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

[KR14]

[QUOTE="embufum, post: 14961705, member: 218705”]Some members of the band had recently been questioned and they said when they left that night quite a few people who were friends and fans followed them out the side door by the alley where the band loaded up their equipment in one of the member's truck.

Source?

[QUOTE="embufum, post: 14961705, member: 218705”]When Detective Edwards said everyone who came up the escalator went back down is simply not true. Quite a few people left the building that night with the band.[/QUOTE]

Source?[/QUOTE]
On the True Crime Garage podcast they did an update on Brian recently. They said they talked with the band, and several people including employees, friends of the band, etc exited out of the same door as the band.

 

[embufum]

Your 180 degree turn around on that point has been pretty sudden. Do you have enough information to change your mind that hard if you stand back and look at it objectively?
I'm only asking because this is the type of case where the tiniest snippet of info could make a person swing from one theory to another.

And if you now think Brian may have left with the band, why on earth would he have turned off his phone (or the phone have become disabled) right at that moment. Because remember... that phone thing happened very quickly.

Good question. The last time we know for sure that Brian’s phone was on was when Brightan put her number into his phone. What isn’t known is when that was. Obviously it was between 1:15 and 1:56 am. Most likely nearer to 1:56. There aren’t too many scenarios that could have occurred. Maybe Brightan powered down Brian’s phone after she put in her number either accidentally or on purpose. Or Brian’s phone could have died not long after Brightan put her number in and he was or wasn’t aware. Another option is that Brian shut off his phone himself for reasons unknown to us.

We know that Meredith called Brian at 2:01 am and it went straight to voice mail. It’s possible that when Brian left and was in the elevator there was no signal. As I mentioned before there was only about 2 minutes or less from when Brightan and Amber left and said goodbye to Brian and Meredith called Brian. Chances are Brian was still in the building on his way out with the band when his phone rang.

You ask why I am of the opinion that Brian most likely met foul play. There is a group of people that have literally spent hundreds of hours with the soul purpose of trying to find out what happened to Brian. I’m 100% certain that the person or persons who I think might have had something to do with Brian’s demise are reading this thread. For this reason I can’t give out this info. All the information that is found is shared amongst each other for obvious reasons. Any info that is pertinent is also given to the CPD. Once they receive it they do not get back to that person to confirm whether the info was helpful or not.

 

[smr]

There was an easy way out for Brian that night that makes perfect sense and that was to follow the band. Brian at one point mentioned to Clint that he wanted to talk to the band. Some members of the band had recently been questioned and they said when they left that night quite a few people who were friends and fans followed them out the side door by the alley where the band loaded up their equipment in one of the member's truck.

When Detective Edwards said everyone who came up the escalator went back down is simply not true. Quite a few people left the building that night with the band.

This is the most logical and simple explanation based on what is known after all these years of speculation. Brian left with the band and other people and once outside he turned right and down the alley towards Wendy's and in the direction of where he lived. Remember that the dogs did lead them to Wendy's parking lot.

It's possible he got into someone's car in Wendy's parking lot. Wendy's closed at 11 pm so I'm sure a few people who came late would have parked there to avoid paying at the parking garage. Brian was either offered a ride by someone who he knew or someone was there waiting for him that he may have known well enough to accept a ride. Could Brian have run off to start a new life? Of course it's possible but I don't think it likely even if I once did.

I personally believe Brian died that night either by accident or was murdered. I believe Brian went to another party that night with a "friend" and got himself into a bad situation. I also believe that this person will be reading this post eventually and he knows his days are numbered.

I'll bet if I had 3 guesses as to who Brian was with that night after he left the Ugly Tuna that one of these names would be the right one and to that person I say this to you. Your days are numbered. Time is finally catching up to you and people are starting to talk and are unknowingly giving clues as to where Brian went that night and who he went with. It's soooo much easier today to connect the dots than it used to be and this will be your downfall.

BBM

This is a good theory. But I'd just like to point out/remind that, almost everything we "know" about what BS said or did in the bar was told by Clint and Meredith, so there are basically two starting points to theorize:
A. Clint or Meredith or both lied.
B. They didn't lie.
So BS may or may not say he wanted to talk to the band. And even if he did say, he may or may not go and talk to them. IIRC Clint refused lie detector test and has never taken one (?). That is something bothering.

But I agree it's possible he left through the side door with band members and other fans.

 

[Kaie]

BBM

This is a good theory. But I'd just like to point out/remind that, almost everything we "know" about what BS said or did in the bar was told by Clint and Meredith, so there are basically two starting points to theorize:
A. Clint or Meredith or both lied.
B. They didn't lie.
So BS may or may not say he wanted to talk to the band. And even if he did say, he may or may not go and talk to them. IIRC Clint refused lie detector test and has never taken one (?). That is something bothering.

But I agree it's possible he left through the side door with band members and other fans.

Meredith did take a polygraph. I doubt that she lied and then willingly took one anyway. If Meredith and Clint's stories match then it might make Clint's refusal a little less concerning... and more about legal counsel.

 

[itsrak]

According to Sgt. Hurst:

* MR passed polygraph with 'no deception'.
* CF cooperated with police and voluntarily went in and submitted to a police interview.
* MR and CF's vehicles were 'processed' by CPD's forensics unit.
* Band members were interviewed by CPD detective and none of them recalled Brian or speaking with Brian. Hurst stated that 'nothing for us that indicated ... any kind of foul play going on with the band'.
* Band was captured on surveillance cam of hallway leading to rear exit departing the building. Brian did not appear on that video.

 

[smr]

Thank you for the info.

Still, if my good/best friend went missing and I was not involved, I would be more than eager to do whatever I can, including undergo lie detector tests, to help. I would not put my own interests (such as fear of losing future medical license) before the life of my friend.

This reminds of of Chase Merritt, the defendant currently on trial in the McStay family murder case. After talking to his ex, he decided he should come forward with any info he could provide about his friend Joseph McStay instead of keeping silence and worrying about his own parole violations. It's one of the many factors that does not support the prosecution's case.

 

[itsrak]

Thank you for the info.

Still, if my good/best friend went missing and I was not involved, I would be more than eager to do whatever I can, including undergo lie detector tests, to help. I would not put my own interests (such as fear of losing future medical license) before the life of my friend.

This reminds of of Chase Merritt, the defendant currently on trial in the McStay family murder case. After talking to his ex, he decided he should come forward with any info he could provide about his friend Joseph McStay instead of keeping silence and worrying about his own parole violations. It's one of the many factors that does not support the prosecution's case.

The McStay case is the only one I spent more time on than the Brian Shaffer case. Spent many hundreds of hours on the McStay case. Even went so far as to see the McStay home and visit the grave site off I-15 (just a few weeks before Merritt was arrested). Still can't believe Merritt killed that family on his own.

 

[smr]

The McStay case is the only one I spent more time on than the Brian Shaffer case. Spent many hundreds of hours on the McStay case. Even went so far as to see the McStay home and visit the grave site off I-15 (just a few weeks before Merritt was arrested). Still can't believe Merritt killed that family on his own.

Nice to know. I don't remember seeing you post there, though.

 

[itsrak]

Nice to know. I don't remember seeing you post there, though.

I posted a ton under a few prior IDs. The moderator there back in the day was kind of a control freak IMO and didn't like me, shut me down a few time, so I got new IDs.

 

[smr]

I posted a ton under a few prior IDs. The moderator there back in the day was kind of a control freak IMO and didn't like me, shut me down a few time, so I got new IDs.

Would really like to see you post there. Have you watched all the trial videos? I heard the hearings are expected to finish later this month.

 

[itsrak]

Would really like to see you post there. Have you watched all the trial videos? I heard the hearings are expected to finish later this month.

Gack. The legal stuff bores me. The unsolved mystery attracts my interest.

 

[JohnHudson]

Need to push on social media. Instagram #findbrianshaffer

 

[dotr]

Need to push on social media. Instagram #findbrianshaffer

Welcome to Ws JohnHudson!

File:Collage of Brian Shaffer - missing from Columbus, Ohio.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

 

[JohnHudson]

Thank you! Been following case for many years.

 

[JSolt1210]

Did Brian have a wacky sense of humor? Was he a prankster? Was he the kind of guy to do spontaneous "funny" things on/around April Fool's Day?

What if he entered the construction zone, saw a big barrel/55 gallon drum, slipped inside and planned to "surprise" his friends when they came looking for him? Add alcohol to the mix, an enclosed space with little oxygen, and a lid that became latched or stuck. . . yes, it's a far-out theory, but I haven't seen this type of "misadventure" scenario brought up before.

I've had very similar thoughts myself, especially since upthread, someone said:

He also sounded like he was pretty much a free spirit with a bit of a rebellious streak.

In a normal situation, of course, no one would use an out-of-the-way exit when they could just simply exit the way they came in. But this had been April Fools' Day, and Brian had also been drinking a lot. People do all sorts of crazy things while drinking, and probably even more so when there's already an incentive like April Fools'.

Maybe Brian did want to hide from Clint and Meredith—not because of anything sinister, but just to play a prank on them. He told them he was going to the back of the bar to talk to the band. Maybe his real intention was to find a hiding place from which he could still have a view of the main entrance. After a few minutes, Clint and Meredith would've come in to look for him, annoyed that he was taking too long. Since he told them he'd be in the back, they'd go there, away from the main entrance, from which he could now slip out undetected. Later on, he could've made a joke about it: "How did you all not see me in the bar? I was right there! Did you all even look for me? Y'all must be blind! I just went home..."

I can definitely see this being a split second decision, which accounts for the small window of time in which all of this happened. Maybe while looking for a hiding place in his intoxicated state, he thought a 55-gallon drum would work—though, can this kind of drum cause a call to a 2006 cellphone to go straight to voicemail? Or maybe he found a trench/hole, the depth of which he misjudged, fell in and was obscured.

Either way, I like the April Fools' idea. If this disappearance seems so random, maybe it's because it was based on a random idea like a prank.

 

[itsrak]

So I listened to this entire podcast. Very, very nicely done, professional. Just superb. Several people well versed in the case provide their theories/opinions, which is great. I learned several new things:

1) Last person chatting with Brian was Amber Ruic, under (and thus out of view of) the surveillance cam. Would be very curious to know details of their conversation. Brightan goes to the bathroom, returns, then the girls leave, and Brian then apparently promptly (right before Clint and Meredith stopped searching the bar for Brian and went down the escalator) headed for the 'construction area', and within minutes his phone was going straight to voicemail.
2) Meredith and Clint had 'iron-clad alibis'.
3) Review of BS's phone records reveal that there were five other individuals (four med students and one out-of-town friend of one of those students) partying with Brian and Clint at the UTS the night Brian disappeared! Brian's last phone call was to one of those individuals (the out-of-town friend)! They were not asked to take polygraphs!
4) Brian's hotmail account is still active and appears to have been used in 2017 from an IP address at a med school in Italy!
5) There is some analysis of the Hilliard cell phone ping, suggesting that the ping may not have been a glitch but rather may have been result of Brian's phone having been powered on at that time in late 2006.

Other thoughts:
1) Lori's theory is that Brian met with foul play after leaving UTS and is likely deceased. She notes it would seem unlikely for an intelligent man like Brian to 'booze it up' on night he plans to vanish, and Lori does not believe Brian ran off to a new life. Good observation.
2) Jim's view is that Brian was unhappy, may have been planning to leave for quite some time, and may have run off to a new life. Noted that Brian had visited Puerto Rico while he was seeing Alexis. Noted that Brian may have been involved with another woman while he was seeing Alexis.
3) The podcast hostess seems to lean toward the opinion that Brian may have run off to a new life. She completely discredits the theory that Brian may have died an accidental fall in construction area and inadvertently been buried and subsequently entombed under concrete floor.

I personally find the notion that Brian ran off to a new life and has avoided detection and contact all these years simply ludicrous. I continue to believe that what most likely happened is that Brian bade farewell to Amber and Brightan, bailed on Clint and Meredith by heading for the lower level construction area (as Sgt. Hurst suggests) moments before Clint and Meredith exited the UTS, in his drunken state stumbled into a trench in the 'completely dug up' and treacherous construction area with fill collapsing in on and immobilizing and suffocating him and immediately eliminating reception to his cell phone, and was within days likely inadvertently/unknowingly entombed when concrete flooring was poured. Dead before Clint and Meredith even pulled out of the garage, and his remains there to this day. Hard to believe? Sure, but it explains why the guy who disappeared that morn was not seen leaving the building, didn't appear on area cams, body never found, and never a single sign of life outside the building for 12+ long years and running. And it doesn't require a well executed street homicide, doesn't need an inexplicably evil and homicidal Clint, an inexplicable suicide, and is not nearly as hard to believe as the ran-off-to-Margaritaville, waited to until after finals and pulled it off while drunk, avoided all cams, funds untouched, dumped his bro and dad and beautiful GF, and avoided all detection for many many years. It is a huge insult to Brian to suggest that he may have pulled such a stunt and crushed those near and dear and left them hanging. I understand the desire to wish Brian alive and happy somewhere, but come on...

All that said, I would like to know nature of Brian's convo with Amber, his mindset at the time (if he was say, light-hearted, or even looking to circle back with Amber/Brightan that shoots down the great-escape theory), and learn what the four med-students and friend might have to say about that night....

BUMP. For those interest in this case, the Missing In Ohio podcast done a few months ago is quite interesting and informative and worth a listen. One thing I picked up is that Clint and Meredith are said to have had 'iron-clad alibis'...

Here's a link to podcast: Missing in Ohio

 

[Stella]

I don't place much stock in Clint's refusal to take a polygraph. The JonBenet Ramsey case made "lawyering up" the smart thing to do. Clint had a future medical career that he wouldn't have wanted to compromise, whether or not he knew anything.

 

[Stella]

Some articles say Meredith Reed was a friend of Clint's, some say she was a friend of both BS and Clint. Which is true? Did she have any relationship with Clint? Where is she now?

Does anybody else remember reading somewhere that Brian was not a big fan of Meredith and it might have been the reason he left, to avoid having anymore contact with her that evening? I can't source it, it was years ago. I either read it or heard it on YT.

 

[smr]

Does anybody else remember reading somewhere that Brian was not a big fan of Meredith and it might have been the reason he left, to avoid having anymore contact with her that evening? I can't source it, it was years ago. I either read it or heard it on YT.

I remember reading somewhere online (not on YT, and not on this forum) that:
There was a disliking between Clint and Alexis, IIRC it's Clint not liking Alexis;
And there was a disliking between BS and Meredith--I don't remember who disliked whom. [EDIT: I think it's BS disliking Meredith]

That made me suspect of some kind of relationship between Clint and BS. I've read some discussion about the possibility of Clint and BS having relationships and how that was possible because they used to be roommates for a long time.

 

[Looking4Brian]

A new story done on Brian with a phone interview I did today.

Cold case of missing Ohio State medical student gets renewed interest