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

[itsrak]

I am not sold that he is still in the bar, but also not entirely sold he made it out of the bar.

The one thing that makes me think he left the bar is the cell phone ping miles away from the bar.

Very likely, per Cingular, a technical glitch. Brian was almost certainly long-dead by that point. No sign of life post 2am 4/1/06 because that early morn is likely when he died. Unseen. Alone. In a stupid, unfortunate accident.

 

[?unknown?]

Had investigators somehow on the morning of Monday, April 3, 2006, foreknown that Brian Shaffer would never be seen again, never a single credible sign of life, his body would never be found outside the complex, would they have searched the complex harder, moved a bunch of dirt in the 'completely dug up' construction area? Would Randy Shaffer, somehow possessing such knowledge, have pushed harder? He would later that week essentially second-guess investigators by running dogs through right after they had. So he was pushing. His instincts were good. Did he push to have construction halted, have some dirt moved? Would he have pushed harder to have some dirt moved, more dirt moved, to try to find Brian's body inside the construction area?

I don’t understand why people think the dogs going through there means it’s case closed he made it out. “The police ran dogs though there he’s definitely not inside” “ the police have said the area was searched with dogs so he did make it out, question is what happened”. I see these comments all the time not necessarily on this thread but elsewhere on the internet when I check up on Brian’s videos and articles. Dogs are not infallible and why should we just take the cops words for it 15 years later? We don’t know if it was searched as thoroughly as they claim and some element of it could be the cops and investigators trying to save face in case they missed him.

I agree that him being in that building somewhere is the most likely situation but in the event he did get out I would definitely prefer the theory that he was randomly attacked/stabbed/mugged something like that and his body has just never been found. The idea he walked away and started a new life after being the one guy who happened to neatly avoid all cameras — and like you’ve said the total radio silence — seems like movie stuff and while I am a religious person I consider that too much of a leap of faith to make lol. There’s too much romanticising around the idea that he walked off IMO

 

[george14]

Me, I don't think he is at the bar. I think his remains may well be in the Gateway complex that once housed the bar, several other business, and an under-construction grocery. There is no evidence he ever left the complex. He still may have, but I doubt it.

I don’t think he left the complex either, but I don’t rule it out.

To me, the most likely scenario is he was at the bar after hours and was killed there. I believe he could have been disposed of in the trash compactor or dumpster. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me given the information we have.

I worked at a Kroger when I was young and the trash compactor was the back of the building, no cameras. This is a grocery store too, with hundreds of people in it. I could have put someone in there without anyone noticing. And I believe they didn’t start searching until the following few days.

I know that sounds grotesque, but we don’t have evidence of him leaving, no surrounding business camera captured him, never seen again, will likely never find a body, no one will talk. The only way Brian turns up is if someone confesses to killing him.

I’m in a Facebook Group dedicated to him and its sad to watch his cousin (I believe) lash out at anyone who considers Brian to be dead. It’s a 1/1,000,000 shot he’s alive.

 

[King91]

Didn't his phone ping by fluke when his gf called it in September to a tower 14 miles north of Columbus?

I was referring to the pings that CPD received on his phone in the month after his disappearance.

 

[Hilda Swenson]

I was referring to the pings that CPD received on his phone in the month after his disappearance.

Right but the ping months later is curious also. Could be a "fluke" but still some distance away if not.

 

[MerryB]

Very likely, per Cingular, a technical glitch. Brian was almost certainly long-dead by that point. No sign of life post 2am 4/1/06 because that early morn is likely when he died. Unseen. Alone. In a stupid, unfortunate accident.

The cell phone pings immediately after his disappearance were separate from the glitch that caused his number to ring 5 months later.

 

[?unknown?]

The one months later was obviously a glitch too. Are people suggesting that he turned his phone off for over 5 months and then turned it back on on the one day it happened to ping then turned it off again forever? What would be the point of doing that? Or is the theory that someone else had it and was using it? If that’s the case surely there would be some other pattern of activity during that time other than just one ping

 

[lonewanderer]

The one months later was obviously a glitch too. Are people suggesting that he turned his phone off for over 5 months and then turned it back on on the one day it happened to ping then turned it off again forever? What would be the point of doing that? Or is the theory that someone else had it and was using it? If that’s the case surely there would be some other pattern of activity during that time other than just one ping

I am also conflicted about this information.

To play devil's advocate on this, his phone could have been stolen (while he was being transported/killed or what have you) and was taken home, pretty much forgotten about. Someone in the home could have picked it up and turned it on out of curiosity. The person who knew where they phone came from may have quickly told them to stop. In this scenario (or both really) I wonder how the phone was still in service after 5 months. Was his bill being paid for it? If so, how? Was a familiar member hopeful for his return paying it? Did he have auto payments on an account with plenty of money in it? Was it left in service due to an ongoing investigation? All of these things go through my mind.

It would also have to be charged at some point in those 5 months. This leads me to believe a homeless person was not likely to have picked it up and tried to use it. In 2006, there seemed to be countless combinations of phone chargers specific to a phone. It wasn't like today where its pretty much an Android cable or Iphone cable.

I also wonder if it was left in service for special investigative circumstances (if thats a real thing) and whoever had the phone charged it a little and tried to make a call, but couldn't. So they just turned it back off.

BUT, I think a glitch is a much more reasonable explanation.

 

[MerryB]

I wonder how the phone was still in service after 5 months. Was his bill being paid for it? If so, how? Was a familiar member hopeful for his return paying it? Did he have auto payments on an account with plenty of money in it? Was it left in service due to an ongoing investigation? All of these things go through my mind.

Respectfully SBM. Alexis continued to pay Brian’s phone bill for a year after his disappearance, and she called everyday in hopes he would answer.

CPD paid to ping Brian’s phone just for the month of April. IMO these pings are how they know he made it out of the building.

The pings at various towers in Columbus (which headed in a westward direction) in April are separate from the cell phone ringing in September.

 

[Ozoner]

Respectfully SBM. Alexis continued to pay Brian’s phone bill for a year after his disappearance, and she called everyday in hopes he would answer.

CPD paid to ping Brian’s phone just for the month of April. IMO these pings are how they know he made it out of the building.

The pings at various towers in Columbus (which headed in a westward direction) in April are separate from the cell phone ringing in September.

You're completely misunderstanding how cell phone pinging works. A cell phone can ping a tower up to 40 miles away. The location of a phone could not have been ascertained with any precision back in 2006, pre GPS. Triangulating the phone's location would have been guesswork with a wide margin of error. All of the towers that Brian's phone pinged were within the Columbus area. It is a real possibility that Brian's phoned remained in the Gateway Complex, in a location with poor reception, and connected with different towers within the Columbus area at different times. None of the towers were far enough away from the Gateway Complex that Brian's phone could not have connected with them from inside the complex. LE did their due diligence by checking the vicinity of each tower with which Brian's phone connected, but the phone pings alone do not establish the phone's location with any certainty.

 

[Quiet Time]

Thank you Ozoner, I didn't know ALL of that.

Especially up the 40 miles apart stuff.
I knew they could ping off of diff cell towers.

 

[lonewanderer]

In all honesty, I think the cell phone pinging aspect of this case acts as a major point of contention.

It was 2006, and the technology for cell phone locations was not as advanced as it is today.

So, its entirely possible that:

1. Brian did leave the bar and the pings are the result of his phone being in another location by his own accord
Or
2. Brian didn't leave the bar and his phone was taken from him and pinged in another location because it was being used by someone other than him
Or
3. Brian did leave the bar and the pings are the result of his phone being in another location because it was being used by someone other than him
Or
4. Brian did leave the bar and left his cellphone in the bar and the pings are the result of a glitch
Or
5. Brian didn't leave the bar, his cellphone is in the bar with him, and the pings are the result of a glitch

There are other possibilities (I am sure) but writing all of these out made my head hurt enough.

The point is, I think there are way too many possibilities based on what we know about the cell phone pings to use as a method of determining what may have happened to him.

I don't want to even discuss the possibilities of the 2006 cell phone pinging technology pinging an uncharged phone.....

 

[itsrak]

You're completely misunderstanding how cell phone pinging works. A cell phone can ping a tower up to 40 miles away. The location of a phone could not have been ascertained with any precision back in 2006, pre GPS. Triangulating the phone's location would have been guesswork with a wide margin of error. All of the towers that Brian's phone pinged were within the Columbus area. It is a real possibility that Brian's phoned remained in the Gateway Complex, in a location with poor reception, and connected with different towers within the Columbus area at different times. None of the towers were far enough away from the Gateway Complex that Brian's phone could not have connected with them from inside the complex. LE did their due diligence by checking the vicinity of each tower with which Brian's phone connected, but the phone pings alone do not establish the phone's location with any certainty.

Thx for keepin it real here.

 

[MerryB]

You're completely misunderstanding how cell phone pinging works. A cell phone can ping a tower up to 40 miles away. The location of a phone could not have been ascertained with any precision back in 2006, pre GPS. The location of a phone could not have been ascertained with any precision back in 2006, pre GPS. Triangulating the phone's location would have been guesswork with a wide margin of error. All of the towers that Brian's phone pinged were within the Columbus area. It is a real possibility that Brian's phoned remained in the Gateway Complex, in a location with poor reception, and connected with different towers within the Columbus area at different times. None of the towers were far enough away from the Gateway Complex that Brian's phone could not have connected with them from inside the complex. LE did their due diligence by checking the vicinity of each tower with which Brian's phone connected, but the phone pings alone do not establish the phone's location with any certainty.

The location of a phone could not have been ascertained with any precision back in 2006, pre GPS.
On an older analog (non-GPS) phone, a “ping” would actually be a triangulation—a signal received from an analog phone would tell what tower(s) serviced the signal and give an approximation of distance from tower(s) to phone based on latency and signal strength.

Triangulating the phone's location would have been guesswork with a wide margin of error.
By pinging Brian’s phone with the service CPD used, they were able to send out repeated signals to his phone and look at response time (latency), tower location, location areas and response success. With that data, they could plot out data points to understand locations and triangulate the signals.

None of the towers were far enough away from the Gateway Complex that Brian's phone could not have connected with them from inside the complex.
If a phone is powered on in a bad service area it would expel more battery power to try to power the antenna to receive more of the signal. In the same regard, if something obstructed the signal getting to the antenna (let’s say the phone was buried), it would burn more battery. There’s no way Brian’s phone would lay there powered up and pinging for the month of April.

The phone pings alone do not establish the phone's location with any certainty.
CPD was able to use many, many pings to triangulate a signal. The more “pings” they received to their “pongs,” the more accurate the location. And an aggregate of info is needed to triangulate, so don’t assume that those 3 towers we have been told about are all the data there is. Those points were the sum of triangulation. Also, with about 12 pings they could tell if his phone was moving prior to GPS.

 

[MerryB]

Thx for keepin it real here.

I can assure you that I like to keep it real.

 

[Ozoner]

If a phone is powered on in a bad service area it would expel more battery power to try to power the antenna to receive more of the signal. In the same regard, if something obstructed the signal getting to the antenna (let’s say the phone was buried), it would burn more battery. There’s no way Brian’s phone would lay there powered up and pinging for the month of April.

LE attempted to ping Brian's phone for the month of April; they never said that they received a response from the phone for the entire month of April. Big difference.

Please keep it real.

 

[MerryB]

LE attempted to ping Brian's phone for the month of April; they never said that they received a response from the phone for the entire month of April. Big difference.

Please keep it real.

What are you referring to as a ping?
They absolutely received pings from his phone; that is how they got their information.
CPD paid for ping service through Cingular for 30 days. They received responses from Brian’s phone during that time.

A phone ping is when a cell phone provider sends a signal, which is received by the cell phone. When this request is received (the phone has to have charge and be powered on), the cell phone sends its own signal to the cell tower and back to the provider. Even before GPS, getting a signal (“ping”) back from an analog phone would yield information. A series of pings in an area (“triangulation”) would tell them Brian’s phone was on, which tower or towers were receiving the signal, and the phone’s distance from the tower(s) based on things like signal strength and latency. They have that information.

 

[Ozoner]

What are you referring to as a ping?
They absolutely received pings from his phone; that is how they got their information.
CPD paid for ping service through Cingular for 30 days. They received responses from Brian’s phone during that time.

A phone ping is when a cell phone provider sends a signal, which is received by the cell phone. When this request is received (the phone has to have charge and be powered on), the cell phone sends its own signal to the cell tower and back to the provider. Even before GPS, getting a signal (“ping”) back from an analog phone would yield information. A series of pings in an area (“triangulation”) would tell them Brian’s phone was on, which tower or towers were receiving the signal, and the phone’s distance from the tower(s) based on things like signal strength and latency. They have that information.

<modsnip>

And no, LE has never said that the phone responded for the entire 30 days. They sent pings to the phone for 30 days; they never said that the phone responded for the full 30 days.

I would love to be proved wrong on that. Please provide a source that explicitly states that they continued to receive a response from the phone till the end of the 30-day period. I have never seen or heard that stated by LE anywhere.

 

[MerryB]

<modsnip>

And no, LE has never said that the phone responded for the entire 30 days. They sent pings to the phone for 30 days; they never said that the phone responded for the full 30 days.

I would love to be proved wrong on that. Please provide a source that explicitly states that they continued to receive a response from the phone till the end of the 30-day period. I have never seen or heard that stated by LE anywhere.

<modsnip> I did say they received many responses following his disappearance. They pinged him for 30 days.

My belief is during that time, the information yielded from the pinging service gave them information that indicates he got out of the building. That was my original statement & you responded that I didn’t understand how pings worked.

One thing that IMO is indicative of Brian getting out of the building is that his phone was off or out of service when Meredith called around midnight, but on & pinging about 10 min later. People question why investigators are so sure he made it out—but they have the data packet from Cingular and they have all of the information discussed in my earlier post.

 

[Ozoner]

<modsnip>

I did not say that; however, I did say they received many responses following his disappearance. They pinged him for 30 days.

My belief is during that time, the information yielded from the pinging service gave them information that indicates he got out of the building. That was my original statement & you responded that I didn’t understand how pings worked.

One thing that IMO is indicative of Brian getting out of the building is that his phone was off or out of service when Meredith called around midnight, but on & pinging about 10 min later. People question why investigators are so sure he made it out—but they have the data packet from Cingular and they have all of the information discussed in my earlier post.

<modsnip>

I have acknowledged that Brian's phone communicated with CPD's pings. What I deny is that it continued to do so for the entire month of April. All responses that CPD received from the phone might well have been during the first few days that they were pinging the phone.

<modsnip>