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

[MatthewTyler]

Probably unrelated, but:

https://www.whiznews.com/2017/04/skeletal-remains-found-mushroom-hunter-morgan-co/

According to google maps that would be about a 90 minute drive from Columbus. Not likely, but not totally out of the realm of possibility either

 

[Deleted member 155000]

Probably unrelated, but:

https://www.whiznews.com/2017/04/skeletal-remains-found-mushroom-hunter-morgan-co/

Wow! I know it's prob not him, but can you imagine if they finally found him this many years later? It would bring closure to many!


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[neesaki]

Here's the link to the WS thread, hopefully more details soon.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...n-County-Skeletel-Remains-Found-April-16-2017

 

[CircuitGuy]

One more thing, the article also affirmed what I heard another woman say, which is one of the security cameras panned and could possibly be controlled by security guards, so it's possible it just missed Brian's exit while panning.

The idea that camera were on all exits except for the construction area is key to a lot of the discussion. If it's true the cameras do not cover all the other exits, then he could have left at bar time and encountered any type of foul play.

 

[neesaki]

The idea that camera were on all exits except for the construction area is key to a lot of the discussion. If it's true the cameras do not cover all the other exits, then he could have left at bar time and encountered any type of foul play.

True, but then we come back to the question as to why Brian would try to leave out of a restricted access exit in the first place, why would he go to the lengths required to leave the club just to allude detection by cameras? One note, apparently this wasn't a common thing he had done in the past or I would expect it would have been brought out in the investigation at some point. Correct? So then, why now?

On the other hand, there is the chance that he was coherced to leave that way, or even forcibly removed from the area, via one of the restricted access exit points. But if so, why? Just more and more questions, with no answers. :gaah:

ETA: what I bolded above is my biggest concern and biggest question, why would Brian choose to leave via an alternate route to purposely allude the cameras. One can only speculate.... but I would be willing to bet one thing, I have no doubt that Brian knew precisely where every single one of those cameras were located, down to the dime.

 

[rachelcanteatcheese]

One more thing, the article also affirmed what I heard another woman say, which is one of the security cameras panned and could possibly be controlled by security guards, so it's possible it just missed Brian's exit while panning.

From the CCTV footage I've seen, there are two assumptions that can be made.

1) there were multiple cameras, but it does not appear that they were moved. The CCTV footage featured in the clips from the E! News video that everybody on this thread has seen shows a camera pointed at the escalators and a camera pointed towards the balcony (where he was seen talking to the two girls). This could indicate multiple cameras.

2) these shots of brain were taken by the same camera. If this is the case, it's possible that the security cams missed Brian's exit because they were aimed at the balcony instead of the escalators.

 

[John.121]

True, but then we come back to the question as to why Brian would try to leave out of a restricted access exit in the first place, why would he go to the lengths required to leave the club just to allude detection by cameras? One note, apparently this wasn't a common thing he had done in the past or I would expect it would have been brought out in the investigation at some point. Correct? So then, why now?

On the other hand, there is the chance that he was coherced to leave that way, or even forcibly removed from the area, via one of the restricted access exit points. But if so, why? Just more and more questions, with no answers. :gaah:

ETA: what I bolded above is my biggest concern and biggest question, why would Brian choose to leave via an alternate route to purposely allude the cameras. One can only speculate.... but I would be willing to bet one thing, I have no doubt that Brian knew precisely where every single one of those cameras were located, down to the dime.

This is the thing. I've read from people who have been inside the bar and say that a staff exit is located behind the bar and is basically obscured from view, so people just drinking inside the bar don't even know it's there as it's not visible and you would have to basically have someone who works there show you where it is. We know he was apparently a bit of a regular at the Ugly Tuna, he'd at least been there a few times before. In those circumstances it seems he must have either left with a staff member or someone he knew that worked there or they showed him where it was so he could leave via that exit. But as you say, why would he bother going out that way and not just leave through the normal exit...

 

[Satch]

From the CCTV footage I've seen, there are two assumptions that can be made.

1) there were multiple cameras, but it does not appear that they were moved. The CCTV footage featured in the clips from the E! News video that everybody on this thread has seen shows a camera pointed at the escalators and a camera pointed towards the balcony (where he was seen talking to the two girls). This could indicate multiple cameras.

2) these shots of brain were taken by the same camera. If this is the case, it's possible that the security cams missed Brian's exit because they were aimed at the balcony instead of the escalators.

Some questions:

1.) Is there any video of Brian's last sighting on camera talking to the girls in public made public? I don't mean a still picture, I mean video.
2.) Is there sound in the video?
3.) How long is the video on the camera?

Satch

 

[Coffeelover]

Which door did the band exit through? Perhaps he was talking to some of them and then just slipped out behind them? I just have to wonder since this case got quite a bit of publicity, that if he stayed behind and socialized with either the staff or band that when this became a publicized case that they wouldn't remember him. Or does this band have so many fans that they wouldn't remember one from another? Despite all of those questions, I still think he stayed late and slipped out the back/staff door.

 

[CircuitGuy]

The idea that camera were on all exits except for the construction area is key to a lot of the discussion. If it's true the cameras do not cover all the other exits, then he could have left at bar time and encountered any type of foul play.

True, but then we come back to the question as to why Brian would try to leave out of a restricted access exit in the first place, why would he go to the lengths required to leave the club just to allude detection by cameras?

BessDrew's post claims camera coverage of the public exits is not 100%. She says the cameras can pan such that people going through normal exits are out of the field of view. Have they confirmed the all public were covered that night?. If not, he could have left through a public exit outside the field of the camera by chance.

 

[neesaki]

BessDrew's post claims camera coverage of the public exits is not 100%. She says the cameras can pan such that people going through normal exits are out of the field of view. Have they confirmed the all public were covered that night?. If not, he could have left through a public exit outside the field of the camera by chance.

Was it reported by LE that the camera coverage was not 100 percent ? No doubt I just don't recall it, but still, if so is there a link? That aside, according to LE, everyone that left the bar was accounted for except Brian. How strange is that, that the one and only person that wasn't accounted for on camera to leave the bar, is also the only one who is missing ?

 

[MatthewTyler]

I wonder if when LE says that everyone was 100% accounted for, they are including the band and staff as well. The actual bar didn't have cameras in it, so if the staff/band used a different exit then LE can't say for certain they were accounted for leaving (though obviously they did since they didn't end up missing). However, if the police DID see them leave on camera then they should know whether or not Brian was with them.

 

[Satch]

This is the thing. I've read from people who have been inside the bar and say that a staff exit is located behind the bar and is basically obscured from view, so people just drinking inside the bar don't even know it's there as it's not visible and you would have to basically have someone who works there show you where it is. We know he was apparently a bit of a regular at the Ugly Tuna, he'd at least been there a few times before. In those circumstances it seems he must have either left with a staff member or someone he knew that worked there or they showed him where it was so he could leave via that exit. But as you say, why would he bother going out that way and not just leave through the normal exit...

And what we still don't know after all these years is the following:

Why Brian didn't go out the regular exit, if he in fact went out the employee exit. Would the band guesting that night have access to the employee exits? I suppose they would. I agree with John's post above.

Satch

 

[John.121]

Which door did the band exit through? Perhaps he was talking to some of them and then just slipped out behind them? I just have to wonder since this case got quite a bit of publicity, that if he stayed behind and socialized with either the staff or band that when this became a publicized case that they wouldn't remember him. Or does this band have so many fans that they wouldn't remember one from another? Despite all of those questions, I still think he stayed late and slipped out the back/staff door.

Yes i wrote something similar about the band earlier in the thread. Apparently they were asked about him but had no idea who he was. I'm guessing this was not a world famous superstar band who have scores of fans coming up to them to chat and get autographs etc. They'd remember who he was if he talked to them. Personally i don't think the band is involved it's just that he never went to chat to them in the first place so that's why they have no idea who he was.

 

[MatthewTyler]

Yes i wrote something similar about the band earlier in the thread. Apparently they were asked about him but had no idea who he was. I'm guessing this was not a world famous superstar band who have scores of fans coming up to them to chat and get autographs etc. They'd remember who he was if he talked to them. Personally i don't think the band is involved it's just that he never went to chat to them in the first place so that's why they have no idea who he was.

You're probably right, more than likely he never actually spoke to them and used them as an excuse to bail on Clint and Meredith for one reason or another. The other alternative being that maybe they do know something (maybe he wanted to party with them and it turned tragic?) and they're just keeping quiet to protect their own potential fame-less likely though. Either way I pin this in 3 directions: Clint, the band, or Ugly Tuna staff. One of these three know something more than they're telling

 

[John.121]

You're probably right, more than likely he never actually spoke to them and used them as an excuse to bail on Clint and Meredith for one reason or another. The other alternative being that maybe they do know something (maybe he wanted to party with them and it turned tragic?) and they're just keeping quiet to protect their own potential fame-less likely though. Either way I pin this in 3 directions: Clint, the band, or Ugly Tuna staff. One of these three know something more than they're telling

What ever happened to Meredith? I know she did take the polygraph and passed and is not under suspicion in any way, but where is she now? I am not on Facebook myself so i haven't looked. Does she have a social media presence at all? Has she said anything else at all regarding Brian in all these years? Shown any renewed interest in finding out what happened to him? I guess they were both told by their lawyers to not speak on it but it's odd to me that so many years have passed and the two supposed friends/acquaintances he was with all night on the night he disappeared have just dropped off the face of the planet.

It's one thing to 'move on' but you'd think they would have some motivation to find out what happened to him and keep his name alive. Alexis moved on but she still gives the impression that she cares about the case and keeps an ear open for any new information.

 

[MatthewTyler]

What ever happened to Meredith? I know she did take the polygraph and passed and is not under suspicion in any way, but where is she now? I am not on Facebook myself so i haven't looked. Does she have a social media presence at all? Has she said anything else at all regarding Brian in all these years? Shown any renewed interest in finding out what happened to him? I guess they were both told by their lawyers to not speak on it but it's odd to me that so many years have passed and the two supposed friends/acquaintances he was with all night on the night he disappeared have just dropped off the face of the planet.

It's one thing to 'move on' but you'd think they would have some motivation to find out what happened to him and keep his name alive. Alexis moved on but she still gives the impression that she cares about the case and keeps an ear open for any new information.

I found Meredith on Facebook (at least I think it's the same one) and she has it mostly private, but from what I've seen she doesn't mention Brian. I always got the impression that she wasn't actually friends with Brian. Meredith was Clint's friend and I even remember reading that Brian didn't actually like her being around. I really don't think she knows anything about his whereabouts, and being not so close to him, I would guess that she's completely moved on. Clint has no Facebook presence; his account is still up but hasn't been updated since shortly before Brian disappeared. His wife is on Facebook though. He's married with some children and lives in Texas. Interesting, since I thought everyone was saying Clint is gay. I found Brian's ex gf on Facebook (the one that he was rumored to have moved to Texas to be with) and she posted something about his 10 year anniversary last year. She's married with a family too and does lives in Texas. Her, Alexis, and Derek's wife Maurine are the only ones I've seen that posted something about Brian fairly recently. Although that's not to say others aren't thinking about him. Just because someone doesn't post on social media doesn't mean they've forgotten about him, they just maybe want to keep thoughts private

 

[CARIIS]

This is the thing. I've read from people who have been inside the bar and say that a staff exit is located behind the bar and is basically obscured from view, so people just drinking inside the bar don't even know it's there as it's not visible and you would have to basically have someone who works there show you where it is. We know he was apparently a bit of a regular at the Ugly Tuna, he'd at least been there a few times before. In those circumstances it seems he must have either left with a staff member or someone he knew that worked there or they showed him where it was so he could leave via that exit. But as you say, why would he bother going out that way and not just leave through the normal exit...

Has there ever been any pics of the bar area and where the door was? I wonder if he was lost and looking for a bathroom? I assume it would lock afterward.

Maybe he was not having a good time decided to leave and ran into some bad players.

Any drug history?

 

[CARIIS]

With this case... Nothing is ruled out. There is absolutely no evidence leading us anywhere. There are endless theories but that's just where it all ends. Very, very frustrating. Sure sounds like Brian vanished into thin air or somebody is doing a great job at keeping silent.


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I kinda think LE is giving cameras too much accuracy / coverage capability. Looks at what we have learned recently about how cameras have not really been such a help. This was a long time ago when cameras were even worse.

If we just roll with (kinda would have to like that -humans don't vanish) then we are left with a situation like all the other ones -- what happened after exit?

 

[dotr]

I kinda think LE is giving cameras too much accuracy / coverage capability. Looks at what we have learned recently about how cameras have not really been such a help. This was a long time ago when cameras were even worse.

If we just roll with (kinda would have to like that -humans don't vanish) then we are left with a situation like all the other ones -- what happened after exit?

Hi CARIIS!
Wondering how/if the investigation might shift if cameras did not play any role at all?
Brian seems, imo. like someone who might just enjoy playing a trick of the light, sleight of the hand, if there was a master control booth for the cameras, might Brian have fiddled with them?
speculation, imo.