OH OH - Brian Shaffer, 27, Columbus, 1 April 2006 - #2

[Deleted member 155000]

I believe I read that they checked with the dogs that following Monday or Tuesday. So about 3 days after he went missing. I imagine they would have been pretty thorough and I can't imagine the construction area even being that big honestly.

I agree. The detectives originally assigned to the case have been interviewed on the record a couple of times and they seem to go to extraordinary lengths to explore every possibility. The construction exit was chained and would've been difficult for someone his size to slip into. Plus, as you alluded, it's a downtown area where buildings are close together, and thus has limited space to cover, so it would be easy to get a visual especially with dogs.

Not saying it's impossible he's in the building or hidden nearby (it's happened before), but doesn't seem super likely in terms of odds.

 

[Deleted member 155000]

What I'm also still curious about, as mentioned before, is what Brian was saying to those 2 girls. In the dateline video, Clint says that Brian was "doing his usual thing" and talking to those girls. Does 'usual thing' mean just going up to people and being social? Or did he mean that Brian had a history of being flirty with girls? That would seem rather strange since he was so in love with Alexis and was supposedly going to be proposing to her in Florida days later. Maybe Clint was trying to cover infidelity on Brian's part, or maybe he knew that Brian was unfaithful and was blackmailing him? Though kind of a stretch, since that would seem more like Brian making Clint disappear instead. I also don't believe Clint was directly involved, but I can't shake the suspicion that he knows more about Brian than he made public. Or Perhaps Brian went to meet a girl, ran into trouble with her bf and Clint just kept quiet as to not hurt Alexis? As I mentioned earlier in the thread, Brian and Clint went to NYC together so they had to be pretty close plus they were former roommates.

I believe Clint may have further information...even if it's just that he may be able to make better guesses than the rest of us based on what he would know about both Brian and the situation.

I think there's a possibility he was involved, but if so, I'd lean toward accidental death.

 

[John.121]

What I'm also still curious about, as mentioned before, is what Brian was saying to those 2 girls. In the dateline video, Clint says that Brian was "doing his usual thing" and talking to those girls. Does 'usual thing' mean just going up to people and being social? Or did he mean that Brian had a history of being flirty with girls? That would seem rather strange since he was so in love with Alexis and was supposedly going to be proposing to her in Florida days later. Maybe Clint was trying to cover infidelity on Brian's part, or maybe he knew that Brian was unfaithful and was blackmailing him? Though kind of a stretch, since that would seem more like Brian making Clint disappear instead. I also don't believe Clint was directly involved, but I can't shake the suspicion that he knows more about Brian than he made public. Or Perhaps Brian went to meet a girl, ran into trouble with her bf and Clint just kept quiet as to not hurt Alexis? As I mentioned earlier in the thread, Brian and Clint went to NYC together so they had to be pretty close plus they were former roommates.

Not sure what he was saying to them but his interaction with them looks a bit weird to me on that footage, although i can't tell if it's just the pacing of the footage or what. It almost looks like they are just talking amongst themselves and he's just kinda standing there hanging around with no purpose. It almost looks like he's waiting for something or just standing there wasting time.

 

[John.121]

Someone on another site stated that the Mad Mex underneath filed a lawsuit against the Ugly Tuna because their pipe work burst and flooded the restaurant. If his was body was in the walls or something would whoever was sent in to do that kind of repair notice something amiss?

 

[MatthewTyler]

Not sure what he was saying to them but his interaction with them looks a bit weird to me on that footage, although i can't tell if it's just the pacing of the footage or what. It almost looks like they are just talking amongst themselves and he's just kinda standing there hanging around with no purpose. It almost looks like he's waiting for something or just standing there wasting time.

You make a valid point. When watching the video again, it doesn't even seem like he was even talking to them, but rather just lurking near them. The two women were talking to each other on screen, then when Brian appears it seems like they vanish off screen and he seems to follow. I wonder if he was maybe giving them a creepy vibe or was following them around for bit and maybe that got him into some trouble? Though if that were the case I'm sure the women might have said something to LE when asked.

 

[Brainy]

Although I wondered about that possibility, due to some other disappearances that made the news in that area, I hadn't heard that stated outright. I have read that Brian was going to tell Clint about how his relationship with Alexis was progressing though. And I wasn't sure why that was even repeated, but that would make more sense if that context was true.

It might also give some additional incentive to disappear.

I've also read here that Clint asked for immunity if he were to take a polygraph. What reasons have been speculated about why he would need to seek immunity?

Obviously if he was directly involved in harming Brian.

Also if he were involved in drug use with Brian.

Anything else come up over the years?

BessDrew,

Obviously, the refusal to take a polygraph is suspicious, especially if Brian was his "best friend", and it certainly does generate questions about Clint's involvement in Brian disappearance, or the fact that he knows something or was involved in something that influences Brian's disappearance. There doesn't have to be a reasonable explanation of why he refused a polygraph other the mere idea that he did. There haven't been any developments on this for years now. I don't think Brian was involved in drug use per report of family and friends. Frankly, I don't think he was involved in drugs - he just doesn't appear to be the type, and considering that he was a med student makes it even less plausible.

 

[Brainy]

I've read through many pages of posts on other forums now and just don't know what to think.

The most likely scenario still seems to be that he had an accident or was harmed...perhaps as a result of being alone, at night, and possibly under the influence.

But one of the main police officers who investigated Brian's case and, perhaps, Clint (via his lawyer) both seemed to believe he was still alive. His girlfriend at the time and brother also seemed to hold out belief that he was or at least could be alive for some time, although their opinion seemed to waiver over time. If all of these people who know him and know the case best saw a voluntary disappearance as plausible, there must be some reasons to see it that way.

But disappearing voluntarily? Does it add up? If someone was trying to stealthily slip away from their life, it doesn't seem like they'd do it on a night where they'd been drinking or in the city full of witnesses and cameras. So I guess he could've either been unusually calculated and plotted the whole thing or he had some sort of emotional or psychological breakdown and fled impulsively, without planning, but then just decided to stay away permanently. The only other explanation--which seems like just ridiculous odds--could be he had some sort of psychological break down, such as dissociative fugue (where trauma can make you temporarily forget your identity and wander). But if that were the case, it still wouldn't explain how he made it out of the bar undetected...or how someone still didn't recognize him given how publicized his picture was.

Some notes on how he got out of the building: The police officer who worked on the investigation said they pored over the surveillance video and accounted for every single person. They would identify a person coming in and then find where they left in the footage later. They accounted for everyone, but him. They also brought cadaver dogs to the building. It turned up nothing. One lady I read said years later, the way surveillance at the location worked, if the security guards focused the camera in on one person to investigate something, it might temporarily lose other people's movements. So did he somehow get hurt in the construction site, did he leave normally and just unintentionally evade the cameras, did he use the back employee exit, or was he forced/carried out...

It's hard to imagine how this could be solved after so many years short of someone--possibly Clint or even Brian--answering the public's pleas for answers. Can anyone address whether some statutes of limitation could've expired, which might make it easier for someone involved to be more open now? Is there someone out there who could prove they know the answers without providing their identity and send an anonymous letter? This case circles and circles without answers.

You’re right. If Brian willingly disappeared this whole thing just doesn’t add up. Disappearing in a planned manner would require a great deal of planning and consideration, and I doubt it that it would be planned around 2am after hanging out with friends in bars during spring break.

How he got out of the building is still a mystery. If you go back in this thread you can see numerous posts speculating that theory. Nobody is sure how many entrances there were during that time considering the construction that was going on.

 

[Brainy]

I share your belief that the most likely outcome is he met with an accident or was attacked.

While I can see how people, especially regulars, might pop out a back entrance to smoke or something, it seems more likely to me that the panning cameras just missed his exit and he ran into trouble after he left.

But it is interesting that Clint and Meredith couldn't find him, allegedly. If the bar was closing and everyone was being forced to leave, it would've likely been emptying out which would make it easier to spot him if he was visibly around. So did he leave before them?

Man, the construction thing, I get how it could be the case...but...it still seems unlikely to me given that they took cadaver dogs through there. What are the chances that the construction was in the exact phase where it would've been possible to fall into a concealed area and not be discovered? Any mentions of it in articles just said the construction area would've been difficult to navigate. But they didn't say "there were open pits" or "it was soon after sealed by concrete." I wish the detective would've commented on this in the article, because it seems like if there was a chance his body was concealed by construction, it would've been mentioned by those investigating.

My theory is that Brian was very intoxicated at some point, somehow got out of the bar in the middle of the night and was hit by a car. He was either dead or badly injured. Realizing what had just happened, the driver put Brian in the car and then later disposed of the body. This would explain why no physical evidence was found. People who are hit by a car may not have external injuries and may not have external blood loss.

No, I don’t think Brian was hidden in the construction site. It just doesn’t make sense.

 

[Brainy]

Whatever happened to Brian that night, I know in my heart that he is not alive. I have had dreams about him few times, where I believed I heard his voice, and he was a soul.

 

[ekardh]

My theory is that Brian was very intoxicated at some point, somehow got out of the bar in the middle of the night and was hit by a car. He was either dead or badly injured. Realizing what had just happened, the driver put Brian in the car and then later disposed of the body.

Instead of just driving away?

This same theory has been posited for Jason Jolkowski and it's just as implausible.

I'm telling ya, he's in that building somewhere. He wasn't seen leaving the main exit, and he wasn't seen leaving the emergency exit, both of which had surveillance cameras in operation. There have been no sightings or communications from him since that night. That only leaves the construction site. People whipping up all kinds of theories about the friend murdering him, or Brian slipping off into the night to start a new life, etc. when the simplest explanation is that he wandered drunkenly into the nearby construction area and had an accident.

 

[Brainy]

Instead of just driving away?

This same theory has been posited for Jason Jolkowski and it's just as implausible.

I'm telling ya, he's in that building somewhere. He wasn't seen leaving the main exit, and he wasn't seen leaving the emergency exit, both of which had surveillance cameras in operation. There have been no sightings or communications from him since that night. That only leaves the construction site. People whipping up all kinds of theories about the friend murdering him, or Brian slipping off into the night to start a new life, etc. when the simplest explanation is that he wandered drunkenly into the nearby construction area and had an accident.

WHERE on the construction site? That bar is not a labyrinth and body is not a needle in a haysack.

 

[Brainy]

Instead of just driving away?

This same theory has been posited for Jason Jolkowski and it's just as implausible.

I'm telling ya, he's in that building somewhere. He wasn't seen leaving the main exit, and he wasn't seen leaving the emergency exit, both of which had surveillance cameras in operation. There have been no sightings or communications from him since that night. That only leaves the construction site. People whipping up all kinds of theories about the friend murdering him, or Brian slipping off into the night to start a new life, etc. when the simplest explanation is that he wandered drunkenly into the nearby construction area and had an accident.

If he wasn’t seen leaving that doesn’t mean he didn’t leave. If he was in that construction site, his body would be easily recovered.

 

[MatthewTyler]

WHERE on the construction site? That bar is not a labyrinth and body is not a needle in a haysack.

I'm inclined to agree with Brainy here. Unless Brian slipped through a hole that dropped into the voids of another dimension, his body should have been discovered. If he did die in that construction site and is still there then that branches into a cover-up by construction workers. This was only a 2 story building, not many options for things to fall into or get stuck in.

 

[Brainy]

I'm inclined to agree with Brainy here. Unless Brian slipped through a hole that dropped into the voids of another dimension, his body should have been discovered. If he did die in that construction site and is still there then that branches into a cover-up by construction workers. This was only a 2 story building, not many options for things to fall into or get stuck in.

And there is no reason under the sun to believe that construction workers would cover this up. Why? What would be their motive? That’s right, absolutely no motive whatsoever. Actually, it would be in their best interest to immediately report this to law enforcement because they would be scared to death to be associated with someone’s accidental death if not homicide.

 

[ekardh]

And there is no reason under the sun to believe that construction workers would cover this up. Why? What would be their motive? That’ right, absolutely no motive whatsoever. Actually, it would be in their best interest to immediately report this to law enforcement because they would be scared to death to be associated with someone’s accidental death if not homicide.

If only you applied that logic to the 'hit and run- I mean hit and bundle into the back of a car and dispose of the body' theory.

 

[Brainy]

If only you applied that logic to the 'hit and run- I mean hit and bundle into the back of a car and dispose of the body' theory.

The driver would have a motive. They panicked as they hit Brian. Whether he was alive or dead at that point didn’t matter. The driver panicked and then decided to get Brian into the car. At some point, realizing that Brian is dead, the driver gets rid of the body. No body = no crime = unresolved disappearance = very little chance of random person ever becoming a suspect.

 

[ekardh]

I'm inclined to agree with Brainy here. Unless Brian slipped through a hole that dropped into the voids of another dimension, his body should have been discovered. If he did die in that construction site and is still there then that branches into a cover-up by construction workers. This was only a 2 story building, not many options for things to fall into or get stuck in.

Should his body have been discovered? There was active construction going on, and if Brian happened to have fallen into a blind spot, I don't think it's impossible for him to have been built over.

 

[MatthewTyler]

I also agree that the car accident theory is implausible as well. The problem with this case is that a lot of people put too much emphasis and importance on the fact that he wasn't on camera. Strange, yes, but I don't believe that it's the be all end all that he wasn't seen. Could a camera have simply not picked him up? Could the back exit camera have just malfunctioned and thus didn't zoom in on him? Unlikely, but not impossible. The whole reason this case blew up was because of the cameras. If you take that out of the equation it becomes basically any other missing person case. He could have been abducted after leaving the bar, he could have gone elsewhere and died of accidental drug overdose and was covered-up, he could have been abducted by aliens. Point being that once you account for the fact that Brian MAY have gotten out of the bar, it opens the door to other possibilities.

 

[Brainy]

Should his body have been discovered? There was active construction going on, and if Brian happened to have fallen into a blind spot, I don't think it's impossible for him to have been built over.

Okay, ekardh. What kind of “blind spot” are you referring to? I am sure the construction site didn’t have a mysterious black hole that swallowed up bodies and made others completely oblivious to their surroundings. Sorry, but your statement just doesn’t make sense.

 

[ekardh]

The driver would have a motive. They panicked as they hit Brian. Whether he was alive or dead at that point didn’t matter. The driver panicked and then decided to get Brian into the car. At some point, realizing that Brian is dead, the driver gets rid of the body. No body = no crime = unresolved disappearance = very little chance of random person ever becoming a suspect.

Sounds good, until you realise that a panicking driver isn't going to stop and haul a grown man into their car, during which time they may be spotted by witnesses. Then they have to dispose of a body and risk a murder charge, instead of doing what a lot of drivers do in that situation and floor it, or if they weren't a complete jerk call an ambulance.