OH OH - Brian Shaffer, 27, Columbus, 1 Apr 2006 #5

[MerryB]

Just keeping this link handy for info.regarding cell phones circa 2006.
GPS Is Smartening Up Your Cell Phone
September 25, 2006

Brian’s phone was not equipped with GPS. Investigators were able to track the phone using a pinging service, which was less specific than GPS but could at least tell what cell tower it was closest to when turned on and “pinging” a signal.

 

[MerryB]

So with this theory, Brian supposedly put his phone in someone's purse in order to misdirect even though the phone was going straight to voicemail and therefore likely turned off?

I guess if I ever decide to disappear, I should take a page from Brian's book and slip my cell phone into a woman's purse.

Well, if that is what he did, it may have worked in misdirecting the search. Investigators even had EquuSearch out to search near the Hilliard pings.

Remember, the phone had to be charged and powered on in order to ping.

MOO

 

[Ozoner]

Well, if that is what he did, it may have worked in misdirecting the search. Investigators even had EquuSearch out to search near the Hilliard pings.

Remember, the phone had to be charged and powered on in order to ping.

MOO

Well, when Meredith called it, it went straight to voicemail, correct? That would have been after Brian supposedly put it in Brightan's purse—so it may have been off at first.

But all of this is likely moot; it's highly unlikely that Brian put his phone in anybody's purse. That is a remote possibility only. (I'm not even certain that Brian is holding his phone at any point during that video.)

 

[Old Mozez]

Respectfully SBM.

I think it’s a widely held misconception that Brian’s phone pinged in September 2006 when Alexis called and it rang instead of going straight to voicemail as it had been doing.

I often see this restated in blogs and by posters who have confused the phone *pings* with the phone *ringing*.

The phone pings took place in the days/weeks after Brian’s disappearance. Detective Hurst has been very vague about the details of these pings, but we do know he’s verified pings at Kenny Rd/Lane Ave and triangulation (many pings) at Scioto Darby Creek (Hilliard/West side).

Often you will read “Brian’s phone pinged a tower in Hilliard, a suburb 14 miles northwest of central Columbus.” That is true, but it is my understanding that the pings in April were separate from the ringing in September.

Is this older post still valid in your opinion?

 

[MerryB]

Is this older post still valid in your opinion?

That is my understanding. The first couple weeks after Brian disappeared (the first several weeks in April) his phone pinged near campus. Near the end of April, his phone pinged in Hilliard. The phone ringing took place in September.

 

[MerryB]

Well, when Meredith called it, it went straight to voicemail, correct? That would have been after Brian supposedly put it in Brightan's purse—so it may have been off at first.

That is correct. I had originally theorized that he’d turned his phone off to avoid Clint & Meredith or his phone was perhaps out of service while he was exiting through the stairwell, elevator, or construction area. We know it was on and pinging again at 2:12 AM. Now having seen the footage of what I believe is Brian putting his phone in Brightan’s purse, I think it could have been that she/the phone were without service in the parking garage when Meredith called at 2:01 AM.

We know Brightan and Amber walked out to the lower level of the garage, where their car was, before Clint and Meredith did. Clint and Meredith were on the escalator at 2:00 AM and Meredith called from outside the building at 2:01. I think it’s likely Brightan would have been in the garage by then. MOO

 

[BethAnn777]

Why put his phone in Meredith’s purse? Why not just throw it in the trash or stomp it destroy it? I don’t think it was his phone, but it does look like he did something. The footage looks jerky though, so I’m not convinced it wasn’t spliced. Maybe he slipped a note in her purse? He may have suggested she come over to his apartment? Maybe he planned on calling her and suggesting she check her purse for a note from him? Could also have been his apartment key. Then he could have called her to say oops my key is your purse, guess you will have to come over and let me in. Just trying to play a flirty trick to get her to come over?
If he did put something in her purse perhaps she was instructed not to disclose this info by the police?

 

[MerryB]

Why put his phone in Meredith’s purse? Why not just throw it in the trash or stomp it destroy it? I don’t think it was his phone, but it does look like he did something. The footage looks jerky though, so I’m not convinced it wasn’t spliced. Maybe he slipped a note in her purse? He may have suggested she come over to his apartment? Maybe he planned on calling her and suggesting she check her purse for a note from him? Could also have been his apartment key. Then he could have called her to say oops my key is your purse, guess you will have to come over and let me in. Just trying to play a flirty trick to get her to come over?
If he did put something in her purse perhaps she was instructed not to disclose this info by the police?

It was Brightan’s purse.
I think he put it in her purse as a misdirection.
I also think he may have publicly flirted with her as a misdirection.
My theory is that he wanted Clint and Meredith to think he left the bar with Brightan, and he wanted his cell phone to support that idea.
Investigators spent a lot of time and effort tracking his phone pings for the entire month of April.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to watch Ed of the Unfound podcast break the video down frame-by-frame. It appears Brian reaches into his pocket, looks cautiously over at the cop standing nearby, turns with his back toward the cop (you can see a silver object in the same hand that was just in his pocket), he looks down at that object, then reaches behind Brightan very quickly with a dropping motion toward her purse, which is a handbag hanging open from her forearm. When his hand returns to his side, the silver object is gone.
Remember he disappeared from sight & was unreachable several minutes later.
MOO

 

[george14]

It was Brightan’s purse.
I think he put it in her purse as a misdirection.
I also think he may have publicly flirted with her as a misdirection.
My theory is that he wanted Clint and Meredith to think he left the bar with Brightan, and he wanted his cell phone to support that idea.
MOO

I think if Brian wanted to leave Clint and Meredith, he would have been able to do so 100x easier by simply telling them he was stepping outside to take a phone call, then leave. It seems as if many are creating scenarios that don't make a ton of sense. He could also have tossed his phone wherever. Or left discretely on his own.

Opposed to these hypotheticals where he was "fake flirting" with women. Not to mention, isn't it decently documented that Brian was probably drunk? They were drinking all night. I don't buy into these theories too much, personally, because he probably left drunk, undetected, and met his fate later. The possibilities are endless.

 

[Kaie]

Now having seen the footage of what I believe is Brian putting his phone in Brightan’s purse, I think it could have been that she/the phone were without service in the parking garage when Meredith called at 2:01 AM.

Another possibility is that the phone was set to go to straight to voice mail even though it was still on. I am pretty sure I could do that with mine back then.

 

[Ozoner]

It was Brightan’s purse.
I think he put it in her purse as a misdirection.
I also think he may have publicly flirted with her as a misdirection.
My theory is that he wanted Clint and Meredith to think he left the bar with Brightan, and he wanted his cell phone to support that idea.
Investigators spent a lot of time and effort tracking his phone pings for the entire month of April.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to watch Ed of the Unfound podcast break the video down frame-by-frame. It appears Brian reaches into his pocket, looks cautiously over at the cop standing nearby, turns with his back toward the cop (you can see a silver object in the same hand that was just in his pocket), he looks down at that object, then reaches behind Brightan very quickly with a dropping motion toward her purse, which is a handbag hanging open from her forearm. When his hand returns to his side, the silver object is gone.
Remember he disappeared from sight & was unreachable several minutes later.
MOO

Personally, I don't think that he put anything in Brightan's purse. I think it's more likely that he reached around to cop a feel and either grabbed Brightan's butt or patted her on the butt.

The phone-in-the-purse scenario only makes sense as A) a prank (possibly because it was April Fool's Day) or B) an excuse to have to meet back up with the girls later (in order to retrieve the phone).

 

[dotr]

"What is it about this case that Brian gets not just 15 minutes of fame, but 15 years?

 

[MysteryMaven]

Arrin Stoner has an excellent video up. He zooms in and slows down the speed. You can almost make out a black spot that could be a phone in Brian’s hand at the end of the video, after the part where his hand goes toward her back/purse area.
But it is really hard to tell. I am not offended if someone thinks he put his phone in Brightan’s purse but I don’t think that happened. It looks more like he touched her back as if they were about to start walking together.
Also I think Brightan would have found it and it would have made its way to LE at some point. If I found some random person‘s phone in my purse I wouldn’t just throw it away in a phone recycling center. I would charge it and wait for the owner or a person calling them to call it so I could let them know I found it. Or turn it into police or something.
How soon was Brightan interviewed by police? When did she know she was possibly the last person to speak to Brian? If it was when she still had the phone in her possession you would think she would be handed over to law-enforcement. Or at least tell them she found a random phone in her purse and threw it away.

 

[?unknown?]

In the event he did put the phone in there there’s a very very slim chance she threw it away without noticing? I’ve dropped something in my child’s school bag without looking before and it landed inside an open sweet packet that was open inside the bag. I picked the sweet packet up and tossed it in the bin with the other thing inside and didn’t even notice until a few mins later and went back to get it. Or maybe she lost the entire bag somehow? I think that’s very unlikely but if he did put the phone in there how could she not notice it. It just makes zero sense for him to randomly put his phone in her bag and for her to never notice or bring it up

 

[ekardh]

Unfortunately, it seems that people are fitting inconclusive evidence to the theory that he walked away. Firstly, we don't know for sure if Brian put anything into the girl's purse, let alone his cellphone. The footage is not clear enough to see what exactly happened. However, this has been extrapolated as Brian smuggling his cellphone into the bag as a diversionary tactic as part of a plot hatched so fiendishly that Brian was also able to evade any surveillance cameras or eyewitnesses and leave no trace of his whereabouts. All while intoxicated.

 

[Ozoner]

Unfortunately, it seems that people are fitting inconclusive evidence to the theory that he walked away. Firstly, we don't know for sure if Brian put anything into the girl's purse, let alone his cellphone. The footage is not clear enough to see what exactly happened. However, this has been extrapolated as Brian smuggling his cellphone into the bag as a diversionary tactic as part of a plot hatched so fiendishly that Brian was also able to evade any surveillance cameras or eyewitnesses and leave no trace of his whereabouts. All while intoxicated.

There is no limit to the dialectical gymnastics some people will perform in order to convince themselves and others that Brian walked away from his life. I think that some of them are secretly hoping that he will return some day and form a connection with them (romantic or otherwise). Some people seem WAY too invested in the fantasy of Brian's living a secret life somewhere.

The stark reality is that he almost certainly died the morning that he disappeared. Whether he died in the building or met his demise elsewhere is an open question, but the idea that he is alive and well is extremely far fetched—in my humble opinion.

 

[george14]

There is no limit to the dialectical gymnastics some people will perform in order to convince themselves and others that Brian walked away from his life. I think that some of them are secretly hoping that he will return some day and form a connection with them (romantic or otherwise). Some people seem WAY too invested in the fantasy of Brian's living a secret life somewhere.

The stark reality is that he almost certainly died the morning that he disappeared. Whether he died in the building or met his demise elsewhere is an open question, but the idea that he is alive and well is extremely far fetched—in my humble opinion.

Anything is possible but the fact I’m saying “anything is possible” is a perfect example of why he is likely dead, unfortunately.

The amount of people that disappeared after a night of drinking at 2am to start a new life is probably 1 in a billion.

 

[MysteryMaven]

Logically yes, I agree that Brian is probably deceased. I just wish we could find out what happened to him. I still have a small amount of hope that he ran off though.

 

[Ozoner]

"Hope is the dream of the waking man."
—Aristotle

There's nothing wrong with having hope. <modsnip>

 

[justinkjones1993]

I have always felt that the key to solving Brian's case is his cell phone. If we can figure out what happened to it and where it went, there's a strong likelihood we can either find Brian or find a body or point to a possible suspect.

And for the record, I have always felt that he was separated from his phone at some point. I don't think the ringing in September was a glitch and I also don't think the pings were random. Somebody had that phone for a considerable amount of time that Brian was missing.

That being said, I really don't think we can make anything from these videos. There's a lot of conjecture in here about whether that was even his phone or not in his hand and if he slipped it into a purse. I just don't think you can really tell anything conclusively from that footage, and I know we are all desperate to do so because we are grasping for anything after years of no progress in this case. But I think we need to put some of our wishful thinking in check.