OH OH - Brian Shaffer, 27, Columbus, 1 Apr 2006 #5

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MerryB said:
There’s another photo a family member has shared of a “lookalike” I wonder if you’ve seen. It’s extremely compelling. The man is playing guitar.
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Yes I have and I have spoken to his cousin about it. I'm reasonably sure but not 100% that I have identified that guy. I just can't find the same photo of him. This guy is in a band also but lives in the UK. The problem with Brian is if he is still alive it's going to be kind of hard to really for sure identify him. Even pics of him at near the same age looked so much different. He could be completely bald too.
 
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King91 said:
I personally don’t believe Brian took off.

But I do think it’s very interesting that one of the people he spoke to, the day of his disappearance at that, lives (or lived) very close to where he was last seen. I didn’t know this.

I believe that IF he did in fact run away, then he must have had help from someone, as in housing him. I don’t see how he could be just wandering the streets while the CPD used an extraordinary amount of resources (as per Hurst) to locate him. Only for this guy to just be wandering around, broad daylight, in plain view.

The amount of coincidences and questions about this case are insane. Just a few, off the top of my head..


Is it a coincidence that someone he called that day lived (or lives) very close to the last known location he was at?

Is it a coincidence, that the one guy allegedly not seen leaving the bar, is the same guy still missing almost 16 years later?

is it a coincidence that he became unreachable almost immediately after he was last seen on CCTV?

Is it a coincidence, that he did not turn in the cheque for next semester’s tuition?

Is it a coincidence that he talked to his girlfriend about moving on, running away and then he seemingly vanishes?

is it a coincidence that his phone “rang” all those months later?

Is it a coincidence that it was the 2nd time going to the UTS that night?

Why is the main focus surrounding Clint and that he must know where Brian is and what happened to him? When it is now known that Brian was with other people that night.

Based on the sounds of their friendship, it does not sound like Brian and Clint were these inseparable friends, yet it is assumed by many that Clint is just walking around all these years later, strongly holding onto this secret that he knows Brian ran away and he’s committed, by any means necessary, to harbour this secret? For what? If he knew Brian probably took off, why not just say “Yeah, he talked about it but he never mentioned where”

I could keep going.
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Very good post! Speaking in general of people who run away. You don't need money. Could give you many examples of people who walked away with nothing to be found 15 plus years later. Brian was a smart guy I'm sure he would have made it. So yes either him or at least his phone was very near the apt that the number matched I'm certain of that. I'll probably send Hurst the info but it will be like telling him the weather. I'm guessing he already knew.

I don't think the way Brian left had anything to so with his disappearance and I'd bet he went out that way before. He knew the band so he may have gone that way with them before.

I'd like to know the last time that Brian was at the UT. He hadn't talked to Clint in a while so I'm assuming he was going out with other friends possibly the guys he met there that night. I think Brian may have had those plans all along and never did plan on going to the professors house. Clint was the one who called Meredith to give them a ride. I know that Brian didn't really care for her so that's another reason for Brian to ditch them.

If Brian would have went out the front door he would have made a quick left walked about 30 feet made another left and walked the length of that building and ended up right at the corner by Wendy's so there's really not much difference as far as walking distance and there would be no cameras either.
 
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MerryB said:
Right. Even if he had the equipment, when you enlarge an image, it pixelates and distorts the image. If he took grainy CCTV footage and enlarged it to life-size, recognizing facial features enough to identify specific individuals and/or equivocally rule out specific individuals does not seem likely. I’d never really thought of it like that before, but it makes sense.
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I'm assuming he did that to be able to identify them by their clothing not facial recognition. Just my opinion. Also keep in mind they had the original video.
 
embufum said:
Very good post! Speaking in general of people who run away. You don't need money. Could give you many examples of people who walked away with nothing to be found 15 plus years later. Brian was a smart guy I'm sure he would have made it. So yes either him or at least his phone was very near the apt that the number matched I'm certain of that. I'll probably send Hurst the info but it will be like telling him the weather. I'm guessing he already knew.

I don't think the way Brian left had anything to so with his disappearance and I'd bet he went out that way before. He knew the band so he may have gone that way with them before.

I'd like to know the last time that Brian was at the UT. He hadn't talked to Clint in a while so I'm assuming he was going out with other friends possibly the guys he met there that night. I think Brian may have had those plans all along and never did plan on going to the professors house. Clint was the one who called Meredith to give them a ride. I know that Brian didn't really care for her so that's another reason for Brian to ditch them.

If Brian would have went out the front door he would have made a quick left walked about 30 feet made another left and walked the length of that building and ended up right at the corner by Wendy's so there's really not much difference as far as walking distance and there would be no cameras either.
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He knew the band? Also interesting.

definitely, even if we find out 100% what happened to Brian I’m sure there will still be many unanswered questions and coincidences. Obviously something happened to Brian. Whether dead or alive, he certainly didn’t just vanish into thin air lol.

You seem to have a connection to this case and have a lot of knowledge on it! May I ask what you opinion is on what happened to Brian?
 
King91 said:
He knew the band? Also interesting.

definitely, even if we find out 100% what happened to Brian I’m sure there will still be many unanswered questions and coincidences. Obviously something happened to Brian. Whether dead or alive, he certainly didn’t just vanish into thin air lol.

You seem to have a connection to this case and have a lot of knowledge on it! May I ask what you opinion is on what happened to Brian?
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My only connection is his case caught my eye not only because of the circumstances but because I have been to Columbus many times and some of those times I have been out with friends reluctantly bar hopping so I know how crowded the streets are at that hour of the night. Two of my best friends went to OU and still live there. The short answer to your question would have to be I have no idea what happened to Brian although I have a couple theories based on everything I know. I first heard about Brian around 2009 but I honestly don't remember exactly when.

Brian ducked out the back way around 2:56 am. He definitely knew where he was going. Those doors are not marked so you would have no idea about the elevator and the trash area that leads to the alley near the parking garage. It's possible he saw or heard someone in that area once he reached the bottom so he went right towards the restaurant. He then took a left and walked around the parameter of the construction area and out the wooden doors. It's no coincidence to me that Brian's phone went off line while he was down in the basement area. I'm guessing it took him about 3 minutes to navigate to the door. Keep in mind that there was a makeshift wall at the sidewalk and as you can see in those pics there was light coming through so even at that hour he would be able to see where he was going.

If Brian exited about 2 am then there was around 10 minutes till his phone pinged a tower. This is curious because you would think that as soon as his phone was able to search for a tower it would immediately ping. After that first initial ping the phone would ping every few minutes to search again for a tower. Brian's phone did not have GPS and since it wasn't a smart phone it didn't have apps that would also track your location. More research is needed to for me to have a better understanding of how these pings worked. I am curious to know which tower it pinged on.

If Brain's intention was to go back home I think he would have made it. The streets were still pretty busy and once Brian turned onto King he didn't have far to go. This was the first night of spring break and this is one of the busiest times of the year. Once home I think he met with someone he knew and he left from there with that person. If he didn't go home then he met with someone possibly in the parking lot of Wendy's and left from there.

Through out the years the police have shared some more info about Brian especially his cell phone. You can bet they know a lot more that we don't know. I think the chances of Brian falling victim to someone he knew is high. The question is how long was Brian was in possession of his phone? I find it unlikely that someone he knew would so easily be able to get rid of a body but be stupid enough to let his phone ping. This does IMO suggest that Brian was with his phone. There would be nothing unusual for Brian to go to a party and stay the night. If Brian got up the next morning at this point there would still be nothing unusual about Brian's activities. At some point on Saturday things went south. There is not enough info to deduce exactly what. His phone pinging near OSO then be on the move toward Hilliard is baffling. Did Brian know someone in Hilliard? I can say that I have found a couple pieces of info that suggests he did indirectly but it could mean nothing at this point. Like I said before what ever I happen to find out it's likely old news to the police. The only good news to me is just when I think there isn't anything left to find out I seem to find something that makes me want to keeping looking. I hate to use a phrase that IMO gets used too often, but someone knows where Brian is.
 
First time poster, long time lurker.
I've followed Brian's case for many years now, all be it from afar. Got to say the recent posts by embufum have been excellent.
When I first came across the case I was fascinated, like most I guess about a guy who has vanished into thin air. Once you get past this, then the real mystery presents itself, Where is he?
Did Brian get out the bar? Of course he did. The timeframe to kill him was small and would every employee keep quiet about it all these years? No chance. It's now well known that not all doors had CCTV.
Did Brian die in the construction? No. Police fully searched this area and as it's been revealed this area wasn't a huge construction area. A body would of been seen and construction workers simply don't just bury a body to hide poor working practices.
Did Brian fall into water? So many people's go to explanation in EVERY case, even when the water is not on his route home. If he was in the water, someone put him there.
Did Brian run away? This is not a Hollywood movie and while I believe this is not impossible, I don't buy the sightings in Mexico and the like. People see what they want to see.
I believe at 2am on a weekend this area would still have been busy so the odds of something happening in the open air are limited.
I think Brian made it out and either home or to someone else's home. What then happened can't be known until any further details are presented. However I do believe someone who lives or lived in Colombus in 2006 knows where Brian is. Whether they did something to him or just knows the details, we may never know.
 
george14 said:
Great post.

I listened to a podcast (maybe Unfound?) and a woman on the podcast talked about that picture with the 4 dudes wear sunglasses. She tracked down the guys by phone number and one (or more) of them were in that picture. Apparently one of the men on Facebook was very cooperative with her until she asked if one of the men in the picture was Brian.

It really sounds like these men know something. Not saying they did anything to Brian but one would have to imagine they are an important piece since Brian called them. One would also assume LE already spoke with them? Seems too easy to miss that considering he called them.
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Where is this picture? I’m not sure if I’ve seen it or not, but would like to see it. TIA
 
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Just found out about this. Thanks to @Spartygirl for the heads up. It will be airing on November 21 on HLN.

Real Life Nightmare | CNN Creative Marketing
Med Student Mystery
Brian Shaffer, a handsome, young medical student, is out celebrating the start of Spring Break with friends after cramming for medical exams. Brian is clearly recorded on surveillance video entering a bar, but is mysteriously never seen leaving.
 
Thank you! Yes, I have seen this photo quite a while back. I thought it really looked like him, but, hard to tell.
 
embufum said:
That's the photo the I was referring to when I said I had identified that man. Here's one of him. I drew some glasses on him.
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embufum said:
That's the photo the I was referring to when I said I had identified that man. Here's one of him. I drew some glasses on him.
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Thank you embufum. So now we know it’s not Brian.
 
embufum said:
You're welcome. I'm not sure why this rumor keeps persisting. I thought it was established a long time ago that this wasn't Brian. I can't remember but I think I posted this info 2 or 3 years ago. Just to clarify I have identified every person in that photo.
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I’m sure you’re right and I just forgot. The last two years have been like they have never been before. It’s as though I’ve been in a time warp.
 
embufum said:
The question is how long was Brian was in possession of his phone? I find it unlikely that someone he knew would so easily be able to get rid of a body but be stupid enough to let his phone ping. This does IMO suggest that Brian was with his phone
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I totally agree with that.

The phone thing is interesting to me, because on the other hand, if he took off, I don’t understand why he would keep his phone. Car was left behind, glasses (from what I have read), phone charger plugged into the wall. If someone really wants to leave everything behind and start over, I don’t see the need to hang onto this phone. From what I understand, that September call when it pinged in Hilliard was the only time it rang after his disappearance and that every time before that, it went straight to voicemail? Any idea how this explains the pings, if the phone was previously off? Just seems too unlikely to me that his phone was on but managed to have it with him every time someone attempted to call him and he sent it to voicemail lol but then again, I’m no technology expert. I have always learned towards some kind of unusual misadventure, but I just can’t understand the phone pings.

Also, do you know when these guys Brian met up with on his 2nd round to the UTS, left for the night? It’s interesting more light isn’t shed on them.
 
King91 said:
I totally agree with that.

The phone thing is interesting to me, because on the other hand, if he took off, I don’t understand why he would keep his phone. Car was left behind, glasses (from what I have read), phone charger plugged into the wall. If someone really wants to leave everything behind and start over, I don’t see the need to hang onto this phone. From what I understand, that September call when it pinged in Hilliard was the only time it rang after his disappearance and that every time before that, it went straight to voicemail? Any idea how this explains the pings, if the phone was previously off? Just seems too unlikely to me that his phone was on but managed to have it with him every time someone attempted to call him and he sent it to voicemail lol but then again, I’m no technology expert. I have always learned towards some kind of unusual misadventure, but I just can’t understand the phone pings.

Also, do you know when these guys Brian met up with on his 2nd round to the UTS, left for the night? It’s interesting more light isn’t shed on them.
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Yeah I don't think he took off, but I could be wrong. Those pings just don't add up right now but they do somehow. What I don't know is when were the pings and how many were there and who called Brian and how close to the pings were the calls. I know that there are times I am in a dead zone and if someone calls me it goes straight to VM. On some occasions it goes to VM for what seems like no reason even when I am in range.

I remember and interview with Alexis saying that the Hilliard calls lasted for a day or two so it wasn't a one time thing like most people thought. If I can find it I will post a link. I think it was MerryB who said Brian's phone started to make it's way toward Hilliard the next day or day after he went missing. Then 6 month later it starts pinging again and is on the move. Just fyi Brian's cell number belong to someone else and I was in contact with this person to verify.

To answer your last question I don't think that was something that I had asked Hurst. I do know they were there but not when they left or if they all left at the same time.
 
This question is for MerryB. I know that you have stated that Brightan put her number into Brian's phone around 1:55 am. (sorry I didn't quote you). I don't believe Brian would have cell service in the construction area as I said before especially in the elevator. It just dawned on me that maybe Brightan turned off Brian's phone after she put her number in. I always found it odd that she was the one to put her number in his phone. I would never hand anyone my phone. She obviously knew how to input a number unless this was just an excuse to turn his phone off.

Supposedly Brian was going to walk them to their car or maybe even go with them. The last thing Brightan would want would be for someone to call Brian and be interrupted especially from his girlfriend. I don't believe for a second Brightan didn't know. Clint and Amber knew each other and I'm sure if Brian was all over Brightan earlier in the night ift had to come up that Brian had a girlfriend. This may explain the ping at 2.11. Brian finally realized his phone was off and turned it back on.
 
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