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

[embufum]

I believe Looking4Brian said in an earlier post that one of the girls more recently said the entire group was very drunk. L4B, feel free to correct me if I have that wrong. Upcoming podcast episode with the girls to clarify perhaps?

Yes I remember that thanks. If this is the case they are changing their story. I recall another article where the same thing is mentioned but I will have to look further for that one.

 

[XPh]

Thanks for summarizing your thoughts. I just listened to the podcast, too. Thanks to those who made it happen.

FWIW, the points that were of most interest to me:

1) Some time after Randy died, the gal he'd been dating had a convo with Corbett and told him that a while after Brian disappeared the father of one of Brian's friends had been cleaning out the basement of his home and found a box of stuff that belonged to Brian that included some writing that the GF told Corbett about, and the gist of it was she and/or Corbett felt that the writings were 'bizarre' and basically very dark.
2) There'd been at least some history of suicide in Brian's family - mom's or dad's side or both
3) Brian had incurred a lot of student loan debt and some credit card debt, may have been feeling financial strain
4) Brian hadn't been doing particularly well grade-wise in med school, may have also been source of strain

Having learned these things, the possibility of suicide seems perhaps slightly more probable. But still a lower probability IMO. I would still contend that most likely outcome was that Brian died in the building in an accident, most likely in the 'completely dug up' construction area, and his remains are still there.

Totally agree with you, but I have a hard time figuring out why he’d be the only person that night to leave via an alternate exit if suicide was his intention. And then pair that with his remains never turning up. I, much like you, just have a tough time believing it.

I also take slight issue with a few things Corbett says:

First, I’ve been a student in a health profession in the past, and I and most of my friends know the feeling of being six figures in debt from student loans. While it’s a dark cloud at times, the vast majority don’t really feel the weight of the loans until after graduation. Repayment of the loans doesn’t begin until 6 months after graduating. Plus, most healthcare profession students take out additional loan money to cover living expenses and live comfortably. Some even go on vacation with this money (not saying I condone this sort of financial irresponsibility, but believe me, it happens). Brian presumably spent a good chunk of money on a Miami vacation. I find it unlikely that he was feeling tremendous financial pressure at that point in his student career. Not saying it’s impossible, but to use it to support the suicide idea seems like a stretch to me. The family stuff seems more likely to contribute IMO.

Second, Brian’s MySpace said something along the lines of the doctor gig just being a means to an end for him to live on an island and play in a band. Corbett basically equates this to “he didn’t want to be a doctor.” Again, that’s a huge stretch to me. Many (probably most) of us have jobs that are not our biggest passion in life. To use that comment as evidence that he didn’t want to be a doctor is silly IMO.

 

[neesaki]

If you get a chance to chat with him again, would like to know what he knows about the construction area and the search of the building... thx! Wonder if Don is on WS.

Wish we could get Don to come on here.

 

[embufum]

I believe Looking4Brian said in an earlier post that one of the girls more recently said the entire group was very drunk. L4B, feel free to correct me if I have that wrong. Upcoming podcast episode with the girls to clarify perhaps?

If you were referring to the two girls then yeah I do believe one of them said they were drunk. Well before this I read in more than one article they stated he was not drunk. So not even sure what that means. How can someone else who is drunk tell if someone else is drunk? lol My question is why change your story after 12 years? I'm not saying it's even relevant just wondered why. Brian to me doesn't appear drunk, but my guess would be he was "legally" drunk and does it even matter. In other words has Brian been missing for 12 years because he drank a few too many shots? If he stumbled into the construction area from the sounds of it even sober he could have taken a fall.

 

[itsrak]

I will ask him more but he did state to us that he doesn’t not believe it happened at the bar or anywhere in close proximity to the bar. He also stated at one point he isn’t buried in the concrete like a bad mafia movie.

I don't think anyone would think he was in concrete, since that would be intentional. I'd say more likely under it accidentally or hung up in a blind spot like that guy in Winnipeg (prior post).

At this moment, there is one and only one spot on the planet where a new search would have more than an infinitesimally tiny chance of revealing Brian's remains: within or under the building in which he was last seen and from which there is zero evidence he ever departed.

 

[itsrak]

Totally agree with you, but I have a hard time figuring out why he’d be the only person that night to leave via an alternate exit if suicide was his intention. And then pair that with his remains never turning up. I, much like you, just have a tough time believing it.

I also take slight issue with a few things Corbett says:

First, I’ve been a student in a health profession in the past, and I and most of my friends know the feeling of being six figures in debt from student loans. While it’s a dark cloud at times, the vast majority don’t really feel the weight of the loans until after graduation. Repayment of the loans doesn’t begin until 6 months after graduating. Plus, most healthcare profession students take out additional loan money to cover living expenses and live comfortably. Some even go on vacation with this money (not saying I condone this sort of financial irresponsibility, but believe me, it happens). Brian presumably spent a good chunk of money on a Miami vacation. I find it unlikely that he was feeling tremendous financial pressure at that point in his student career. Not saying it’s impossible, but to use it to support the suicide idea seems like a stretch to me. The family stuff seems more likely to contribute IMO.

Second, Brian’s MySpace said something along the lines of the doctor gig just being a means to an end for him to live on an island and play in a band. Corbett basically equates this to “he didn’t want to be a doctor.” Again, that’s a huge stretch to me. Many (probably most) of us have jobs that are not our biggest passion in life. To use that comment as evidence that he didn’t want to be a doctor is silly IMO.

Yeah, I do think suicide is a slim chance. That said, one other thing could suggest it. I thought it was odd that Brian, who clearly seemed crazy about Alexis, would suggest that perhaps she should 'move on'. I know a bit about depression, and I can see where that statement could be viewed as evidencing a depression-induced cognitive distortion (I'm not worthy, etc) playing head games with him. Cognitive distortions can leave people feeling hopeless and lead them to kill themselves.

Number of deaths for leading causes of death:
1 Heart disease: 633,842
2 Cancer: 595,930
3 Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 155,041
4 Accidents: 146,571
5 Stroke: 140,323
6 Alzheimer’s disease: 110,561
7 Diabetes: 79,535
8 Influenza and Pneumonia: 57,062
9 Kidney related: 49,959
10 Suicide: 44,193

 

[Looking4Brian]

I don't think anyone would think he was in concrete, since that would be intentional. I'd say more likely under it accidentally or hung up in a blind spot like that guy in Winnipeg (prior post).

At this moment, there is one and only one spot on the planet where a new search would have more than an infinitesimally tiny chance of revealing Brian's remains: within or under the building in which he was last seen and from which there is zero evidence he ever departed.

I recently made a connection with a water sonar team. I’m hoping to make a connection with a ground sonar team (not sure what they are actually called). I’m hoping the construction at the UTS and a ground sonar could help clear up the bar mystery.

 

[Looking4Brian]

Just finished the most recent Comeback podcast with the Don Corbett interview. Some thoughts:

-First and foremost, great job L4B as always; so thankful we have this podcast!

-I appreciated Mr. Corbett’s willingness to talk openly and share his opinions.

-I was surprised that so many of the points that he emphasized were based on speculation only. I guess it’s hard when you’re kept in the dark by LE. But I just sort of expected he would have more factual information he could share or things to set the record straight on (there were a few things like this, e.g. refuting that Clint waited at Brian’s apartment the next day).

-The more factual things that he did share didn’t seemed to be emphasized as strongly, but they sure felt important to me.

-Why do I not know more about the professor’s house that was searched as a potential crime scene? That seems HUGE to me? Did I totally miss something on this? Apologies if this has been discussed and I am late to the party, but I’d appreciate it if someone has more info to offer about this.

Thank you! I’m glad you are enjoying. I had never heard of the professors house either until we started this investigation. Don said babysitting but he means house sitting. This is where Clint stayed after leaving the UTS.
We will have several more calls with Don for more information. Don is great and very willing to help us. He listens to all of the episodes and tells us what a great job we are doing after each episode. I think Don is going to clear up a lot of things for us. As far as the apartment thing, Don had that confirmed by Sergeant Hurst as well that Clint was not there waiting for 6 hrs on Saturday. It is my understanding that Clint was not there until Sunday when he was called by Alexis.

 

[Looking4Brian]

Thanks for summarizing your thoughts. I just listened to the podcast, too. Thanks to those who made it happen.

FWIW, the points that were of most interest to me:

1) Some time after Randy died, the gal he'd been dating had a convo with Corbett and told him that a while after Brian disappeared the father of one of Brian's friends had been cleaning out the basement of his home and found a box of stuff that belonged to Brian that included some writing that the GF told Corbett about, and the gist of it was she and/or Corbett felt that the writings were 'bizarre' and basically very dark.
2) There'd been at least some history of suicide in Brian's family - mom's or dad's side or both
3) Brian had incurred a lot of student loan debt and some credit card debt, may have been feeling financial strain
4) Brian hadn't been doing particularly well grade-wise in med school, may have also been source of strain

Having learned these things, the possibility of suicide seems perhaps slightly more probable. But still a lower probability IMO. I would still contend that most likely outcome was that Brian died in the building in an accident, most likely in the 'completely dug up' construction area, and his remains are still there.

I found the bizarre and dark writing stuff interesting too. I really found the not doing well in school surprising. I feel as if we were led to believe he was doing good before. That small detail just adds one more stress on Brian’s shoulders at the time.

 

[embufum]

So apparently a couple years before Brian disappeared he took off for about a week but he did call is family. That's all I know at this time. Seems like a good question for Hurst, Corbett or Derek. What I find just as surprising it that this has not been talked about much or at all.

 

[itsrak]

I recently made a connection with a water sonar team. I’m hoping to make a connection with a ground sonar team (not sure what they are actually called). I’m hoping the construction at the UTS and a ground sonar could help clear up the bar mystery.

Pull that off, L4B, and we'll be watching you on Forensic Files.

 

[Looking4Brian]

Pull that off, L4B, and we'll be watching you on Forensic Files.

Lol. I’m trying�� I’ve reached out to several companies, crossing my fingers one will help.

 

[itsrak]

Lol. I’m trying�� I’ve reached out to several companies, crossing my fingers one will help.

Hey, maybe Sgt. Hurst can help out!

 

[Ozoner]

Lol. I’m trying�� I’ve reached out to several companies, crossing my fingers one will help.

Are you hoping for a company to help for free? That might be optimistic.

However, Rick Norland does that kind of work and used ground-penetrating radar to search for The Springfield Three beneath a parking garage and also uses it to look for historical graves.
http://www.harlanonline.com/news/radar-unit-helps-group-find-underground-graves

 

[Satch]

BBM

Actually, there is evidence that Brian was buried or immured at the construction site. The reports of a hideous stench at the Gateway complex constitute evidence. How much weight you choose to give that evidence is up to you. I consider it compelling.

Like the interview with Don,

Except for his insistence that Brian is not buried in the building or the complex.

Satch

 

[Satch]

Thanks for summarizing your thoughts. I just listened to the podcast, too. Thanks to those who made it happen.

FWIW, the points that were of most interest to me:

1) Some time after Randy died, the gal he'd been dating had a convo with Corbett and told him that a while after Brian disappeared the father of one of Brian's friends had been cleaning out the basement of his home and found a box of stuff that belonged to Brian that included some writing that the GF told Corbett about, and the gist of it was she and/or Corbett felt that the writings were 'bizarre' and basically very dark.
2) There'd been at least some history of suicide in Brian's family - mom's or dad's side or both
3) Brian had incurred a lot of student loan debt and some credit card debt, may have been feeling financial strain
4) Brian hadn't been doing particularly well grade-wise in med school, may have also been source of strain

Having learned these things, the possibility of suicide seems perhaps slightly more probable. But still a lower probability IMO. I would still contend that most likely outcome was that Brian died in the building in an accident, most likely in the 'completely dug up' construction area, and his remains are still there.

Don said that Brian did not talk to Clint for one to two months before that night!

Satch

 

[Ozoner]

This case reminds me very much of others where someone ended up in a very strange place: the DJ someone mentioned who crawled between two walls, the woman who ended up in a cistern on a hotel roof, the woman someone mentioned who got stuck in an air duct while trying to break in to her former workplace, no. 23 on this list: https://list25.com/25-of-the-weirdest-places-human-bodies-have-been-found/
etc.

It may be that the people who searched the construction site were thinking in terms of Brian possibly falling and hitting his head or getting electrocuted (or whatever) and not really focusing on the possibility that he might have deliberately crawled or squeezed into a very odd place.

If he accidentally wound up in the construction area by (for instance) exiting through the wrong side of the elevator, he likely would have found himself in almost complete darkness. There's no telling what he might have done in an attempt to get back into the Ugly Tuna. He might have felt for a gap in the wall and squeezed into it.

 

[XPh]

This case reminds me very much of others where someone ended up in a very strange place: the DJ someone mentioned who crawled between two walls, the woman who ended up in a cistern on a hotel roof, the woman someone mentioned who got stuck in an air duct while trying to break in to her former workplace, no. 23 on this list: https://list25.com/25-of-the-weirdest-places-human-bodies-have-been-found/
etc.

It may be that the people who searched the construction site were thinking in terms of Brian possibly falling and hitting his head or getting electrocuted (or whatever) and not really focusing on the possibility that he might have deliberately crawled or squeezed into a very odd place.

If he accidentally wound up in the construction area by (for instance) exiting through the wrong side of the elevator, he likely would have found himself in almost complete darkness. There's no telling what he might have done in an attempt to get back into the Ugly Tuna. He might have felt for a gap in the wall and squeezed into it.

I completely and emphatically agree. I’ve been saying this for years! I think if he’s in the construction site, it’s somewhere so unusual that no one is thinking to look there. I am guessing LE checked the more standard spots, but those might have just led them astray.

As for what this unusual spot entails....it’s impossible to even guess without seeing what the site looked like. All I can say is that I bet it requires thinking outside the box. This is another reason I’d love another search to be done with a fresh perspective!

 

[itsrak]

Quote Originally Posted by Ozoner View Post
This case reminds me very much of others where someone ended up in a very strange place: the DJ someone mentioned who crawled between two walls, the woman who ended up in a cistern on a hotel roof, the woman someone mentioned who got stuck in an air duct while trying to break in to her former workplace, no. 23 on this list: https://list25.com/25-of-the-weirdes...ve-been-found/
etc.

It may be that the people who searched the construction site were thinking in terms of Brian possibly falling and hitting his head or getting electrocuted (or whatever) and not really focusing on the possibility that he might have deliberately crawled or squeezed into a very odd place.

If he accidentally wound up in the construction area by (for instance) exiting through the wrong side of the elevator, he likely would have found himself in almost complete darkness. There's no telling what he might have done in an attempt to get back into the Ugly Tuna. He might have felt for a gap in the wall and squeezed into it.
I completely and emphatically agree. I’ve been saying this for years! I think if he’s in the construction site, it’s somewhere so unusual that no one is thinking to look there. I am guessing LE checked the more standard spots, but those might have just led them astray.

As for what this unusual spot entails....it’s impossible to even guess without seeing what the site looked like. All I can say is that I bet it requires thinking outside the box. This is another reason I’d love another search to be done with a fresh perspective!

Sgt. Hurst suggests that Brian entered the construction area. He says that it would have been difficult to navigate sober, much less drunk. Brian was never seen exiting the building, and was never again seen outside the building, and there was never again any sign of life after early morn 4/1/06 (Brian very likely died that morning, IMO). Yet Sgt. Hurst suggests that Brian 'got exited out of' the construction area! There is no evidence of that. He must believe that because their searches of the construction area came up empty. But maybe their searches came up empty because they simply missed finding Brian's remains.

I can think of several areas I would focus on if I were to search the building:
1) The Gateway Theatre space and the UST space are under very different roofs, as aerials show. I'm guessing the building housing UST was there first, and the theatre is in an addition to the UST building. I'd search the length of the area where the two buildings meet.
2) The construction area was 'completely dug up' on the early morn of 4/1/06. Some of those dug up areas may have been filled in by the time the building was searched. Perhaps even paved over. Any areas that had been in a 'dug up' state the morn of 4/1/06 should have been, and still should be, a focal point.
3) I'd also focus on the area around and/or under the kitchen area in the space occupied by Gateway, including HVAC, where the awful stench had been reported in 2006/2007.

Yes, a fresh search with a fresh perspective. Don't even bring in or consult the original searchers. Start with clean slate. Bring in a few experienced guys who inspect buildings for a living. Have them consult with one or more guys who were working for Turner Construction and/or subcontractor on the job in 2006, who can say what was where in the construction area on 4/1/06.

 

[Ozoner]

Sgt. Hurst suggests that Brian entered the construction area. He says that it would have been difficult to navigate sober, much less drunk. Brian was never seen exiting the building, and was never again seen outside the building, and there was never again any sign of life after early morn 4/1/06 (Brian very likely died that morning, IMO). Yet Sgt. Hurst suggests that Brian 'got exited out of' the construction area! There is no evidence of that. He must believe that because their searches of the construction area came up empty. But maybe their searches came up empty because they simply missed finding Brian's remains.

I can think of several areas I would focus on if I were to search the building:
1) The Gateway Theatre space and the UST space are under very different roofs, as aerials show. I'm guessing the building housing UST was there first, and the theatre is in an addition to the UST building. I'd search the length of the area where the two buildings meet.
2) The construction area was 'completely dug up' on the early morn of 4/1/06. Some of those dug up areas may have been filled in by the time the building was searched. Perhaps even paved over. Any areas that had been in a 'dug up' state the morn of 4/1/06 should have been, and still should be, a focal point.
3) I'd also focus on the area around and/or under the kitchen area in the space occupied by Gateway, including HVAC, where the awful stench had been reported in 2006/2007.

Yes, a fresh search with a fresh perspective. Don't even bring in or consult the original searchers. Start with clean slate. Bring in a few experienced guys who inspect buildings for a living. Have them consult with one or more guys who were working for Turner Construction and/or subcontractor on the job in 2006, who can say what was where in the construction area on 4/1/06.

Absolutely! To your list I would add any interior walls or confined spaces adjacent to the elevator shaft. If Brian couldn't re-enter the elevator, he might have climbed on top of it in an attempt to get back to the second floor. If he found any kind of passageway, he might have pursued it, turning corners and even going up and down as if it were a 3--D maze.