OH OH - Brian Shaffer, 27, Columbus, 1 April 2006 - #4

[george14]

I have seen several cases with a missing person where the classify it a homicide without a body, but there is absolutely no evidence that Brian Shaffer is deceased.

I hear you, but I think this is a strange statement because the evidence he is deceased is that he has never been seen again. Sure, there was never a body found nor was there blood or DNA. But to say there is "absolutely no evidence he is deceased" is incorrect to me because the probabilities of him being alive are slim to none. It's possible, but unlikely. The more time that goes on, the more likely it is he's not alive. That's plenty of evidence.

 

[neesaki]

I go more in detail on a previous post about the phone pings, but yes the phone was very active after appearing to off on Saturday and Sunday.

Very interesting about the pings. Didn’t LE also get Brian’s phone records? They should have shown if calls were actually made and the phone numbers he called and received calls from.

 

[NotSHolmes]

I've been looking into the case as it intrigues me. I noticed something interesting (though possibly irrelevant). In all of the pictures on Wikipedia (Disappearance of Brian Shaffer - Wikipedia) of him and his parents, he make a hand sign which I believe is the ILY sign (ILY sign - Wikipedia) but downwards - it may have some other cultural reference that I am unaware of.

Perhaps he had a focal neuromytonia or Dupuytren's contracture? Tendon issues would have cause his fingers to permanently form that shape. The actor Bill Nighy is an example of someone who has Dupuytren's contracture in his hands, which is usually hidden, but occasionally visible in various films. As a microbiologist (versus, say, a surgeon), Shaffer would have had no setbacks with tendon contractures, even if his right hand was his dominant hand (and it appears that it was).

Wikipedia links on the aforementioned conditions:
Neuromyotonia - Wikipedia
Dupuytren's contracture - Wikipedia

I have, however, found some pictures in which his right hand is shown and don't seem to exhibit any abnormalities:
http://web.archive.org/web/20060516...-084.vo.llnwd.net/00377/48/01/377461084_m.jpg
https://melmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/1iEbHIEZYxuDHjZltTdx47w.png
I don't know if the conditions can be acquired or not.

Thoughts on this?

 

[itsrak]

I hear you, but I think this is a strange statement because the evidence he is deceased is that he has never been seen again. Sure, there was never a body found nor was there blood or DNA. But to say there is "absolutely no evidence he is deceased" is incorrect to me because the probabilities of him being alive are slim to none. It's possible, but unlikely. The more time that goes on, the more likely it is he's not alive. That's plenty of evidence.

I would posit that while there is no direct evidence that Brian Shaffer is deceased, there are numerous bits of circumstantial evidence that do not prove he is deceased but do in the aggregate point (strongly IMO) in that direction. First and foremost being, as you note, the subject exhibiting 13+ years of absolute radio silence.

Did he walk away from his beautiful sweetheart? Did he walk away from a paid vacation gifted by his dear mother? Did he walk away from a career path his beloved mother had helped fund? Did he walk away from his grieving bro and dad? Did he walk away from a life so filled with promise? Did he walk away from life? I don't think so. Did he walk like 50 feet into the completely dug up construction area and fail to emerge? Far more likely. IMO.

 

[embufum]

Those ping dates during the 30 day window contracted with Cingular would be of interest. If the pings occurred from 4/3/06 to the end of the 30 days, it might suggest that the phone may well have stayed charged beyond the 30 days (could be wrong, but don't see how a phone with dead battery could ping a tower), which might suggest that someone was charging it. Also, if phone pinged a tower well outside the Columbus area, would seem to suggest phone was being moved/carried But if all towers pinged were in the metro area, it would seem possible that might suggest the phone could have been stationary the entire time. If the pings came to a halt say around 4/7/06, it might suggest that is when battery lost all charge from last time Brian charged it up.

I always want to throw out the disclaimer that I'm no expert on these phone pings, I think that when the phone company would ping a phone it's possible that they would be able to tell what tower is closest to the phone being pinged. I'd guess they were pinging his phone multiple times to make sure they get a good signal from the tower that is interacting with the phone. If this is the case then this info could be very important because it may show that his phone was moving and not just bouncing to another tower that was busy. Hurst mentioned the Kenny and Lane area. One has to wonder why someone who killed Brian would turn his phone on in that area. He also mentioned the West side but I'm not sure if he elaborated on the exact area.

I'd imagine that Alexis, Randy and Derek at minimum were calling is phone before this and it was going to voice mail so his phone was either off or in an area were it wasn't getting a signal. I did double check with AT&T on the issue of was the phone off or no signal and was told there would be no way of knowing.

When I spoke to a tech about Brian's phone ringing and pinging a tower in Hilliard he actually spent a very long time on the phone with me. He even called me back a couple days later after talking to other techs about his. He said that they were roughly split as to it being a glitch or the phone was turned on. I asked him what he thought and he kind of chuckled and I could tell he didn't want to be pinned down to an answer. I told him it wasn't like he was making an official statement and he said "someone turned it on". I asked, so you think someone turned it on and he said yes. I was kind of surprised he put it that way instead of I think someone turned it on. This is why I asked him again.

I personally would go with his opinion, not because I want to believe it was Brian that turned it on or even someone else but he was the one I spoke to and gave as much detailed info as I could. I have no way of knowing how well or how in depth he went into the story with his co workers.

We can theorize all day long as to why the phone pinged in these areas but imo it won't ever get us closer to knowing anything. I do find it curious that Brian's phone started to ping around the time the homeless man thought he saw Brian at the United Dairy Mart by North Pearl. Hurst was quoted as saying they saw the tape of this man and it was not Brian. I could have sworn he said that there was no footage of this man but I'm probably thinking of another time.

 

[Old Mozez]

When I spoke to a tech about Brian's phone ringing and pinging a tower in Hilliard he actually spent a very long time on the phone with me. He even called me back a couple days later after talking to other techs about his. He said that they were roughly split as to it being a glitch or the phone was turned on. I asked him what he thought and he kind of chuckled and I could tell he didn't want to be pinned down to an answer. I told him it wasn't like he was making an official statement and he said "someone turned it on". I asked, so you think someone turned it on and he said yes. I was kind of surprised he put it that way instead of I think someone turned it on. This is why I asked him again.

I actually heard the exact same actions taken by an individual in last year's podcast..Maybe it's a coincidence.

I been trying to forward the idea that the phone could have ended up in the Hilliard phone re-cycling co. Being turned on on some tech's desk. Having pinged in that area it would indicate it didn't end directly in their mobile "landfill". The phone itself could have ended up there by any means, as most phones did/do. If CPD would have checked the premise and tried to verify with staff if Brian's phone was there , some information could have been collected. At least there would have been a chance of finding something if it had been checked.

 

[itsrak]

I actually heard the exact same actions taken by an individual in last year's podcast..Maybe it's a coincidence.

I been trying to forward the idea that the phone could have ended up in the Hilliard phone re-cycling co. Being turned on on some tech's desk. Having pinged in that area it would indicate it didn't end directly in their mobile "landfill". The phone itself could have ended up there by any means, as most phones did/do. If CPD would have checked the premise and tried to verify with staff if Brian's phone was there , some information could have been collected. At least there would have been a chance of finding something if it had been checked.

Yeah, but the phone may never have been in Hilliard. Hurst stated that a phone can ping a tower 20 miles away. So the phone could have pinged a tower in the Hilliard area from lots of places other than Hilliard. In other words, a ping off a Hilliard cell tower doesn't mean a phone was in Hilliard, it means phone was within 20 miles of a cell tower in Hilliard. So when the pone pinged Hilliard it might have been in Hilliard, but it might have been in a lot of other towns within 20 miles of the Hilliard tower. Hilliard is around 6 miles from the Gateway complex where Brian was last seen - the phone could have pinged the Hilliard tower from that area, for example. Right?

 

[Old Mozez]

Yeah, but the phone may never have been in Hilliard. Hurst stated that a phone can ping a tower 20 miles away. So the phone could have pinged a tower in the Hilliard area from lots of places other than Hilliard. In other words, a ping off a Hilliard cell tower doesn't mean a phone was in Hilliard, it means phone was within 20 miles of a cell tower in Hilliard. So when the pone pinged Hilliard it might have been in Hilliard, but it might have been in a lot of other towns within 20 miles of the Hilliard tower. Hilliard is around 6 miles from the Gateway complex where Brian was last seen - the phone could have pinged the Hilliard tower from that area, for example. Right?

If that is indeed the case the radius from that tower would have looked approx. like this.

It wouldn't have hurt to check there though anyways, my belief.

 

[Valiant]

I actually heard the exact same actions taken by an individual in last year's podcast..Maybe it's a coincidence.

I been trying to forward the idea that the phone could have ended up in the Hilliard phone re-cycling co. Being turned on on some tech's desk. Having pinged in that area it would indicate it didn't end directly in their mobile "landfill". The phone itself could have ended up there by any means, as most phones did/do. If CPD would have checked the premise and tried to verify with staff if Brian's phone was there , some information could have been collected. At least there would have been a chance of finding something if it had been checked.

My bet is any reputable phone recycling center has the records identifying every phone they have ever recycled. In fact, they probably verify if a phone is reported as missing or stolen before ever processing one.

 

[embufum]

I actually heard the exact same actions taken by an individual in last year's podcast..Maybe it's a coincidence.

I been trying to forward the idea that the phone could have ended up in the Hilliard phone re-cycling co. Being turned on on some tech's desk. Having pinged in that area it would indicate it didn't end directly in their mobile "landfill". The phone itself could have ended up there by any means, as most phones did/do. If CPD would have checked the premise and tried to verify with staff if Brian's phone was there , some information could have been collected. At least there would have been a chance of finding something if it had been checked.

That was me. If the phone ended up on some techs desk I would think that person would have seen pics of Brian and Alexis and all the calls from his family and the phone company and possibly the police.

 

[embufum]

Yeah, but the phone may never have been in Hilliard. Hurst stated that a phone can ping a tower 20 miles away. So the phone could have pinged a tower in the Hilliard area from lots of places other than Hilliard. In other words, a ping off a Hilliard cell tower doesn't mean a phone was in Hilliard, it means phone was within 20 miles of a cell tower in Hilliard. So when the pone pinged Hilliard it might have been in Hilliard, but it might have been in a lot of other towns within 20 miles of the Hilliard tower. Hilliard is around 6 miles from the Gateway complex where Brian was last seen - the phone could have pinged the Hilliard tower from that area, for example. Right?

It’s my understanding that his phone was pinging off of more than one tower and they were triangulating the signal as it appeared his phone was on the move.

 

[Old Mozez]

That was me. If the phone ended up on some techs desk I would think that person would have seen pics of Brian and Alexis and all the calls from his family and the phone company and possibly the police.

I'm not portraying a tech playing around with one single phone, checking pictures and call logs. More like 5-6 techs having 20-30 phones at a time, picking out sim cards, charging them and setting them on and off to see determine where they go next. Ie dismantling , refurbishing and so on.

 

[Old Mozez]

It’s my understanding that his phone was pinging off of more than one tower and they were triangulating the signal as it appeared his phone was on the move.

So the signal triangulation showed the Hilliard area?

 

[Old Mozez]

My bet is any reputable phone recycling center has the records identifying every phone they have ever recycled. In fact, they probably verify if a phone is reported as missing or stolen before ever processing one.

As a gimmick on a web-page maybe that's the case , but in practice I can't see them doing that. Ie handling it differently than any other handed in electronics.

 

[embufum]

So the signal triangulation showed the Hilliard area?

Yes.

 

[Old Mozez]

Yes.

ok, oh man...so I'd at least like to know if Hurst was aware that there's was a phone re-cycling company over there..Either way, it's too late to do anything about it.
One could also question the importance on retrieving the phone itself in helping finding Brian, since the phone records are in police possession.
If Brian himself tossed it on the side of the road, or an eventual perpetrator did, It won't to the extreme, help find Brian. Sure you could have checked for messages and pictures and that alike....

 

[Kaie]

You know what's sometimes interesting about phone records when a person goes missing? Who wasn't calling them. If there's someone close enough to the missing person that you'd expect them to be trying to get though to their phone, but instead they never even attempted it. Of course, that's information that we don't have. No doubt investigators would have thought about it from that angle.

 

[Valiant]

As a gimmick on a web-page maybe that's the case , but in practice I can't see them doing that. Ie handling it differently than any other handed in electronics.

It is indeed common practice in the phone recycling industry, just like salvage yards check for stolen vehicles.
The last thing a phone recycling company wants is to be found to be buying and selling stolen property. And the lists include both stolen and missing phones.

 

[Old Mozez]

It is indeed common practice in the phone recycling industry, just like salvage yards check for stolen vehicles.
The last thing a phone recycling company wants is to be found to be buying and selling stolen property. And the lists include both stolen and missing phones.

Believe what you want, there are 150.000.000 phones recycled/discarded every yr in the US alone,
and i’m not talking about apple’s switch phone program and iphone x
This was 2006 , and they were more handled like scrapmetal, the bulk being dismantled and sent to 3rd world countries.

 

[itsrak]

... the phone was very active after appearing to off on Saturday and Sunday.

Still trying to understand, hope you can help. I believe you indicated that Cingular did not begin pinging the phone til the evening of Monday, April 3, 2006, right? So prior to that, from 2am on Saturday April 1 to Monday evening, the phone was not used, and was either turned off or only seemed to be turned off such as if it was blocked from connecting to a tower, such as if it were buried or in a lead-lined pouch etc. Right? And then from Monday evening onward, the phone still was never again used, but for 30 days Cingular was pinging to the phone, and pings from a number of Columbus area towers reached the phone over that 30 day period. Right?

Potential conclusions?:
1) Brian's phone was never used to make a call from the time he was last seen (had it been, Cingular would have had a record of that).
2) Some of the special pings transmitted from Cingular towers (nationwide?) over the 30 days reached his phone, and all of the towers from which successful pings were transmitted were in the Columbus area, meaning his phone was in the Columbus area at that time, and presumably within 20 miles or so of the various towers pinged.
3) The phone retained a charge through at least April of 2006.

You stated that 'the phone was very active after appearing to be off on Saturday and Sunday.' This I find confusing. Why do you conclude that the phone was active beginning Monday? Don't you mean simply that that is when Cingular commenced sending pings and the phone began receiving pings from various Cingular tower in the Columbus area? But that doesn't mean the phone was 'active', does it? Doesn't it just mean that a) the phone battery had sufficient charge left to receive the pings from Cingular and b) the phone was within 20 miles of each and every tower from which pings were successfully transmitted to the phone? So by active, you don't mean the phone was in use, you just mean that it held a charge, was in the Columbus area, and received pings from multiple Columbus area towers, right?

Finally, a separate question is is there any evidence the phone was moving. Cingular sent pings across its network of towers, and some towers in the Columbus metro area reached the phone. Some have inferred that, since successful pings were transmitted from multiple towers rather than from a single tower, this suggests or means the phone was moving. Is it legitimate to conclude from the ping data that the phone was moving (it would seem to me as a layman that the conclusion to draw would be simply that the phone was somewhere in the midst of the various towers from which pings were transmitted that successfully reached the phone)? I have my doubts (I think it likely Brian died April 1, and find it unlikely that someone was moving around the Columbus area with his phone), but I don't understand the tech enough to know.