Browsing the site’s case files, I’m struck by the eerie randomness of the disappearances; how easily missing people can stay missing, even in an age of smartphones, GPS tracking, surveillance, and almost constant contact online. The stories rattle some primitive part of our brain, one where the world is bigger, more mysterious, and more inexplicable than our daily grind suggests. The Charley Project reminds us it’s still possible to fall off the face of the earth.
Consider the case of
Brian Shaffer, whose disappearance from Columbus, Ohio, in 2006 reads like grim Midwest folklore. He was partying with friends at a bar near the Ohio State University campus in the late hours of April 1. He was last seen speaking to two college-aged women inside the bar, but security cameras don’t show him leaving it. His personal belongings disappeared along with him; his cell phone, credit cards, and bank accounts weren’t used after that night. Some speculate that Shaffer’s body is still in the bar, perhaps interred in the walls.
