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

[AAApopo]

Was this another possible exit inside the UTS? Could he have exited by himself or escorted out for a car waiting?

Also, the blue circle looks like if he took the exit stairs inside the UTS that leads out front, there technically is a door that looks to go into the Mad Mex area or the adjoining space on the ground level basically behind the escalators. A lot of could happen if that was the case if possible to push that door open without an alarm going off.

 

[arielilane]

Theres a video by eyes on crime (3/25/2025), which shows footage (timestamp 20:00) of a man walking down the stairs to leave who looks a lot like BS. Keep in mind, there is another man wearing similar clothing as BS, although, other man is wearing darker shirt. The video may have new info for many; however, BS, Dead or Alive revealed much of this info; but the footage is new. moo

 

[AAApopo]

Attached is the email from Clint's lawyer someone asked if I had, just posting in case someone was interested. According to detectives no one talked to the attorney about Brian possibly running away, so hard to say how much truth is to this email from the attorney.

The second attached image is the post from the public library on his dad's obituary. The CPD never found out who it was from all that I have read, but assume it was a hoax...possibly not related but there were partial remains found not terribly far from this library by the river which are still up in the air on who they belong to.

 

[Falkner77]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1981097454562078730

Almost certainly a fake/AI source but alas

 

[AAApopo]

This was taken about a month after Brian went missing. I wonder if this is how the doors were the whole time or maybe a little tightened up after the fact. If it were the same, I don't see how anyone would be leaving this area where the stairs and elevator were just outside the bar.

I did see next to it was a greenish looking wall that maybe you can walk by but it's hard to tell what this was by the blurry video image. I cannot tell if it connects to the wall or not, but why have locked doors with construction signs and then next to it be able to walk into? This is why I lean you would not be able to but if someone knows would be helpful.

 

[Functionalist]

This was taken about a month after Brian went missing. I wonder if this is how the doors were the whole time or maybe a little tightened up after the fact. If it were the same, I don't see how anyone would be leaving this area where the stairs and elevator were just outside the bar.

I did see next to it was a greenish looking wall that maybe you can walk by but it's hard to tell what this was by the blurry video image. I cannot tell if it connects to the wall or not, but why have locked doors with construction signs and then next to it be able to walk into? This is why I lean you would not be able to but if someone knows would be helpful.

I read comments that you could slip through the construction doors back then and exit through the construction site, which gave me the impression that they were chained together with enough space left for someone to push their body through (or not locked at all).

If that were the case, though, the contractor would have most certainly locked them tighter after Brian's disappearance and the subsequent police investigation of the construction site.

The investigation of the construction site would have been suggestive that the doors weren't locked properly to keep people out at the time, which would have been a major liability issue for the contractor. So naturally, if they weren't tightly closed prior to the disappearance, they would have been tightly closed afterwards.

 

[anony5432]

Have traces of his DNA ever been found at the scene? Who was the last person he talked to at the bar? What was the last phone call or message from him? Did he have any medical conditions?

 

[george14]

Have traces of his DNA ever been found at the scene? Who was the last person he talked to at the bar? What was the last phone call or message from him? Did he have any medical conditions?

DNA I am unsure.

But I know one of the biggest issues in this case is the lack of information about the other people he was with that night. There was so much focus on Clint and Meredith despite being seen leaving together (in a car driving away), that I think it hindered the case because it's almost impossible for them to be involved. There is no reason to suspect either of them. Many think this case was just Brian, Clint, and Meredith hanging out and bar hopping, but Brian met up with several other friends/acquaintances that night. Regarding those other people, the names are out there. One of the individuals allegedly called Brian multiple times and allegedly lied about knowing Brian despite being friends with him. One of the phone calls actually came from an area near where Brian's phone pinged after his disappearance. Apparently Brian's phone was very active with calls that night - was he that popular or were these calls purposeful?

My personal opinion - I believe the other students/people out with Brian that night have knowledge of what happened. I do not believe they are involved. There was discussion of an after party which screams drugs to me. Perhaps Brian was put in touch with someone who sold drugs or could get some. It makes far too much sense. A guy in his mid to late 20's, who liked to party, girlfriend is out of town, hitting on girls, phone going off, no one will talk, discussion of an after party, etc.

Again, this is only my opinion but I would wager a good amount of money on it. People don't want to talk because they don't want to risk reputational damage given their professions. It's clear Brian met his fate that night/morning, but I'm not sure we will ever get an explanation.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

It is a good theory, IMO. But someone could anonymously report where he can be recovered. Give his relatives answers.
And if recovery isn't possible, well, I won't write what I really think of a person/people who would make that choice.

 

[AAApopo]

DNA I am unsure.

But I know one of the biggest issues in this case is the lack of information about the other people he was with that night. There was so much focus on Clint and Meredith despite being seen leaving together (in a car driving away), that I think it hindered the case because it's almost impossible for them to be involved. There is no reason to suspect either of them. Many think this case was just Brian, Clint, and Meredith hanging out and bar hopping, but Brian met up with several other friends/acquaintances that night. Regarding those other people, the names are out there. One of the individuals allegedly called Brian multiple times and allegedly lied about knowing Brian despite being friends with him. One of the phone calls actually came from an area near where Brian's phone pinged after his disappearance. Apparently Brian's phone was very active with calls that night - was he that popular or were these calls purposeful?

My personal opinion - I believe the other students/people out with Brian that night have knowledge of what happened. I do not believe they are involved. There was discussion of an after party which screams drugs to me. Perhaps Brian was put in touch with someone who sold drugs or could get some. It makes far too much sense. A guy in his mid to late 20's, who liked to party, girlfriend is out of town, hitting on girls, phone going off, no one will talk, discussion of an after party, etc.

Again, this is only my opinion but I would wager a good amount of money on it. People don't want to talk because they don't want to risk reputational damage given their professions. It's clear Brian met his fate that night/morning, but I'm not sure we will ever get an explanation.

I also found it odd that one of the phone calls was made on a friend's phone and he claimed he never even met Brian (which may be true since he didn't go to OSU), but weird to call someone on a friend's phone - could also mean nothing.

I think there is a reason they haven't released footage of the other exit. I want to see who all went in and not down the escalators when they left.

 

[george14]

I also found it odd that one of the phone calls was made on a friend's phone and he claimed he never even met Brian (which may be true since he didn't go to OSU), but weird to call someone on a friend's phone - could also mean nothing.

I think there is a reason they haven't released footage of the other exit. I want to see who all went in and not down the escalators when they left.

To me it's clear the police vaguely know what happened, but they cannot arrest anyone because they don't have the concrete evidence. There were plenty of cameras in the surrounding areas too.

Brian is not buried under the construction site, he didn't drown in the river, and he certainly did not start a new life. Something happened after he left that bar but I would presume there are people choosing to remain silent as they don't want to implicate themselves in any type of controversy. Another interesting note was that we started getting info about the other guys he was with that night, only a few years ago. This happened all the way back in 2006, so that is a long time of focusing on the wrong people. Again, I don't think any of those guys did anything wrong necessarily, but I would bet they have not been completely straightforward. There are too many strange/coincidental links. Other than them, I would also be looking at the bar owners who also owned a place in Hilliard. Not that I think they are directly involved either, but again, that is a strange coincidence given the phone pings. Questioning does not = accusations.

 

[Lebowski]

... Again, I don't think any of those guys did anything wrong necessarily, but I would bet they have not been completely straightforward. There are too many strange/coincidental links. ...

(snipped by me)

iirc, one of the detectives straight up said "someone's not telling us something" or something like that. like they feel confident someone they've talked to either lied or hasn't told the whole truth, they just don't necessarily know who it is or what the truth is. they look at the sum of statements and evidence in front of them and it doesn't add up. "there has to be a lie in here somewhere".

 

[AAApopo]

I mentioned this prior, but I haven't seen anyone else talk about the 3 men who arrive with the "mystery woman" prior to the bar closing. They all 4 walk into the bottom entrance together - she is walking behind them. They go up the escalator right away while she talks on her phone to Amber for a short time before she walks up the escalators. I wonder what time they left and if all three are seen going down the escalators.

 

[AAApopo]

Just posting for clarification. It appears the band first started wheeling equipment to the elevator and down around 2:29 am. The first few images are of a band member or possibly bar staff member. It takes them about 5 minutes to go down and return with the cart. The last image is around 2:36 where I think it is a band member (or a female) leaving out the same elevator exit, and it is possible there was one other person with them.

Someone out of frame takes another load to the elevator at 2:38 am and does not appear to return - two people go down the escalator around the same time. Therefore, the band left just after closing time at 2:30 and there was no group with them as some have indicated unless they went a different route.

 

[OwnedByALabrador]

I really feel the lack of evidence of Brian leaving the UTS is a red herring. There are countless cases where there is no 'proof' of someone leaving a venue/place before they then vanish. Jennifer Kesse is just one example; she apparently went missing right outside her apartment complex, when about to get into her car. There's no 'evidence' that she left the complex but it seems logical, to most of us I suggest, that she was grabbed and taken to another location.

My suggestion is that the same scenario unfolded with Brian Schafer.

There were three possible exits from the UTS, from what I gather, that Brian could have used. So even though he's not seen leaving via the main route, that means nothing. He probably left via one of the other two, quite possibly to avoid the two friends he arrived with, and then met with trouble on his route home. That's why the dogs picked up his trail in the Wendy's parking lot.

As for the notions proposed by some that he's off living another life in some far-flung beach spot - highly doubtful. His family was still reeling from the loss of his mother. He'd have to be a veritable sociopath to deliberately vanish and leave his father and brother with this degree of anguish and uncertainty. There is also no suggestion that he would have consciously and callously abandoned his girlfriend, knowing they were meant to be taking a flight together on the Monday.


Again just my own view but to me the most logical scenario is:

Brian left the UTS by one of the more isolated exits, and was heading either to his own home or that of a friend/associate. He went via the Wendy's and something happened to him *there* in the parking lot OR he met someone, pre-arranged, and got in a car and something occurred at another location.

Since we have no idea where that second location might be, we cannot possibly ascertain where he met his almost certain demise.

It's a ghastly case, for Brian and for his family and friends.

 

[AAApopo]

I really feel the lack of evidence of Brian leaving the UTS is a red herring. There are countless cases where there is no 'proof' of someone leaving a venue/place before they then vanish. Jennifer Kesse is just one example; she apparently went missing right outside her apartment complex, when about to get into her car. There's no 'evidence' that she left the complex but it seems logical, to most of us I suggest, that she was grabbed and taken to another location.

My suggestion is that the same scenario unfolded with Brian Schafer.

There were three possible exits from the UTS, from what I gather, that Brian could have used. So even though he's not seen leaving via the main route, that means nothing. He probably left via one of the other two, quite possibly to avoid the two friends he arrived with, and then met with trouble on his route home. That's why the dogs picked up his trail in the Wendy's parking lot.

As for the notions proposed by some that he's off living another life in some far-flung beach spot - highly doubtful. His family was still reeling from the loss of his mother. He'd have to be a veritable sociopath to deliberately vanish and leave his father and brother with this degree of anguish and uncertainty. There is also no suggestion that he would have consciously and callously abandoned his girlfriend, knowing they were meant to be taking a flight together on the Monday.


Again just my own view but to me the most logical scenario is:

Brian left the UTS by one of the more isolated exits, and was heading either to his own home or that of a friend/associate. He went via the Wendy's and something happened to him *there* in the parking lot OR he met someone, pre-arranged, and got in a car and something occurred at another location.

Since we have no idea where that second location might be, we cannot possibly ascertain where he met his almost certain demise.

It's a ghastly case, for Brian and for his family and friends.

I think that is definitely a possibility but if the only person (non staff or band) is not seen going down the escalators ends up going missing would be a massive coincidence wouldn't you think? If there was evidence of multiple leaving a different exit or it was a regular thing I would for sure believe it and the UTS wouldn't even matter much at all.

 

[OwnedByALabrador]

I think that is definitely a possibility but if the only person (non staff or band) is not seen going down the escalators ends up going missing would be a massive coincidence wouldn't you think? If there was evidence of multiple leaving a different exit or it was a regular thing I would for sure believe it and the UTS wouldn't even matter much at all.

But firstly, we now know that one of the security cameras covering the escalators wasn't reliable because one of the security guards was using it to, shall we say, 'watch' girls who caught his eye.

Secondly, if there were no other exits then yes, of course it's then significant that the one person not apparently captured on footage leaving is then never seen again.

However, I believe my point stands: there were two other methods of egress for people to use. We don't *know* how many others used those alternative exits.

Given all the people who were still there when Brian was last seen, and that people were back there again on Monday, and given that trained dogs searched the area twice, and that construction crew were also there from the Monday - even if BS did somehow fall into a 'dark spot', unless he died instantly, surely he would have called out or yelled when it happened or on that Monday?

Also, given that more rebuilding took place there, it's surely likely a body would have been found?

Far more likely, to my mind, is that Brian left by one of the other exist, and then encountered danger just afterwards - either at or near the Wendy's car park where the dogs alerted.

 

[Skyblueday32]

So if the theory is Brian left on his own, walked to or near a Wendy's, did he meet someone he knew, or did he meet random foul play? He was a big guy, I don't see random in a public open area being as easy, even if he had been drinking.

Were his cell phone records ever pulled? I know they're pinged where his signal last was, but did investigators ever get access to see last text or call records? I don't know how long those records are kept, but in the era of electronics I wonder what digital trail he left? It could offer clues as to what happened next. Did he call a cab, or another friend? Did he text someone to meet him? We see him check his phone on video, but you don't know if he was checking text messages, or just looking at the time and weather. Again he was a big guy and appeared to be in good shape, so thinking he agreed to meet someone, but for what at 2/3am? Smart students can get pulled into bad activities with drugs, dealing or abusing, was evidence found Brian could have been involved in such activities?

 

[AAApopo]

But firstly, we now know that one of the security cameras covering the escalators wasn't reliable because one of the security guards was using it to, shall we say, 'watch' girls who caught his eye.

Secondly, if there were no other exits then yes, of course it's then significant that the one person not apparently captured on footage leaving is then never seen again.

However, I believe my point stands: there were two other methods of egress for people to use. We don't *know* how many others used those alternative exits.

Given all the people who were still there when Brian was last seen, and that people were back there again on Monday, and given that trained dogs searched the area twice, and that construction crew were also there from the Monday - even if BS did somehow fall into a 'dark spot', unless he died instantly, surely he would have called out or yelled when it happened or on that Monday?

Also, given that more rebuilding took place there, it's surely likely a body would have been found?

Far more likely, to my mind, is that Brian left by one of the other exist, and then encountered danger just afterwards - either at or near the Wendy's car park where the dogs alerted.

He didn’t go down the escalators — the footage is available and I’ve watched it. It was a different camera that was manually adjusted by the security person, not by the escalators.

I also never indicated he didn’t make it out of the bar. I’m just stating the odds show he used the kitchen to get to the back hallway. I think there is a reason he did this outside of trying to avoid his friends which could hold a big piece of the puzzle.

 

[OwnedByALabrador]

So if the theory is Brian left on his own, walked to or near a Wendy's, did he meet someone he knew, or did he meet random foul play? He was a big guy, I don't see random in a public open area being as easy, even if he had been drinking.

Were his cell phone records ever pulled? I know they're pinged where his signal last was, but did investigators ever get access to see last text or call records? I don't know how long those records are kept, but in the era of electronics I wonder what digital trail he left? It could offer clues as to what happened next. Did he call a cab, or another friend? Did he text someone to meet him? We see him check his phone on video, but you don't know if he was checking text messages, or just looking at the time and weather. Again he was a big guy and appeared to be in good shape, so thinking he agreed to meet someone, but for what at 2/3am? Smart students can get pulled into bad activities with drugs, dealing or abusing, was evidence found Brian could have been involved in such activities?

He was a big guy yes, but he'd been drinking, and if he was alone, and he encountered two or three others, he would have been in trouble, regardless of his height.

I also think it's entirely possible that he'd arranged to meet someone - maybe it was a hook-up and the girl's boyfriend followed her, who knows?

Maybe he was meeting someone to score some drugs, and they went to another location and something happened there.

If I'm recalling correctly, his phone calls and messages that night were with some of his friends, and they were trying to arrange to meet, with an idea of all heading to Brian's apartment. Did someone make him a better offer and is that why he didn't meet them?