body is gone.
(5) Another reason I would like to see the video from the bar is to see what happened at the very end of the night. Did he perhaps actually go back in and then secret himself away inside there until the bar closed, and then go out an exit not covered by camera.
(6) We know he was in a bad place. Financially he was deep in CC debt. I know his girlfriend says not but he could easily have hid much of that from her. His mother had just died. He was studying for grueling finals. His father had just cut him off from future tuition after this last check, and it does not seem like he was crazy in love with his girlfriend, since he seemed to be a player.
(7) Let's talk about the possibility that he dropped something (phone or drugs) into that girl's purse on the tape. Okay, I would go with drugs, since he seemed intent the cop did not see him. But, if it was his phone, like Alexis pointed out at one time, why? That girl would find it eventually, and turn it in once he was missing! More than likely drugs then, but if you watch closely, it actually looks like that "black thing" is still in his hand after she walks away, when he sort of puts his hands on his hips. I think it WAS his phone and he simply reached over by her, maybe to stop her from leaving, then pulled his hand back with it still there afterwards.
(8) Whether he walked away from his life, or walked away from the bar and fell prey to someone for whatever reason (mugging for money/drug deal gone wrong), as I said, we will never know until he is found, dead or alive. I just know after thoroughly following this over time, if I were a betting person, I would say he moved on with his life. I think he had things set up ahead of time and this whole last "time on the town with Clint" was for show, and was all part of the plan, whether Clint was in on it or not.
At least now, having said all this, I can move on with my life, and perhaps honestly solve another mystery, and quit thinking about this one missing person, when there are so many.
MOO
That being said . . . one of the things that strikes me, being someone who spent more than a decade researching and digging into cases of murder and mayhem back 100+ years ago, for my profession, is that too little was looked into initially.
(1) I know dogs are not 100% reliable, but when that is all you have, why don't you at least follow up on that? I do think Brian left the UT, and I do think he ended up outside Wendy's. Even if he did not go inside, why didn't LE check with employees to see if anyone saw anything outside the windows, or if customers ever said anything to employees about something happening outside?
(2) Likewise, when they lost the scent at the warehouse, why was it not JUST AS IMPORTANT to search that place inside and out as it was the construction site? I think again, LE dropped the ball here, since THIS was where the tracking scent ended. It is doubtful it was the Dollar Tree then, so being an empty building, and perhaps one where drug deals were made or drugs were taken, why not search it?
(3) MOO is that Clint wanted to offer nothing to LE because he knew something. Was it something about drugs, or something simple, like the way Brian constantly hit on other women when supposedly Clint liked Alexis and would not have wanted to see her dissed? Or, was it possibly something that Clint knew which IF he would have failed a polygraph eventually, making him look bad, was actually a different secret . . . perhaps like he knew that Brian was going to disappear.
One thing I have learned is that in order to cover things well, whether it be a crime, or something like a disappearance (I uncovered a doozy that covered several states, murder, and a shootout with cops that left two people dead), the more "foolproof" your alibi is, the better.
For instance, one of the first things we learn is that Brian had bought tickets for him and Alexis to travel to the beach for spring break. Now, anyone in their right mind would not spend that money if they were going to disappear right before the trip - right? Wrong! That is just the sort of thing I would do! It would throw everyone off my track much faster! Would he have confided to Clint he was going to disappear, and THAT is what the arguing was about, and that is what Clint did not want to come out? We will probably never know.
(4) I wish we could see all the footage from that night at the bar. According to several, Brian was drunk. But was he? He did not seem real inebriated on the video where he pulled something from his pocket and possibly dropped it in a girl's purse, AFTER watching the cop closely to be sure he was not watching. (If indeed he did drop something in her purse.) I tended bar for a few years and while some people can drink a lot and seem practically sober, there are tells, and Brian, with those two girls, seems quite sober. Was being drunk around Clint and Meredith just acting? How do we know he drank all those drinks sat before him? I have seen people do all sorts of things to get rid of a drink. He could have concealed this from a camera easily. What if he planned on staying sober, as he was taking off with someone that very night? Again, a nice red herring to make everyone think he was too drunk to walk home and so must have either been mugged or murdered in a drug deal, and the body is gone.
(5) Another reason I would like to see the video from the bar is to see what happened at the very end of the night. Did he perhaps actually go back in and then secret himself away inside there until the bar closed, and then go out an exit not covered by camera.
(6) We know he was in a bad place. Financially he was deep in CC debt. I know his girlfriend says not but he could easily have hid much of that from her. His mother had just died. He was studying for grueling finals. His father had just cut him off from future tuition after this last check, and it does not seem like he was crazy in love with his girlfriend, since he seemed to be a player.
(7) Let's talk about the possibility that he dropped something (phone or drugs) into that girl's purse on the tape. Okay, I would go with drugs, since he seemed intent the cop did not see him. But, if it was his phone, like Alexis pointed out at one time, why? That girl would find it eventually, and turn it in once he was missing! More than likely drugs then, but if you watch closely, it actually looks like that "black thing" is still in his hand after she walks away, when he sort of puts his hands on his hips. I think it WAS his phone and he simply reached over by her, maybe to stop her from leaving, then pulled his hand back with it still there afterwards.
(8) Whether he walked away from his life, or walked away from the bar and fell prey to someone for whatever reason (mugging for money/drug deal gone wrong), as I said, we will never know until he is found, dead or alive. I just know after thoroughly following this over time, if I were a betting person, I would say he moved on with his life. I think he had things set up ahead of time and this whole last "time on the town with Clint" was for show, and was all part of the plan, whether Clint was in on it or not.
At least now, having said all this, I can move on with my life, and perhaps honestly solve another mystery, and quit thinking about this one missing person, when there are so many.
MOO
trustno1007
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I also think he may have disappeared on purpose. Some things I have read is Brian never turned in the $4500.00 tuition check to OSU his mom had written to them due in mid March 2006. So IMO I don’t think he was returning to school. Also Brian paid his bar tabs with cash which also was unusual according to his dad. He normally used a card. Makes me think he had ready to go cash on him.
Where is the Dollar Tree location you mentioned in your post which was where the warehouse the scent dogs hit on back then?
I had read Brian may have hopped on a train and wondered if the warehouse was close to the tracks.
Really good breakdown of your thoughts on this case. I hope if Brian is still alive and out there somewhere, he is happy.
neesaki
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Thank you for your insightful post. A lot of excellent points. And I’m in agreement with most everyone of them.
Ciriii57
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Hi, Post #1017 in the previous thread, but here's a rough map:
The Dollar Tree's down thee at the bottom. Don't think it was a Dollar Tree then though. I have no idea if that is near any railroad tracks? But I was a big dark car park so I have no problem believing he was picked up.
@SheerLuckHolmes I also really enjoyed your write up and agree with most all I think. I have always had this inkling in the back of my mind that he just took of. Question is where? What do we know about places he liked and activities he enjoyed?
Through reading about Brian, people jave said that he spoke fluent/really good spanish and he had previously taken trips to puerto vallarta. There was also that sighting in Puerto Vallarta by some guy, but there's no actual proof that it was Brian. That always makes me think.
At 18-year anniversary, Brian Shaffer disappearance remains a mystery
In the early morning hours of April 1 st, 2006, Brian Shaffer walked into a campus-area bar. The end. Or so it would seem. The promising, 27-year-old medical student was seen on security camera video…
614now.com
''In the 18 years since Shaffer’s visits to the Ugly Tuna and surrounding bars, his disappearance has spawned an entire cottage industry of newspaper and magazine articles, TV documentaries, podcasts, a Wikipedia page, Facebook discussions and no fewer than 239 message threads on Reddit.com. Columbus Police say they have never had a more baffling case.''
''As for Derek, the pain from losing his mother, brother and father in such a short period was almost too much to bear. Today, he wears a “missing person’s” bracelet and keeps a low profile, still hoping to one day be reunited with his big brother. But 18 years after Brian Shaffer’s sudden disappearance, hope is in short supply.''
These 21 Wikipedia Pages Are So Creepy, You'll Need To Prove You're An Adult To Visit Them
"Carl Tanzler, a radiologist who had fallen in love with a woman named Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos, who was dying from tuberculosis. Eventually, when she died, Tanzler had embalmed her body and had taken it home with him, where he would perform necrophilia on her body for seven years until...
"In 2006, an Ohio State medical student named Brian Shaffer entered a bar with friends. After being recorded entering through the bar's only publicly accessible entrance by security cameras, Shaffer was never seen exiting the bar and has never been seen or heard from since."
2020
ErinC
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Brian's case is one of the very few I've ever followed where I can honestly say I have absolutely no idea what happened. Most cases, one can come up with at least a pretty darn good suspicion as to what happened- not here.
Evilxelvis138
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Is that the rocker symbol Brian is doing with his right hand in the first pic?View attachment 494177
MARCH 26, 2024At 18-year anniversary, Brian Shaffer disappearance remains a mystery
In the early morning hours of April 1 st, 2006, Brian Shaffer walked into a campus-area bar. The end. Or so it would seem. The promising, 27-year-old medical student was seen on security camera video…614now.com
''In the 18 years since Shaffer’s visits to the Ugly Tuna and surrounding bars, his disappearance has spawned an entire cottage industry of newspaper and magazine articles, TV documentaries, podcasts, a Wikipedia page, Facebook discussions and no fewer than 239 message threads on Reddit.com. Columbus Police say they have never had a more baffling case.''
''As for Derek, the pain from losing his mother, brother and father in such a short period was almost too much to bear. Today, he wears a “missing person’s” bracelet and keeps a low profile, still hoping to one day be reunited with his big brother. But 18 years after Brian Shaffer’s sudden disappearance, hope is in short supply.''
View attachment 494178
These 21 Wikipedia Pages Are So Creepy, You'll Need To Prove You're An Adult To Visit Them
"Carl Tanzler, a radiologist who had fallen in love with a woman named Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos, who was dying from tuberculosis. Eventually, when she died, Tanzler had embalmed her body and had taken it home with him, where he would perform necrophilia on her body for seven years until...ca.style.yahoo.com
"In 2006, an Ohio State medical student named Brian Shaffer entered a bar with friends. After being recorded entering through the bar's only publicly accessible entrance by security cameras, Shaffer was never seen exiting the bar and has never been seen or heard from since."
2020
snarast
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No it looks more like the Vulcan salute.
Evilxelvis138
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I don’t see any of his fingers grouped together like the vulcan sign. It could be the love sign or is the hand thing for some other reason..?
That is very interesting. I did not know that one of the girls that Brian was talking to that night was associated with an address near where his phone pinged. Very surprised this hasn’t been followed up thoroughly. I heard an interview with one of the two girls and was surprised at time how little of night she seemed to remember. She was quite vague in her answers. I know the two girls left down the escalator on their own but I remember reading that one of the girls has said they had asked Brian back to their house to party but he ended up not going. Brian’s case is truely perplexing but I do believe had police put more effort into investigating this case years ago interviewing key people etc it could have been solved. There are those that say that Brian walked away from his life and that LE know this and this is why the case isn’t being currently investigated. JMO
neesaki
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Or maybe that’s not the true story and he really did go. Just speculating.
Brian turned off his phone (to avoid Clint and Meredith) and left the bar out a back/side exit to meet up with the two girls. Not only are they associated with the pings following the days after his disappearance, one of them has connections to Hilliard where the phone pinged 6 months after. Their rumored reports of knowing very little and deferring to one another is questionable. One claims to not know where they stayed that night and the other says they both stayed at her boyfriends. Both claim they have no idea why Brian didn’t walk them to their car. You can see in the video that Amber is upset and gets turned around by Brightan. I’d guess he met with them or their acquaintances around Wendy’s and he got in a car. This case is solvable.
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