OH OH - Brian Shaffer, 27, Columbus, 1 April 2006 - #2

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I really wonder if something like this could have happened to Brian, then he was snuck out of the building through the construction exit of the bar. Or, by hooking up with the wrong person and it happened later.

If he left voluntarily, I still don't see how he could have been missed coming out of the restaurant/bar. Unless he deliberately went out the construction exit to avoid detection.

The other pernicious use of GHB in common with Rohypnol is as a "date rape" drug. In liquid form, it is clear, odorless, tasteless, and almost undetectable when mixed in a drink.
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Drug-facilitated rape is defined as sexual assault made easier by the offender's use of an anesthetic-type drug that renders the victim physically incapacitated or helpless and unable to consent to sexual activity. Whether the victim is unwittingly administered the drug or willingly ingests it for recreational use is irrelevant--the person is victimized because of their inability to consciously consent to sexual acts.
"According to National Drug Intelligence Centre, GHB has surpassed Rohypnol (flunitrazepam) as the most common substance used in drug-facilitated sexual assaults. GHB can mentally and physically paralyze an individual, and these effects are intensified when the drug is combined with alcohol.
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http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/Liquid-G-Destroyer-of-Youth-20141117
 
There was a case on the CP about a construction worker who disappeared in the middle of a building site. They searched the area but couldn't find any trace of him. Eventually they discovered his remains and concluded that he must've had an accident and been cemented over.

With an extraordinary case like Brian's, I really do believe that some kind of freak accident was the answer.
 
ekardh said:
There was a case on the CP about a construction worker who disappeared in the middle of a building site. They searched the area but couldn't find any trace of him. Eventually they discovered his remains and concluded that he must've had an accident and been cemented over.

With an extraordinary case like Brian's, I really do believe that some kind of freak accident was the answer.
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Entirely possible. It doesn't say to what extent of construction there was, and if there were any deep holes for him to fall in and be cemented over in (that's the only accident I can think would happen) but it's definitely plausible. Many people also theorize that he was found by construction workers and just hidden deeper in the construction and constructed over him as well. This would be in order to cover up liability or to prevent work from being halted. While this is a possibility, I'd like to think that they wouldn't be that scummy. The punishment for covering up a body is hardly worth the risk just for the sake of keeping business going. If the workers did purposely conceal the body, then I certainly wish I had the same amount of confidence and optimism in life that they had thinking they'd get away with it.
 
ekardh said:
There was a case on the CP about a construction worker who disappeared in the middle of a building site. They searched the area but couldn't find any trace of him. Eventually they discovered his remains and concluded that he must've had an accident and been cemented over.

With an extraordinary case like Brian's, I really do believe that some kind of freak accident was the answer.
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There was this case too, but the victim's body was located 5 days after she went missing.
Missing Yale student Annie Le found stuffed into wall cavity at university on day she was due to marry
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​
Le was last seen Tuesday morning in the five-story building that housed the laboratory where she worked.

Surveillance video shows her arriving around 10am, but police had been baffled since the investigation began because there was no video of Le leaving, despite some 75 surveillance cameras operating around the complex.
Her ID, money, credit cards and purse were found in her office.
More than 100 local, state and federal police had been searching the building for days, using blueprints to uncover any place where evidence or Le's body could be hidden.
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rbbm.
 
dotr said:
There was this case too, but the victim's body was located 5 days after she went missing.

​

rbbm.
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I remember that case :( ...... I really think if Brian had an accident and found by construction crew they wouldn't cover it up. Can you imagine the horror of finding a deceased man's body when you arrive at work in the morning? :scared: They'd be on their phone calling 911 pronto. I also think he couldn't have been missed, these construction guys are all over the place and would have found him. JMO
 
BessDrew said:
Ugly Tuna had a staff exit in the back that, at the time, went out to a construction area. The detective on the case didn't think using this exit was likely. The door was chained. It would've been hard to squeeze through and hard to maneuver. Cadaver dogs were later brought to this area and they did not find any scent of Brian. No articles at the time suggested there were areas where Brian could've fallen undetected or which were later sealed by cement, although this has been speculated.
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. Pulling back a snippet from BessDrew's timeline post, police said that the entrance to the construction exit was chained. This is the first I heard of it being chained, and surely someone would have noticed Brian fiddling with a chain locked door if he was trying to go out that way. Being drunk also would make squeezing through that even more difficult. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but maybe he didn't go through the construction exit if it was chained. It also says that that was the staff exit, so was the staff using the same exit as everyone else at the time? Or where there a third exit? I've heard different things about staff exits, service exits, and the main exit. I didn't know that the staff one was the constructed area exit
 
Also according to the timeline, Brian was seen talking to the two women at 1:55am. The bar closed at 2:00 am. So were the two women the people Clint and Meredith are referring to when he went off on his own to talk to other people? That's only five minutes, leaves virtually no time for anything else, so it seems to be the case, imo. If so, would it not stand to reason that these two women were the last to see Brian, as far as the information we have ?
 
Eric Haider was the guy I was thinking of who died at the construction site. Here's an archive from his CP page.
 
neesaki said:
Also according to the timeline, Brian was seen talking to the two women at 1:55am. The bar closed at 2:00 am. So were the two women the people Clint and Meredith are referring to when he went off on his own to talk to other people? That's only five minutes, leaves virtually no time for anything else, so it seems to be the case, imo. If so, would it not stand to reason that these two women were the last to see Brian, as far as the information we have ?
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. Makes sense. They were questioned though and didn't seem to give relevant information. I still wish it was made public just WHAT they were talking to him about. Even if it was small chit chat I'm still curious.
 
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/12689476/ns/dateline_nbc/t/thin-air/#.WKC2aBIrIb0

This link is the dateline video posted about the original story. Some time marks of interest:

5:15 shows the construction exit from the outside and another possible service exit

3:32 shows the camera footage of Brian talking to the girls. Interesting to look at the 2 guys by the escalator. One of them looks over at Brian.

5:03 shows some footage right after Brian went back into the ugly tuna. The guy who looked at Brian before now is looking over at the security guards and then briefly looks again into the bar in the direction that Brian walked in.
 
Thanks for continuing to think through this, you guys.

I tend to think Brian left, voluntarily or against his will, with a band member, staff person, security guard etc. That just seems more likely than Brian deliberately avoiding cameras and permanently disappearing...or squeezing through a chained door to a construction site.

One tricky bit is that even if a building only had a couple formal exits, who knows how many ways you could get out of the building if you were determined to do so. People have said--for instance--he could've hopped the balcony and dropped down, but would likely have been seen by people on the street. I have 2 brothers around his size and I don't think they'd have any trouble letting themselves off a balcony. And what if people did see him? In a college town at a college bar, that might not cause a reaction. If I walked by and saw a fit young college kid hop a railing, I'd probably roll my eyes and think to myself "typical college guys." What would need to happen there would be a person that saw such a leap also put it together it could be linked to this case...and call it in. But if the story didn't get out into the media for a few days, it's possible the person didn't hear or make the connection...

If Clint is just tired of being questioned and lawyered up to stop the drama, then he might not be helpful. But still, I can't help but wish he would put out there whatever it is he knows (that he wanted immunity for). I don't see what else (short of a confession from someone or Brian showing up) could help us at this point.
 
Here's an interview with his girlfriend 10 years after.

[video=youtube;iLm1ZdQg7sY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLm1ZdQg7sY[/video]
 
BessDrew said:
Thanks for continuing to think through this, you guys.

I tend to think Brian left, voluntarily or against his will, with a band member, staff person, security guard etc. That just seems more likely than Brian deliberately avoiding cameras and permanently disappearing...or squeezing through a chained door to a construction site.

One tricky bit is that even if a building only had a couple formal exits, who knows how many ways you could get out of the building if you were determined to do so. People have said--for instance--he could've hopped the balcony and dropped down, but would likely have been seen by people on the street. I have 2 brothers around his size and I don't think they'd have any trouble letting themselves off a balcony. And what if people did see him? In a college town at a college bar, that might not cause a reaction. If I walked by and saw a fit young college kid hop a railing, I'd probably roll my eyes and think to myself "typical college guys." What would need to happen there would be a person that saw such a leap also put it together it could be linked to this case...and call it in. But if the story didn't get out into the media for a few days, it's possible the person didn't hear or make the connection...

If Clint is just tired of being questioned and lawyered up to stop the drama, then he might not be helpful. But still, I can't help but wish he would put out there whatever it is he knows (that he wanted immunity for). I don't see what else (short of a confession from someone or Brian showing up) could help us at this point.
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In regards to going off with a band member or staff, it could definitely be possible. I wish the band and staff had been polygraphed, but I realize there isn't enough reason to test them. And you're totally right about him possibly not attracting enough attention. Not even with hopping a rail, but just in general as well. Brian is a good looking guy, but in all honesty he looks like every other preppy white adult male out there. Even if he did make it out of the bar, once he got out it's totally possible that he could have been seen. It could just be nobody recognized it was him that they saw since it was dark, there was a lot of other people, and they were more than likely pretty drunk. Witnesses who might have seen him that night very well just may not remember. Of course, that still is assuming that he did in fact leave the bar alive.


ETA: I know Clint won't come forward with anything incriminating at this point, but I still guess that it was something to do with drugs which he wanted immunity for. I don't believe that he's directly involved with Brian's disappearance simply because there was so many variables that night that could have gone differently: If Brian DIDN'T want to return to Ugly Tuna, the short time frame, witnesses, etc.
 
Here's one more video that shows the route he walked that night and some of the possibilities police were exploring: [video=youtube;XV5sH5G1Ltg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV5sH5G1Ltg[/video]
 
MatthewTyler said:
ETA: I know Clint won't come forward with anything incriminating at this point, but I still guess that it was something to do with drugs which he wanted immunity for. I don't believe that he's directly involved with Brian's disappearance simply because there was so many variables that night that could have gone differently: If Brian DIDN'T want to return to Ugly Tuna, the short time frame, witnesses, etc.
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I consider recreational drugs a possibility. If Clint knew Brian had used something or was looking to use some, though, he could easily say that at this point. It's well past the point that Clint's own drug use could be proven.

Plus the statute of limitations has to have passed, right? http://research.lawyers.com/ohio/ohio-statutes-of-limitations.html

And if Clint thinks Brian left of his own accord, which Clint's lawyer has suggested, then why not say that too? The only reason I could see hiding it this long is if Brian's life depended on it.
 
Even though it doesn't strike me as the likely explanation, let's build a hypothetical scenario that leans toward Brian disappearing voluntarily.

--Brian's mother had just passed away.
--Brian was in his first year of med school.
--The night Brian disappeared, he intentionally had positive connections with the main people in his life. He had dinner with his dad, talked to his girlfriend on the phone, invited his brother to hang out, and hung out with his former roommate and med school buddy, Clint.
--The last message to his girlfriend (played in the video above) show it was an extra loving, positive note to end on.
--His apartment was in pristine condition. Maybe it always was? The bed was made...
--Once, not too long before he disappeared, Brian had told his girlfriend maybe she should move on.
--Brian mentioned on his MySpace page that he was just doing the med school thing, but his main hope was to live on an island and play music.
--Brian's apartment was broken into a couple weeks after he disappeared. Any chance it could've been him?
--A message was left on Brian's dad's obit page, claiming to be from Brian in the Virgin Islands. However, the computer was traced to Franklin County in Ohio. Again, any chance it could've been Brian?

What other pieces of the story could play into this explanation?

One obvious hurdle for me is there would be easier days and places to disappear from where cameras wouldn't be watching at all. Why not walk out of the Ugly Tuna in plain sight and disappear later that night? Why go to a place where you couldn't really guarantee what businesses or cameras might sight you as you left...?
 
Yeah I can't fathom why he would choose that night to disappear if that were the case. Similarly to why I don't believe Clint was involved, there are just so many things that could have ruined his getaway that night. Did they say that the message that was played in the video was Brian's last message to Alexis? And was this after she spoke to him on the phone that night already? If it was after, then I find it strange that he didn't say anything in the message about "see you later" or "see you when you get back", but Alexis claims he said this when they actually spoke, so I'm curious which happened first..the phone call or the voicemail.
Just one quick correction, not a big one really-Brian was actually in his second year of medical school. The apartment thing was determined to be unrelated, since a couple of other nearby places were broken into as well. People were probably just taking advantage of the fact that he was gone.
The obituary thing I find kind of interesting actually. It was ruled to be a hoax, which I would believe because people can certainly be cruel, but other people have had other ideas about it. It was theorized that maybe it was done by someone who knew where Brian is and were trying to point police in the right direction without giving away their own identity. It seems kind of odd that they would specifically put "the virgin islands" as their location when they didn't even have to put anything at all. Unless of course they just thought it was funny because of the word 'virgin' i don't know. It could have also been someone who knew that Brian's dream was to play music on a tropical island, but that seems a bit too involved for just a prank. According to Clint's Linkedin profile, he was already in Tennessee doing post doctoral work when the obituary was posted so it couldn't have been him. I also don't think it was Brian himself because it came from a computer near Columbus, and I very much doubt Brian would ever return anywhere near there. To answer your point on why Clint wouldn't admit to knowing that Brian is alive, I think it's because that would not be a satisfactory answer for LE. They would want to know specifically where he is, because without giving a location it could make Clint look even guiltier by admitting knowledge but not being able to prove he's alive. It was probably just easier for Clint to play completely dumb and 'know nothing' as opposed to knowing something and being forced to tell more
 
MatthewTyler said:
Yeah I can't fathom why he would choose that night to disappear if that were the case. Similarly to why I don't believe Clint was involved, there are just so many things that could have ruined his getaway that night.
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I agree that Clint wouldn't have planned to involve himself in something shady in such a public place. But it could still be possible that things went south in an unexpected way, and he was somehow involved in Brian's demise...perhaps even unintentionally.
 
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