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

[dotr]

So a construction guy just came to my door to talk about ripping out stuff and then filling it with cement

was this a requested call or did some random dude come to your door to discuss ripping things out (making holes!) and covering them up cement?

Did he talk like Marlon in the Godfather?

are there things you would like to share my dear?

please refrain from giving cement diggers any ideas

we would miss you !!

Lol CARIIS, when you put it like that it feels like i dug myself a hole!

 

[Ozoner]

Appreciate thinking outside the box, but I am pretty sure the Gateway building was built in the early 2000s, like ~2004-2005. So not quite prohibition era.

To be fair, there could have been cavities left over from previous buildings. There could even have been a natural fissure or cavity.

 

[Stella]

Brian's phone pinging off the cell tower in Hilliard when Alexis Waggoner called him got me to thinking; is there a landfill nearby? Where did the trash dumpsters used by Ugly Tuna Saloona get taken to? I'm thinking now that Brian was able to leave the bar and met with foul play by someone who took his phone and wallet. His final destination, unhappily may have been the bar's dumpster or one nearby and then the nearest landfill in or near Hilliard. Does every dumpster have a security camera in view? This needs a local sleuther in the area to find out. Anyone?

 

[Stella]

To clarify, his killer(s) might have taken his phone and dumped it in the vicinity of Hilliard but for the previous post, I'm assuming they left the phone with Brian.

 

[Valiant]

Brian's phone pinging off the cell tower in Hilliard when Alexis Waggoner called him got me to thinking; is there a landfill nearby? Where did the trash dumpsters used by Ugly Tuna Saloona get taken to? I'm thinking now that Brian was able to leave the bar and met with foul play by someone who took his phone and wallet. His final destination, unhappily may have been the bar's dumpster or one nearby and then the nearest landfill in or near Hilliard. Does every dumpster have a security camera in view? This needs a local sleuther in the area to find out. Anyone?

Hilliard is the wrong part of town for a landfill.

 

[MysteryMaven]

Brian's phone pinging off the cell tower in Hilliard when Alexis Waggoner called him got me to thinking; is there a landfill nearby? Where did the trash dumpsters used by Ugly Tuna Saloona get taken to? I'm thinking now that Brian was able to leave the bar and met with foul play by someone who took his phone and wallet. His final destination, unhappily may have been the bar's dumpster or one nearby and then the nearest landfill in or near Hilliard. Does every dumpster have a security camera in view? This needs a local sleuther in the area to find out. Anyone?

The Hilliard phone ping bothers me. I can't find any information that says anything in Hilliard was searched. It seems like the ping is just dismissed as a fluke. It bugs me though. Did someone do something to Brian then toss his phone there or was he still with his phone, who knows. I always thought Brian got mugged too but I waffle on that since no one ever tried to use his credit card or drain his bank account. LE has reported no activity.
I searched for landfills near Hilliard and I couldn't find one in Hilliard itself. There is one in Grove City OH which is 15 miles south of Hilliard. I don't know that anything that far out of Columbus was checked.

This quote is from Columbus monthly:
In those first few days, and on the heels of that theory, [the theory that Brian made it out of the bar] as many as 50 police officers searched for Brian at a time, scouring the streets, pawing through dumpsters and knocking on doors. They moved in an orderly, concentric pattern, beginning at the Ugly Tuna or Brian’s campus-area apartment and working their way out, marking distance in blocks and then miles. They questioned Brian’s friends and family and asked them all the hard questions you do when someone disappears, questions about drugs and enemies and difficult times. They checked hospitals and homeless shelters. They followed tips and hunches to landfills and riverbanks. They even persuaded the city to check nearby sewer lines. But no one found anything, not even the K-9 units.

 

[itsrak]

Yeah, the phone ringing 3 times when Brian's GF called his phone, and pinging from a tower in Hilliard is bothersome. But I assume Cingular is right when they say it could just have been a glitch. The Hilliard ping came in Sept 2006, more than 5 months after Brian disappeared. I think Brian likely met an accidental death on 4/1/06 and his remains (and phone) are buried under the building that housed the UTS. This scenario, in which his phone was buried on his person around 2am on 4/1/06, in the 'completely dug up' construction area, neatly explains why his phone always went straight to voicemail (dirt blocks signal), with that one exception, which was probably a tech glitch. The scenario also explains why he appeared not to exit the building. Also explains why such a promising future was seemingly inexplicably abandoned, why he was never credibly seen outside the building or seen on surveillance vid, why no hint of a mugging or homicide, why no remains or belongings found, why his money untouched, and why no sign of life whatsoever post 2am 4/1/06.

 

[MysteryMaven]

I am not one to rule out any scenario. I tend to lean more toward Brian leaving the bar and making it away from the area.
There are a lot of good arguments for and against Brian still being on the premesis or in the construction site deceased.
Clint Florence bugs me too but that could just be a red herring.

 

[XPh]

Haven’t posted in a while. But passed by an active construction site the other day with trenches dug and concrete being poured. And naturally it got me thinking.

First, let me say I am not, and never have been, a proponent of the “buried in concrete” theory. Although I AM a proponent of the theory that something happened in the construction site, I’ve never thought concrete seemed that likely.

Having said that, I’d like to propose a thought experiment for everyone reading. Including you. Yes—you.

Imagine for a second that it is possible for a human being to be buried in concrete without someone noticing. Suspend your disbelief just for a moment for the purpose of this exercise. I realize that will be easier for some folks than others. But just pretend for a scecond that it’s possible, regardless of where you’re at with the idea.

Alright, is your disbelief suspended? (Even if just temporarily?)

Now that you’ve (temporarily) accepted that someone could become encased in concrete without anyone noticing.......does every remaining detail of the case now have an explanation?

Yes or no? Why or why not?

Thanks in advance.

 

[neesaki]

The Hilliard phone ping bothers me. I can't find any information that says anything in Hilliard was searched. It seems like the ping is just dismissed as a fluke. It bugs me though. Did someone do something to Brian then toss his phone there or was he still with his phone, who knows. I always thought Brian got mugged too but I waffle on that since no one ever tried to use his credit card or drain his bank account. LE has reported no activity.
I searched for landfills near Hilliard and I couldn't find one in Hilliard itself. There is one in Grove City OH which is 15 miles south of Hilliard. I don't know that anything that far out of Columbus was checked.

This quote is from Columbus monthly:
In those first few days, and on the heels of that theory, [the theory that Brian made it out of the bar] as many as 50 police officers searched for Brian at a time, scouring the streets, pawing through dumpsters and knocking on doors. They moved in an orderly, concentric pattern, beginning at the Ugly Tuna or Brian’s campus-area apartment and working their way out, marking distance in blocks and then miles. They questioned Brian’s friends and family and asked them all the hard questions you do when someone disappears, questions about drugs and enemies and difficult times. They checked hospitals and homeless shelters. They followed tips and hunches to landfills and riverbanks. They even persuaded the city to check nearby sewer lines. But no one found anything, not even the K-9 units.

It bugs me to, has for a long time. . But IIRC they did go search the area around Hilliard, but don’t hold me to it until I have a chance to go back and verify. Unless you want to do it which will be fine by me, lol. Otherwise it will be a day or two before I can get to it. And I don’t mind.

Just my thoughts and nothing more.... If Brian was a victim of foul play, I really don’t get the feeling that it was something as easily explained as a mugging. I mean, I think it was something more complicated than that. I don’t know how else to say it , call it intuition, call it gut instinct, whatever you wanna call it, it’s just an opinion.

 

[itsrak]

Haven’t posted in a while. But passed by an active construction site the other day with trenches dug and concrete being poured. And naturally it got me thinking.

First, let me say I am not, and never have been, a proponent of the “buried in concrete” theory. Although I AM a proponent of the theory that something happened in the construction site, I’ve never thought concrete seemed that likely.

Having said that, I’d like to propose a thought experiment for everyone reading. Including you. Yes—you.

Imagine for a second that it is possible for a human being to be buried in concrete without someone noticing. Suspend your disbelief just for a moment for the purpose of this exercise. I realize that will be easier for some folks than others. But just pretend for a scecond that it’s possible, regardless of where you’re at with the idea.

Alright, is your disbelief suspended? (Even if just temporarily?)

Now that you’ve (temporarily) accepted that someone could become encased in concrete without anyone noticing.......does every remaining detail of the case now have an explanation?

Yes or no? Why or why not?

Thanks in advance.

I, like you, am not a proponent of the 'buried in concrete theory'. I am, however, a proponent of the 'stumbled/slipped/slid/tumbled at around 2am on 4/1/06 into a trench/pit along with plenty of accompanying loosened fill and wound up inadvertently buried under dirt (and shortly thereafter just as inadvertently under a layer of concrete as well), probably under the former Sunflower Market space just to the south of the former UTS space. As such, my disbelief is fully suspended! In fact, I walked around the site a few days after UTS closed for good earlier this year, the entire time cognizant that I was quite possibly (probably, IMO) within mere feet of Brian Shaffer's remains. It was a weird and frustrating sensation. And yes, this scenario does explain one hell of a lot about this case, ties up numerous loose ends, as I'd detailed in a recent post. I think it is by far the most probable scenario. Within/under that building is the only place on the planet that could be searched with a greater than remote chance of solving the mystery of the disappearance of Brian Shaffer. Shame it doesn't happen. Frustrating.

 

[MysteryMaven]

It bugs me to, has for a long time. . But IIRC they did go search the area around Hilliard, but don’t hold me to it until I have a chance to go back and verify. Unless you want to do it which will be fine by me, lol. Otherwise it will be a day or two before I can get to it. And I don’t mind.

Just my thoughts and nothing more.... If Brian was a victim of foul play, I really don’t get the feeling that it was something as easily explained as a mugging. I mean, I think it was something more complicated than that. I don’t know how else to say it , call it intuition, call it gut instinct, whatever you wanna call it, it’s just an opinion.

I will see what I can find out about any Hilliard searches
I would be more likely to adhere to Brian being buried in the construction zone uf it weren’t for a few things.
Clint Florence’s lawyer saying “Brian is the one causing his family’s pain, he needs to end this”. Ok what does Clint know that we don’t.
Brian having a difficult time emotionally after his mother’s death. Brian joking about running away to an island. Brian was having some financial trouble and grade issues reportedly.
Phone ping in Hilliard

Also it’s hard for me to picture how the construction area looked at the time. It’s easier to entertain a scenario that way. Are there photos posted of it somewhere?
I found some aerial views of the block online from someone researching the case. I am looking for something more like news paper stories from right after the disappearance that show what the construction area looked like.

 

[MysteryMaven]

I am starting to go back and re-listen to the Comeback Podcast series on Brian. In the last one Nick has a very strong opinion that Brian is not in the walls of the Ugly Toona or in the construction site. He said that everyone he has talked to that is close to the investigation (They interviewed Det Hurst and PI) does not think Brian is in either of those places. I need to go back and get more details on why they think this.
Also I want to go back and find out if Kelly and Nick ever asked Det. Hurst if there are facts about this case that have not been released to the public. Of course no one is going to say what those things are may be but I am wondering if anyone was asked that and what the answer was.

 

[dotr]

A bit curious about the " apparent sightings" in Sweden, but the pinging phone still does not quite make sense.
Man who disappeared 10 years ago might have never left bar
Nov 8 2016 rbbm.
"Then police discovered something odd: An entrance camera showed Shaffer entering the Ugly Tuna Saloona around 1:15am, but not leaving. Another camera showed he hadn’t slipped out an emergency exit, either.

In fact, every single person who entered the bar that night was seen leaving, except Shaffer. It’s possible he escaped through an unwatched freight elevator, but security cameras from nearby bars should have spotted him afterward.

Tips later claiming Shaffer was killed or living in the Virgin Islands turned out to be hoaxes. Apparent sightings of Shaffer as far away as Sweden went nowhere.

But every night, Shaffer’s girlfriend—whom Shaffer had planned to make his fiance during a spring break trip to Miami—would call his phone. Normally, it went straight to voicemail. But six months after Shaffer disappeared, it rang, pinging a tower in a Columbus suburb."

 

[MysteryMaven]

I went back and re-read a lot of this thread. Also re- listened to Hurst on Comeback. There were some good posts going on around pg 35 here!

To piggyback on Dotr's mention of the ping-It was said earlier in the thread that the phone didn't just ring that one time, it continued to ring all weekend when called instead of going straight to voicemail.

There were some things that Det. Hurst would not elaborate on which kind of answers my question about if they are holding back any details.
1. They searched Brian's apartment after he disappeared. Said he couldn't give any more info on that. It seems like there is stuff they won't release on that.
They searched again after the break in. Not much more detail on that. Didn't get the impression he was holding back anything on that though.
2. Wouldn't elaborate on the conversation Brian had with Brightan and Amber. Said he couldn't give more info on that.
3 . Couldn't give more info on what was in Brian's phone records for that night.
4. Clint is not a POI and hasn't been spoken to by LE in 10 years--OK maybe they should talk to him again! Not saying he hurt Brian but what if he KNOWS a little something more than he ever said back then.
5. Use of the words "exited out of the construction area" Such a weird choice of words. I know the word choice was discussed here previously.
6. Use of the phrase "completely dug up" OK what does that mean? I am picturing a giant abyss that Brian could have fallen into unnoticed but what did the construction site actually look like at the time? We need pictures to better understand but I can't find any. I am not local to Columbus but if I was I would be poring over microfiche immediately. There has to be a picture of the site somewhere.
These are things that set off the old hinky meter. Otherwise I would probably 100% on Brian was inebriated, a little confused and wound up in some strange part of the building and couldn't get out.
I am open to all theories. Also is anyone local and knows what is going on with the site. Is it being renovated, dug up, etc. What does it look like currently? TIA

 

[MysteryMaven]

Yeah, the phone ringing 3 times when Brian's GF called his phone, and pinging from a tower in Hilliard is bothersome. But I assume Cingular is right when they say it could just have been a glitch. The Hilliard ping came in Sept 2006, more than 5 months after Brian disappeared. I think Brian likely met an accidental death on 4/1/06 and his remains (and phone) are buried under the building that housed the UTS. This scenario, in which his phone was buried on his person around 2am on 4/1/06, in the 'completely dug up' construction area, neatly explains why his phone always went straight to voicemail (dirt blocks signal), with that one exception, which was probably a tech glitch. The scenario also explains why he appeared not to exit the building. Also explains why such a promising future was seemingly inexplicably abandoned, why he was never credibly seen outside the building or seen on surveillance vid, why no hint of a mugging or homicide, why no remains or belongings found, why his money untouched, and why no sign of life whatsoever post 2am 4/1/06.

I know you think Brian is buried in the construction site. But I am open to all theories until this case is solved. Sorry.

 

[MysteryMaven]

'.......scenario, in which his phone was buried on his person around 2am on 4/1/06, in the 'completely dug up' construction area, neatly explains why his phone always went straight to voicemail (dirt blocks signal)"
Brian is seen on camera talking to Amber and Brightan at around 1:55. Clint reportedly calls Brian soon after that, around 2:00 because he and Meredith can't find him.
So the most correct and "neatest" explanation for the phone going straight to voicemail is that in 5 minutes time Brian left the bar, entered the construction area, fell down a hole or shaft and was so covered in dirt his phone couldn't receive a signal and went straight to voicemail. All in 5 minutes. So there is no way he declined a call, or his phone was dead, or he was actually still in the bar but in a bad reception spot. Brian falling down a shaft and being smothered by so much dirt his phone can't receive a signal is the only explanation. I think the timeline is way too tight on that.
Again I would love to know what the construction site looked like and if it was this gaping abyss of deadly holes and shafts that could swallow people up.

 

[Valiant]

“Completely dug up” could mean nothing more than it was all level but dirt rather than a finished surface.

Sure the phone could be dropped and broken or buried deep in dirt, but it could have just been turned off.

It is amazing how little is really known.

 

[MysteryMaven]

“Completely dug up” could mean nothing more than it was all level but dirt rather than a finished surface.

Sure the phone could be dropped and broken or buried deep in dirt, but it could have just been turned off.

It is amazing how little is really known.

Yes I agree. The phrase completely dug up isn’t clear. Could mean many different things. It doesn’t automatically equate to deep holes in the ground.

 

[itsrak]

'.......scenario, in which his phone was buried on his person around 2am on 4/1/06, in the 'completely dug up' construction area, neatly explains why his phone always went straight to voicemail (dirt blocks signal)"
Brian is seen on camera talking to Amber and Brightan at around 1:55. Clint reportedly calls Brian soon after that, around 2:00 because he and Meredith can't find him.
So the most correct and "neatest" explanation for the phone going straight to voicemail is that in 5 minutes time Brian left the bar, entered the construction area, fell down a hole or shaft and was so covered in dirt his phone couldn't receive a signal and went straight to voicemail. All in 5 minutes. So there is no way he declined a call, or his phone was dead, or he was actually still in the bar but in a bad reception spot. Brian falling down a shaft and being smothered by so much dirt his phone can't receive a signal is the only explanation. I think the timeline is way too tight on that.
Again I would love to know what the construction site looked like and if it was this gaping abyss of deadly holes and shafts that could swallow people up.

Lighten up, man. I'm trying to solve this mystery, this bungled case. For the greater good.

2am is an approximation. Could have been 2:1o. 2:20 Or never.

If you've a better theory, I'm all ears.