OH OH - Brian Shaffer, 27, Columbus, 1 April 2006 - #3

[itsrak]

I believe Brian Shaffer's remains are very likely in the immediate vicinity of the theatre property. Buried or wedged. I think LE missed it because, yeah, you do a cursory look around the construction site, but in the back of your mind you're like 'there's no way he's here, that guy wouldn't have killed himself, he must have left the site'.

However, I've read that LE has three theories as to what happened to Brian Shaffer, and all three theories have Brian leaving the complex.

Its been 12 years. Why in the world won't they, at this late date, go public with their theories??!!

 

[Satch]

Great find on the review mentioning a hideous stench!

If they were, say, installing ventilation at the time Brian disappeared, there could have been gaps along the top of any walls that abutted whatever roof Brian might have jumped or fallen onto.

How many cases have we read about where a skeleton was found in a chimney many years after a disappearance because somebody was trying to break into a locked building? Any kind of vertical shaft could have been missed during the search for Brian if the searchers remained at ground level.

There's a real chance that Brian got wedged in some kind of crevice--possibly even a gap between sections of the building--and died of positional asphyxia. If that's the case, then his body may be above ground in the Gateway portion of the building, possibly near the kitchen.

If Brian got wedged in someplace, how long would the smell last? Many of the reviews of The Ugly Tuna have noted a very foul stench. Several say the place smells like urine. It really is a dump. But drunk University College kids, most aren't going to care about that. But I can say, based on reviews, everything from the food to the place itself, to the staff, is crap.

Sorry, to be morbid for what I am gong to say, but I am going to go with the stench theory and expand it. What does a dead body smell like? Is it like rotten-eggs? I am told that if you smell a dead body, it is so rancid, that you never forget it. I also did not know about a second bathroom. I heard that there was only one, and its so bad that it would be condemned by most gas stations. Ugly Tuna by all accounts really is a Snake Pit.

Satch

 

[Ozoner]

If Brian got wedged in someplace, how long would the smell last? Many of the reviews of The Ugly Tuna have noted a very foul stench. Several say the place smells like urine. It really is a dump. But drunk University College kids, most aren't going to care about that. But I can say, based on reviews, everything from the food to the place itself, to the staff, is crap.

Sorry, to be morbid for what I am gong to say, but I am going to go with the stench theory and expand it. What does a dead body smell like? Is it like rotten-eggs? I am told that if you smell a dead body, it is so rancid, that you never forget it. I also did not know about a second bathroom. I heard that there was only one, and its so bad that it would be condemned by most gas stations. Ugly Tuna by all accounts really is a Snake Pit.

Satch

I wouldn't expect there to still be a stench from Brian's body, but who knows for sure; there are many variables.

I'm most concerned about the review that mentioned a hideous stench at Gateway—not at the Ugly Toona—back in 2007.

I wonder if any photos of the construction site exist.

 

[itsrak]

Here is the Gateway Theatre Yelp review, (dated around 2.5 years after Brian Shaffer went missing, although reviewer presumably may have been referring to a stench noted on earlier visits) noting the stench:

7/21/2008 Previous review 1 Star for the Location. I lived on campus before the Gateway and regardless of what everyone says, I like the Gatway (aside from McFadden's and Skye Bar which annoy me 1 Star for the Indie films. In a city like Columbus you would think a good independant film wouldn't be impossible to find. Aren't we the "Indie Art Capitol" or some such nonsense? Seriously. 1 Star for the affordable parking and student priced tickets....cheaper and less annoying than Lennox or Easton for sure. 1 Star for not being jam packed like the Lennox. Zero Stars for the stench coming from the "cafe" and the fact that half the people in the theater either smell like alcohol or are actively consuming alcohol.

Kinda weird. I can't really recalled having noticed a stench in a kitchen - usually you find stench around the dumpsters out back....

 

[itsrak]

If Brian got wedged in someplace, how long would the smell last? Many of the reviews of The Ugly Tuna have noted a very foul stench. Several say the place smells like urine. It really is a dump. But drunk University College kids, most aren't going to care about that. But I can say, based on reviews, everything from the food to the place itself, to the staff, is crap.

Sorry, to be morbid for what I am gong to say, but I am going to go with the stench theory and expand it. What does a dead body smell like? Is it like rotten-eggs? I am told that if you smell a dead body, it is so rancid, that you never forget it. I also did not know about a second bathroom. I heard that there was only one, and its so bad that it would be condemned by most gas stations. Ugly Tuna by all accounts really is a Snake Pit.

Satch

I know what a deady body smells like. When I was in college, I was walking down street in campustown area and cops were putting crime scene tape around a Jeep that had been parked for many days in front of a popular bar. I asked what was up and was told there was a dead body in Jeep. Which explained the stench in the air. Turns out, a guy passing through town had stopped for a drink, got drunk, decided not to drive, crawled into cramped back of Jeep to sleep, choked to death on vomit. Jeep was ticketed daily for like a week, and was not until the stench arose that someone put together what might be cause of Jeep left there. Jeep had plastic fabric windows that were scratched so no one had been able to see the body there the whole time. Many thousands of students had unknowingly walked within a few feet of the dead man. Many had noticed the stench. But you're never thinking a dead body is the source....
Basically, its a bad stench like roadkill. It is not that it is so horrific, it is that it is so overpowering.

 

[XPh]

Great find on the review mentioning a hideous stench!

If they were, say, installing ventilation at the time Brian disappeared, there could have been gaps along the top of any walls that abutted whatever roof Brian might have jumped or fallen onto.

How many cases have we read about where a skeleton was found in a chimney many years after a disappearance because somebody was trying to break into a locked building? Any kind of vertical shaft could have been missed during the search for Brian if the searchers remained at ground level.

There's a real chance that Brian got wedged in some kind of crevice--possibly even a gap between sections of the building--and died of positional asphyxia. If that's the case, then his body may be above ground in the Gateway portion of the building, possibly near the kitchen.

Of all the theories I’ve heard, this honestly seems like the most likely one so far. It just has the fewest holes in it. If you don’t know how Brian left the building, maybe it’s because he never left the building!

I understand that they took dogs in the construction site, but it’s possible they just weren’t in quite the right spot. If he fell somewhere concealed/enclosed, it could have masked the scent. I wonder if they took the dogs on the roof.

I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that the dogs did briefly “hit” in the construction site but that it led nowhere and was inconclusive. I’ve never been able to relocate where I read that, so I don’t know if it’s accurate or if I am misremembering. Does anyone else remember reading that in any articles? I think that if true, that would be in line with this theory as well.

Did CPD ever go back and search Ugly Tuna additional times after the initial search? I’m sure they haven’t been there lately. I so badly want them to go back and search again with a fresh perspective and really thinking outside the box.....

 

[itsrak]

If you don’t know how Brian left the building, maybe it’s because he never left the building!.....

Bingo! And if in the 12 years since there's never been even the slightest trace of Brian outside the building after 2am that morn, maybe it's because he never left the building, and he's dead, and his remains are somewhere on the Gateway Theatre property!

 

[embufum]

http://missingpiecesshow.homestead.com/missingpiecesepisode64archive.html


So it looks like both Clint and Meredith got attorneys.

 

[itsrak]

http://missingpiecesshow.homestead.com/missingpiecesepisode64archive.html


So it looks like both Clint and Meredith got attorneys.

Yes it does. But that is a pretty reasonable thing to do. Lots of innocent people prefer to put an attorney between themselves and LE and the media.

LE has had not 1, not 2, but 12 years to build the case against Clint and/or Meredith. Yet, nothin'. Prolly because there is no case, because Clint and Meredith almost certainly had nothing to do with Brian's disappearance, because they probably never saw Brian again, because Brian probably never even left the building and his remains are probably still there...

Had Brian's phone had GPS, case probably would have been solved within a few days of his disappearance.

 

[embufum]

Yes it does. But that is a pretty reasonable thing to do. Lots of innocent people prefer to put an attorney between themselves and LE and the media.

LE has had not 1, not 2, but 12 years to build the case against Clint and/or Meredith. Yet, nothin'. Prolly because there is no case, because Clint and Meredith almost certainly had nothing to do with Brian's disappearance, because they probably never saw Brian again, because Brian probably never even left the building and his remains are probably still there...

Had Brian's phone had GPS, case probably would have been solved within a few days of his disappearance.

I agree on the attorney issue. My point was that no one ever mentions that Meredith lawyered up too. Supposedly she took a lie detector test later on but we don't know the results.

We also hear that Clint never helped search for Brian and Randy mentions that he did on more that one occasion.

So something that I found interesting. Brightan Zatko one of the girls that was speaking to Brian outside the bar has a petition on her facebook page for Brian for people to sign about Crime Stoppers honoring the reward for another year. Seems worth while to sign.

 

[XPh]

Brightan Zatko one of the girls that was speaking to Brian outside the bar has a petition on her facebook page for Brian for people to sign about Crime Stoppers honoring the reward for another year. Seems worth while to sign.

I find it awesome in general that Brightan hasn’t shied away from the conversation from what I’ve seen. I remember fairly recently I was scrolling comments on a YouTube video about Brian, and Brightan commented. The original poster said something like it looks like the two girls in the video are fighting. Brightan basically laughed that off and said no, I am one of those girls, and we were just drunk.

It makes me wonder if she ever browses forums like these. I would absolutely love to just hear her full perspective on that entire night.

 

[Satch]

I find it awesome in general that Brightan hasn’t shied away from the conversation from what I’ve seen. I remember fairly recently I was scrolling comments on a YouTube video about Brian, and Brightan commented. The original poster said something like it looks like the two girls in the video are fighting. Brightan basically laughed that off and said no, I am one of those girls, and we were just drunk.

It makes me wonder if she ever browses forums like these. I would absolutely love to just hear her full perspective on that entire night.

Would LOVE to hear from her!

Wonder what she thinks happened to Brian?

Satch

 

[Looking4Brian]

Hi guys I am one of the hosts of a brand new podcast called Comeback. It’s an investigative series on Brian only. We debuted our first episode on iTunes, Podbean, and stitcher. You should definitely check it out. We give lots of answers to the questions that are asked on here. I’m also working with Lori Davis to plan The Brian Shaffer March For The Missing in Columbus Ohio on April 15th. Check both of them out on Facebook and join our Comeback Podcast discussion page on Facebook as well where we discuss the case.

 

[dotr]

Hi guys I am one of the hosts of a brand new podcast called Comeback. It’s an investigative series on Brian only. We debuted our first episode on iTunes, Podbean, and stitcher. You should definitely check it out. We give lots of answers to the questions that are asked on here. I’m also working with Lori Davis to plan The Brian Shaffer March For The Missing in Columbus Ohio on April 15th. Check both of them out on Facebook and join our Comeback Podcast discussion page on Facebook as well where we discuss the case.

Good stuff, thanks for posting!
FB.

 

[Looking4Brian]

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-fcpd2-8e7ce1#.WsKkOM5UvJc.facebook Here is a link to the podcast! Admin if not allowed please remove.

 

[neesaki]

Hi guys I am one of the hosts of a brand new podcast called Comeback. It’s an investigative series on Brian only. We debuted our first episode on iTunes, Podbean, and stitcher. You should definitely check it out. We give lots of answers to the questions that are asked on here. I’m also working with Lori Davis to plan The Brian Shaffer March For The Missing in Columbus Ohio on April 15th. Check both of them out on Facebook and join our Comeback Podcast discussion page on Facebook as well where we discuss the case.

That’s awesome ! It’s great to see someone keeping Brian’s case alive.

 

[itsrak]

I believe Brian's remains are likely on the location of what was then characterized as a 'treacherous construction site' next to the building housing the Ugly Tuna Saloona. That would explain why there has been zero trace of him since 2am that morn, why there is no video showing him leaving the building, why he didn't even make it back to his apartment. I was interested to learn from the podcast that there was rain shortly after Brian disappeared. If Brian leaped into or fell in the construction area over that weekend, one reason his body may not have been discovered is if rain pooled, washed silt around, caused trench erosion, etc. even before any search dogs may have been on site or even before any visual search of the construction site.

Having a march for Brian is good. And a reward. But IMO what would really be great would action instead of talk, would be if there is some way a search of the construction site, including input from folks aware of the status of the project at the time Brian went missing, since they would have the best idea where any remains might be on the site given the timing and circumstances, status of construction at the time, etc. Maybe there'd be a way to do some borings, etc. of areas deemed most likely for any body to have come to rest 12 years ago.

And it would be nice if the cops would finally release their theories as to why Brian is missing. At this point, what can it hurt?

 

[Satch]

Would LOVE to hear from her!

Wonder what she thinks happened to Brian?

Satch

I know it is a TOS violation to contact family members about cases. But would it be OK for us to try to contact Brightan to tell her about our forum and Brian's thread? Who would be closer to the case than to actually hear from the last person to see Brian?

Satch

 

[Satch]

XPh, Ozoner - I've been doing a bit of, er, websleuthing from here in Virginia.

Here's an image showing Gateway theater at center, Saloona at right. http://gatewayfilmcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/gfc.jpg

Near as I can tell, they are in separate but immediately adjoining buildings. When was building housing Saloona built? I can't find that out. What year did Saloona open? As to any construction adjacent to the Saloona, it appears the building housing Gateway theatre was going on or perhaps just completed around the time of Brian's disappearance:



So, it had opened a few months before Brian disappeared, or maybe Nov 2005 was when it formed, not when it opened for business. But Yelp show no reviews till 2007 for Gateway, so maybe it hadn't yet opened when Brian disappeared and was still under construction. One of first reviews notes a hideous stench emanating from area of the on-site kitchen serving beer and snacks to theatre-goers. Of course, if you smell a stench, you're going to assume it must have to do with the kitchen...........................................

I'm thinking that when LE referenced dangerous construction zone next to Saloona, they were referring to the structure housing the Gateway. I'd guess Brian's remains are on the site of the Gateway structure. Probably under it.

It is unbelievable what befell the Shaffer family in just a two year period.

I can't get away from the reported stench in the Gateway Theater kitchen. Brian's body really could be wedged in-between the Ugly Tuna and the Gateway Theater building areas. Did this whole building complex have one name? Itsrack, I don't know if you answered this before, but I love your knowledge about this case! Are you a local from the Columbus area and have you been in the building complex?

We need to find a way to get the construction site drawings or photos around the time of April 2006. Than, we could have a true accurate visual map of the routes that Brian might have taken, and if he died due to an accident in or outside the building complex, (presumably the construction site,) we would have a better visual impact of what could have happened.

Considering the short time interval involving Brian last seen on camera and the loss of any whereabouts of him, if he died that night, as I am led to believe, and if he died at or around the construction site, him getting trapped, or slipping and falling happened very, very quickly.

Satch

 

[Ozoner]

I can't get away from the reported stench in the Gateway Theater kitchen. Brian's body really could be wedged in-between the Ugly Tuna and the Gateway Theater building areas. Did this whole building complex have one name? Itsrack, I don't know if you answered this before, but I love your knowledge about this case! Are you a local from the Columbus area and have you been in the building complex?

We need to find a way to get the construction site drawings or photos around the time of April 2006. Than, we could have a true accurate visual map of the routes that Brian might have taken, and if he died due to an accident in or outside the building complex, (presumably the construction site,) we would have a better visual impact of what could have happened.

Considering the short time interval involving Brian last seen on camera and the loss of any whereabouts of him, if he died that night, as I am led to believe, and if he died at or around the construction site, him getting trapped, or slipping and falling happened very, very quickly.

Satch

Maybe somebody could use ground penetrating radar on the walls of the Gateway complex.

His body may be found when the buildings are torn down 100 years from now, but it would be nice to have this case solved a little sooner than that.