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

[Ozoner]

I think you are imagining that once walking through that “beige door,” it was a giant construction site with a big open elevator shaft.
This was not the case at all.
The “beige door” was in a false wall that blocked the area off from a finished hallway. This door could be opened and often was. Staff used this door and so did anyone coming from the loading dock (bar beverage/kitchen deliveries, bands with equipment, etc.) because they could not use the escalator. They’d come up from the loading dock in the elevator, which was fully functional, to the hallway and through the “beige door.”
While they did not want bar patrons congregating behind the false wall (hence the security guards), it wasn’t always monitored & people did go back there at times. I believe Brightan stated in her interview that her friend Amber had stepped back there to take a call from her boyfriend because it was quiet.
It was well-lit and there was a finished, functioning elevator as well as a stairwell that was also finished and well-lit.
Both took you down to the lower level. Once down there, you could access a finished hallway that led to the loading dock or the back of the Mad Mex restaurant (and they often kept their back door open to keep the kitchen cool). Apparently you could also access the unfinished area where construction was underway. I believe that area was eventually made into a small health food store called Sunflower Market. I’m not familiar with what the construction area was like other than what’s been reported, but I do know it would have been fairly easy & safe to go through that “beige door,” down the stairs or elevator to the first level, and out a back door.
Now, why would someone choose to go out the construction exit rather than Mad Mex or the loading area, I have no idea.

I'm not imagining that per se; I knew that the hallway itself was finished. I wasn't sure about the elevator. Did the elevator have a door on only one side? Some elevators have doors on both sides; oftentimes both doors will open on some floors while other floors can only be accessed with set of doors or the other. I've considered the possibility that the elevator in question opened to the first-floor hallway on one side and to the construction area on the other side.

 

[itsrak]

Not my intent to confuse the situation further, but several articles talk about a TEMPORARY freight elevator which was used and which Brian could have used to escape the building with.
On Reddit a guy posted a pic of this elevator , it was facing the outside of the building like if Someone used it you ended up directly on the backstreet. I even joined Reddit myself and contacted him to see what else he knew and of the pic but I never got any reply.

Interesting. Can you post copy of the reddit image of this temp freight elevator?

 

[Ozoner]

Food for thought: here's another example of a woman who got stuck inside a wall and died.

Bones found in wall of Heights home of woman who disappeared in 2015

 

[Old Mozez]

Interesting. Can you post copy of the reddit image of this temp freight elevator?

never saved it.
basically the article that set this off to other news outlets was in the mel-magazine

"There might have been a blind spot. Perhaps Brian eluded detection. The craggy building that housed the Ugly Tuna was under construction, and a temporary freight elevator escaped surveillance."

So I started looking around and found that thread with this pic. This was like oct last year. Hoping it would remain there I haven't been able to re-find it again. So I tried to remember the poster's alias and sent him a priv. message to which he never replied.

I mean I remember the pic , the pic itself it was a freeze of a lenghtier clip which showed a caged built kinda of elevator with access directly to/from the exterior. if you google caged freight elevator it kinda gives the impression of what the pic was like.

I always thought prior, that the construction team put this elevator in place as a temporary solution to bypass the construction area on the first floor and elevate people and merchandise safely to second one. Until a more permanent, real elevator was put in place.

 

[itsrak]

The craggy building that housed the Ugly Tuna....

Interesting...I'd never noted that the building was characterized as craggy.

That Mel Magazine piece is the best thing written on this case IMO.

 

[MerryB]

Thx. So, in a matter of seconds Brian could conceivably have been through the door marked 'construction area' in the temp wall he'd been leaning against, down the elevator or stairs, and he's in the ground floor 'completely dug up' construction area as Hurst himself speculated may well have been the case...?

There were other easier, more logical & convenient ways to exit, but yes, if you wanted to ensure no one would see you, I suppose you could go through the construction area to get out of the back of the building.

 

[MerryB]

Not my intent to confuse the situation further, but several articles talk about a TEMPORARY freight elevator which was used and which Brian could have used to escape the building with.
On Reddit a guy posted a pic of this elevator , it was facing the outside of the building like if Someone used it you ended up directly on the backstreet. I even joined Reddit myself and contacted him to see what else he knew and of the pic but I never got any reply.

I have seen a lot of false information regarding this case on the Internet. At the time of Brian’s disappearance, there was 1 elevator. Some call it a service elevator, freight elevator, etc. It was a normal elevator (not open or like a cage), and was used by staff, delivery people, bands, etc.

 

[MerryB]

Interesting...I'd never noted that the building was characterized as craggy.

That Mel Magazine piece is the best thing written on this case IMO.

I hope I’m not dominating the thread, but just wanted to address a few misconceptions.
The Gateway Complex that housed the Ugly Tuna Saloona was built in 2005. Brian disappeared in 2006. The building was brand new. It was not “craggy” or old— at all.
South Campus was a very bad area at that time. There were old buildings that were eyesores and a lot of criminal activity took place in the area.
In an effort to improve things, OSU purchased the old buildings and razed them. The Gateway University District was built in 2005 & probably finished between 2007-2008.

 

[itsrak]

Bit odd that the writer called it craggy, then.

 

[itsrak]

I have seen a lot of false information regarding this case on the Internet. At the time of Brian’s disappearance, there was 1 elevator. Some call it a service elevator, freight elevator, etc. It was a normal elevator (not open or like a cage), and was used by staff, delivery people, bands, etc.

The Mel Magazine article references a 'temporary freight elevator' that 'escaped surveillance'. Hard to believe that was a fabrication. This would not be the elevator near where Brian was last seen on vid, because that elevator was clearly not temporary - it was permanent and is there to this day.

 

[MerryB]

The Mel Magazine article references a 'temporary freight elevator' that 'escaped surveillance'. Hard to believe that was a fabrication.

The hallway behind the false wall on the 2nd floor was not under surveillance. This is where staff, band members, delivery people would have come up the elevator, then through the “beige door” to the Ugly Tuna.
I believe this is what the article refers to, though it is not clear.
Why the article says this elevator was “temporary,” I do not know. It’s still there to this day. Like I stated earlier, the article also refers to the building as “craggy,” although it was a year old at the time of Brian’s disappearance. Those are several errors that can cause misunderstanding.
Another elevator was later added to the building. Maybe that’s why they state that the service elevator was being used for freight “temporarily?”
The Gateway complex was in a very rough area. Maybe that’s why they state the building was “craggy?”

 

[itsrak]

The hallway behind the false wall on the 2nd floor was not under surveillance. This is where staff, band members, delivery people would have come up the elevator, then through the “beige door” to the Ugly Tuna.
I believe this is what the article refers to, though it is not clear.
Why the article says this elevator was “temporary,” I do not know. It’s still there to this day. Like I stated earlier, the article also refers to the building as “craggy,” although it was a year old at the time of Brian’s disappearance. Those are several errors that can cause misunderstanding.
Another elevator was later added to the building. Maybe that’s why they state that the service elevator was being used for freight “temporarily?”
The Gateway complex was in a very rough area. Maybe that’s why they state the building was “craggy?”

Well, having inspected the building myself, although I did not see large parts of it, I would not use the term 'craggy' but I'd note that I did not find it to have been most efficiently designed, in that there is a high degree of dead space, mainly excessive hallway space. May reflect that the university had a hand in the development vs. most buildings developed by highly experienced and more capable private sector developers

 

[Ozoner]

Okay, so the first picture is what the hallway looked like after the construction was finished. The second picture is something someone made to show where the wall was and how it looked when Brian went missing. Once you go through the beige door you would see the stairway door, the elevator, and the storage closet. The OSU offices on the right of the hallway were not complete at the time and considered under construction. The entire first floor was being sectioned off into individual retail spaces as well as the public elevator being installed. Even though the wall blocked off the hallway the beige door could be accessed easily. Employees of the upstairs businesses and the band used this door to use the stair or elevator to go downstairs. The hallway camera that everyone talks about was not in this hallway. The hall camera they are referring to was the hallway on the 1st floor leading to the trash area/delivery area/area for the band equipment. I imagine any construction area would be difficult to navigate while intoxicated and would pose a threat. The problem is there are too many stories about what the actual construction area looked like and I haven’t been able to get photos to see for myself.

Were the unfinished OSU offices accessible? Could Brian have gotten into those?

 

[MerryB]

Were the unfinished OSU offices accessible? Could Brian have gotten into those?

I don’t know. Honestly, I really believe he got out of the building. As to why he took an alternate route out, and what happened to him after he left...there are a myriad of possibilities.

 

[Tman2004]

can someone refresh my memory on the law about people going voluntarily missing. If Hearst or others knew shaffer took off and said leave me alone would they be able to say something or would the have to keep up this charade to protect his privacy.

 

[Ozoner]

can someone refresh my memory on the law about people going voluntarily missing. If Hearst or others knew shaffer took off and said leave me alone would they be able to say something or would the have to keep up this charade to protect his privacy.

They would not be under any obligation to protect his privacy.

 

[Valiant]

If law enforcement found he was voluntarily missing, they would likely issue a statement without disclosing any specifics.

 

[dotr]

Snippets of lengthy article.
By Chao Xiong Star Tribune
March 18, 2012
When adults walk away, it's wrenching but not illegal
"In the United States you have the right to go missing if you want to," said Bill Carter, an FBI spokesman. "Individuals have the right to privacy."


''Data from the FBI show 42,678 active cases involving people age 19 and over, just slightly more than that for people 18 and under (42,480). The highest volume of adult cases occurred in the 50- to 59-year-old bracket -- 7,486.''

"People over 18 go missing as well, and they deserve protections," said David Francis of Stillwater, whose 19-year-old son went missing in 2006 while exploring Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains. "We can always do better, but in Minnesota we're making strides."

Sgt. Marty Earley of the Bloomington Police Department said Brandon's Law helped find a Bloomington man who went missing in New York, where he worked during the week. Local authorities entered his information into the database of the National Crime Information Center after New York authorities declined to get involved. He was identified a few months later when his data matched remains found near train tracks in upstate New York, where he had apparently committed suicide.

"Had we not done all of that, he would've been buried as a John Doe in New York because no one knew who he was," Earley said. "Whether they chose to go missing or not, there are people who care."

''Francis said Brandon's Law is a victory, but there are still gray legal areas.

Todd Tweedy, 47, of St. Paul posted a cryptic message on Facebook in early January that touched on his battle with depression. Then he disappeared. He was found unresponsive a few days later in a motel in Baldwin, Wis., and was taken to Regions Hospital.

Unlike Tweedy, Wandtke is not considered a risk to himself. If authorities find a missing person who is mentally sound, Paulos said, police can't necessarily take him to a hospital or back home or arrest him.

Missing persons expert Jeff Hasse said cases such as Wandtke's -- leaving in a car in an urban area -- can be challenging. "Right there that limits our effectiveness," Hasse said.''

 

[Falkner77]

can someone refresh my memory on the law about people going voluntarily missing. If Hearst or others knew shaffer took off and said leave me alone would they be able to say something or would the have to keep up this charade to protect his privacy.

If I recall correctly from one of Kelly’s podcast interviews, if Shaffer were to be found the case would be closed as no crime has actually been committed.

 

[MerryB]

can someone refresh my memory on the law about people going voluntarily missing. If Hearst or others knew shaffer took off and said leave me alone would they be able to say something or would the have to keep up this charade to protect his privacy.

According to what Don Corbett said on Kelly’s podcast, if Brian went missing voluntarily & investigators somehow learned of this, they would be under no obligation to let anyone know. Adults have that right. However, he would quietly be removed from that national database of missing persons. Don stated that he is able to periodically check that database through a friend in law enforcement. Brian remains on that list to this day.