OH OH - Brian Shaffer, 27, Columbus, 1 Apr 2006 #6

[truthfinder2019]

Yes, since the beginning of Thread #1 there have been mentions, re-mentions and multiple takes on the existence of exits, cameras, the 'construction' area, dumpster placement and even the infrastructure of the building and its walls.

Thank you very much

 

[truthfinder2019]

I have seen mention of it several times over the years, but no one seems to be certain/agree on where it was, how he would have gotten to it, or even if it existed at all. At this point, I'd say it possibly could have existed but it's difficult to know this far down the line. MOO

Thank you very much

 

[ShamelessObserver]

I just hope one day this is solved

 

[sunshinegal]

Just hearing about this recently. Has anyone any idea where Clint is these days? Not seeing it mentioned anywhere

 

[Functionalist]

Just hearing about this recently. Has anyone any idea where Clint is these days? Not seeing it mentioned anywhere

He goes by William Florence in his publicly accessible LinkedIn profile.

 

[dotr]

2024 John M. Clark

At 18-year anniversary, Brian Shaffer disappearance remains a mystery

In the early morning hours of April 1st, 2006, Brian Shaffer walked into a campus-area bar. The end. Or so it would seem. The promising, 27-year-old medical student was seen on security camera video…

614now.com

''No clues to Shaffer’s whereabouts were found in the bar, at the movie theater next door, at a construction site behind the building, at his King Avenue apartment, at the home of friends, anywhere. Randy, the father, even hired a psychic, who mentioned something about “water” and a “pier.” So, donning waders, Randy, his younger son Derek and friends of the family searched the nearby Olentangy River. They turned up nothing. And police had, literally, nothing to go on.''

''As one would expect, many wild theories about the man’sdisappearance began to spring up almost overnight. Maybe he had left by the employee entrance in the rear and had fallen into drying cement at the construction site. Maybe he was kidnapped, killed and his body disposed of far from Columbus. Perhaps he had decided to make a new life for himself and simply disappeared, willingly.

These and many other theories have been clearly debunked. But what else is there to think? ''

 

[dotr]

Apr 1, 2025
OSU medical student Brian Shaffer last seen 19 years ago

April 1 2025 lengthy article.

Brian Shaffer Walked Into a Bar 19 Years Ago and Was Never Seen Again. Revisiting the Bizarre Disappearance — and Why Some Think He Was a Victim of a Serial Killer

Brian Shaffer mysteriously disappeared 19 years ago, just weeks after his mother died from cancer. Here is everything to know about Brian Shaffer, who disappeared without a trace in 2006.

people.com

''Brian Shaffer Walked Into a Bar 19 Years Ago and Was Never Seen Again. Revisiting the Bizarre Disappearance — and Why Some Think He Was a Victim of a Serial Killer''​

 

[Skyblueday32]

It's still amazing that his body hasn't been found. I know people have mentioned suicide, jump into the river and body may never turn up, but looking at his behavior during that day and night, it did not seem he was suicidal. Why go out to a club with friends and stay until almost closing time? If it was suicide I suppose it could have been impulsive.

The most puzzling piece to this puzzle is no one sees him leave the building, which leads to that dangerous back door theory, but I agree with other posters, why leave by the scary back door to commit suicide? Why not just walk out the easier exit? This leads me to think he maybe was meeting someone out that back area or tried to because he was intoxicated? He wasn't kicked out for being overly intoxicated and appears on camera he can walk/stand without assistance.

Had he attempted suicide in the past? He had been through a lot, lots of pressure from school, job, mom passing, but it seemed like he hadn't cracked under that pressure. Did he quit the job? Did he take a break from school? Was family able to get last texts and call numbers off his phone from the cell phone company? Seemed he was close to his family, no note left behind at his apartment? No clues at all? Was he packed for his upcoming trip? I feel that there's a piece of info we're missing that may be significant.

 

[Valiant]

It's still amazing that his body hasn't been found. I know people have mentioned suicide, jump into the river and body may never turn up, but looking at his behavior during that day and night, it did not seem he was suicidal. Why go out to a club with friends and stay until almost closing time? If it was suicide I suppose it could have been impulsive.

The most puzzling piece to this puzzle is no one sees him leave the building, which leads to that dangerous back door theory, but I agree with other posters, why leave by the scary back door to commit suicide? Why not just walk out the easier exit? This leads me to think he maybe was meeting someone out that back area or tried to because he was intoxicated? He wasn't kicked out for being overly intoxicated and appears on camera he can walk/stand without assistance.

Had he attempted suicide in the past? He had been through a lot, lots of pressure from school, job, mom passing, but it seemed like he hadn't cracked under that pressure. Did he quit the job? Did he take a break from school? Was family able to get last texts and call numbers off his phone from the cell phone company? Seemed he was close to his family, no note left behind at his apartment? No clues at all? Was he packed for his upcoming trip? I feel that there's a piece of info we're missing that may be significant.

The “jump in no the river” is an unlikely scenario. The Olentangy river is pretty shallow.

 

[Functionalist]

The “jump in no the river” is an unlikely scenario. The Olentangy river is pretty shallow.

I don't think the cellphone pings after his disappearance indicate that he committed suicide or that he ended up in a dumpster and inadvertently trucked to a landfill. Garbage gets moved quickly from dumpsters to landfills. Otherwise, you get problems with rodents and smell. It won't be moved around in the middle of a major city for months on end such that his phone could keep pinging.

Plus, there are many people who will see the garbage during waste removal, be it the truck driver, transfer station workers, and workers at the dump.

Perhaps Brian was murdered and the body was eventually buried in an obscure area like a forested part of a farm on the outskirts of town. Also, Columbus has a few abandoned quarries that are flooded about a 10 minute drive from where the UTS was located. It's possible that his body is at the bottom of one.

I've never seen any indications of a search done of the flooded quarries. There are places where a car could go into the water and potentially not be seen again (not even on satellite imagery). A murderer could have also weighed his body down and put it into one of the flooded quarries to get rid of it. I think that it would be beneficial to search the flooded quarries, though costly.

 

[AAApopo]

I’m pretty sure someone who worked at the UTS in 06’ had connections to a place in Hilliard at that time. It wasn’t too far from where pings hit and police “searched.” That doesn’t mean they had anything to do with it but interesting no one really ever brings this up. The owner also had a son at OSU during this time but not sure he worked at the UTS or was even present that night. The owner opened Nasty’s in Hilliard in 2012.

 

[Pedim12]

<modsnip> In my opinion, the 3 women who were with Brian that night have more to reveal than they have said before.

 

[AAApopo]

The footage shows the “mystery” woman arrives with 3 men or at least walks in right behind them which is odd for this time since the bar was closing soon…They go up the escalator first while she is on the phone with Amber. Once she hangs up the phone she goes up the escalator and meets with Amber and Brian. Brian seems to walk back into the bar where Brightan went just moments before. Seems odd this woman was never mentioned before and the stories from Brightan about going the bathroom and coming back out to see Amber and Brian talking and not knowing why he didn’t walk them to their car etc.

 

[AAApopo]

Orange Sweater Guy...it's hard not to think he is the main suspect after all these years even if he was "cleared" No cab driver is parking a block away, coming up and down escalators for 10 minutes looking for random people to give a ride. He could have just stayed right outside the complex or the landing below when people are leaving asking them if they need a ride.

You can tell he is looking for someone in particular (possibly Brian). He looks back up at the bar or at the police each time he rides the escalators. If you watch closely he also exits towards High St every time for a few minute intervals, then back in and up to the bar for a couple minutes and repeat until he finally exits behind Clint and Meredith for the last time - they go right towards the garage and he goes left towards High St which would have been the route to Wendy's or Brian's apartment.

It would have been nice to know if this person previously has done this at the UTS or if anyone interacted with him that night or knew who he was. To me he seems the most suspicious in the footage that is known to the public. The kids at the top by the escalators later on possibly but I don't see much. The girls are interesting especially with leaving details out, but I still think a male needs to be involved at some point. OSG seems to be a decent sized man that could handle his own.

Brian probably went out the back of the complex, crossed E 9th St, and kept walking south on N Pearl St which was the backside of the Wendy's because this is heading towards King Ave where his apartment was. I think there is a good chance he got into someones car between the Wendy's parking lot or the parking lot where King, High, and 7th meet. Someone possibly drove him East on 7th St to the factory building.

Regardless, the whole area East of High St was a lot of abandoned buildings and not a safe area at the time. He met with someone or someone approached him on his walk home seems to make the most sense. Now whether this was OSG, someone from the bar, or random we don't truly know. I know this isn't an entirely new theory but just wanted to put it out there with some images.

 

[Bbl2465]

The footage shows the “mystery” woman arrives with 3 men or at least walks in right behind them which is odd for this time since the bar was closing soon…They go up the escalator first while she is on the phone with Amber. Once she hangs up the phone she goes up the escalator and meets with Amber and Brian. Brian seems to walk back into the bar where Brightan went just moments before. Seems odd this woman was never mentioned before and the stories from Brightan about going the bathroom and coming back out to see Amber and Brian talking and not knowing why he didn’t walk them to their car etc.

i definitely think something is up with them (Amber, Brightan, and mystery woman). There's just too much they're not being truthful about. According to the CCTV footage release last month, Amber and mystery woman arrived at 10:25 and Brighton arrived an hour later at 11:23. However, in the 2018 Comeback podcast interview with Kelly Bruce, Brightan says she and Amber drove to the Ugly Tuna and arrived around 1:15 am. How could she misremember arriving by almost 2 hours and also say she and Amber arrived together when it is now clear they arrived separately? Someone needs to ask John Hurst or the lead investigator what benefit would it be for someone to lie about arriving later than they actually did and who they came with?

 

[Skyblueday32]

If he was attacked & killed in a construction area, is it plausible that someone could have concealed his body under cement of some sort? This would then mask the scent of decay and certainly make a body dissappear.

It seems most theories are leading to foul play, but where is his body? If a premeditated murder you could have a plan, but spontaneous or accidental, you'd need a big place to hide someone his size.

 

[Valiant]

If he was attacked & killed in a construction area, is it plausible that someone could have concealed his body under cement of some sort? This would then mask the scent of decay and certainly make a body dissappear.

It seems most theories are leading to foul play, but where is his body? If a premeditated murder you could have a plan, but spontaneous or accidental, you'd need a big place to hide someone his size.

That’s a theory that keeps coming up and I think it’s unrealistic. There is so much activity in a construction site, so many people, so much preparation before concrete is poured. Keeping a body undiscovered before concrete is poured wouldn’t be easy.

 

[Skyblueday32]

Have any human remains been found around the area that haven't been identified? Again, if killed in an unplanned event the body would have been left somewhere. Possibly thrown in a dumpster and in landfill, but doubt burried somewhere, that would require a little more planning, equipment and location/property.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

That’s a theory that keeps coming up and I think it’s unrealistic. There is so much activity in a construction site, so many people, so much preparation before concrete is poured. Keeping a body undiscovered before concrete is poured wouldn’t be easy.

There have been many murders by accident or opportunity where the killers just dump the body in the woods somewhere. The forums here are full of missing people who were likely murdered. Brian gets in a car or is pushed into one, looking like a late-night drunk, and no one pays any attention. Drive 30 minutes and get rid of the body.

 

[AAApopo]

i definitely think something is up with them (Amber, Brightan, and mystery woman). There's just too much they're not being truthful about. According to the CCTV footage release last month, Amber and mystery woman arrived at 10:25 and Brighton arrived an hour later at 11:23. However, in the 2018 Comeback podcast interview with Kelly Bruce, Brightan says she and Amber drove to the Ugly Tuna and arrived around 1:15 am. How could she misremember arriving by almost 2 hours and also say she and Amber arrived together when it is now clear they arrived separately? Someone needs to ask John Hurst or the lead investigator what benefit would it be for someone to lie about arriving later than they actually did and who they came with?

That was my first theory when you go back and look, for similar reasons. Lots of holes in their story and timeline, but imo there would have to be a male or males involved if we think foul play. Now could they have picked him up and someone jealous got a hold of him or a drug deal/OD gone wrong at a different location later on? It’s def possible.

To get a true timeline it would be nice for CPD to release all security footage from all cameras in and around the Gateway Complex. Is every single person but him not seen exiting? I don’t buy that. Therefore, let’s see who all came in and left through the fire exit or the service elevator. Who is around the complex outside around the timeline waiting or lurking in person or in a vehicle?