OH OH - Brian Shaffer, 27, Columbus, 1 April 2006 - #3

[Kaie]

Okay... I know there's a couple other places to access it, but the first one I could find was the podcast True Crime Garage Brian Shaffer Revisited Part 1. In this YouTube link it's right at the end, so go to 1:21:20

I guess the thing that gets to me about it is the pause before "Bye"... and to me that word on its own can sound a bit more final than any other sign off (depending on the context). In fact, all the pauses were notable to me really... "So... alright... bye". You have to think about the fact that if she hadn't called him back, that would have been the last thing he ever said to her.

It could be a cultural difference... as an Australian I'm more likely end a voicemail to the love of my life with "So yeah, no worries, I'll talk to ya later". So maybe I'm not the best judge, but I'd be interested to know if anyone else hears what I do.

 

[itsrak]

April 1 2016 " Moving on"

Wonderful that Alexis really moved on with her life nicely. At 1:37 in, I think she nails it with "maybe something happened and nobody could find him...." Yup. An accident, and they just missed finding him.

 

[itsrak]

Okay... I know there's a couple other places to access it, but the first one I could find was the podcast True Crime Garage Brian Shaffer Revisited Part 1. In this YouTube link it's right at the end, so go to 1:21:20

I guess the thing that gets to me about it is the pause before "Bye"... and to me that word on its own can sound a bit more final than any other sign off (depending on the context). In fact, all the pauses were notable to me really... "So... alright... bye". You have to think about the fact that if she hadn't called him back, that would have been the last thing he ever said to her.

It could be a cultural difference... as an Australian I'm more likely end a voicemail to the love of my life with "So yeah, no worries, I'll talk to ya later". So maybe I'm not the best judge, but I'd be interested to know if anyone else hears what I do.

I just hear a young guy who wants his girl, in her brief absence, to know that he's crazy about her and that she's on his mind, but is perhaps just a tad uncomfortable and/or unaccustomed to expressing such 'mushy' feelings.

 

[Kaie]

Wonderful that Alexis really moved on with her life nicely. At 1:37 in, I think she nails it with "maybe something happened and nobody could find him...." Yup. An accident, and they just missed finding him.

So many of us have, at some stage, needed a lesson in moving on and not losing the other parts of our lives when things go wrong. I think Alexis was really inspirational in this interview.

 

[jtfolden]

So I asked Kelly Bruce (host of the Comeback and Missing In Ohio podcasts) about the construction area, Hurst's comments on it, and the condition of it specifically. This is what she said:

...The difficult to navigate comment is referring to all of the hallways and doors on the ground level. The building itself was completely finished. The 2nd level was completely finished as well. The lower level or the construction zone was being sectioned off into individual retail spaces. After a recent call I did with Hurst I asked him to verify what “all dug up” meant. He told me there was a small hole that had been dug and the pile of dirt removed was sitting next to the hole. The hole and the dirt pile were searched thoroughly by CPD as well as with Search and Cadaver dogs. Like I said in the podcast people/tenants of the building were using the area everyday...

So the idea it was some huge, dark, treacherous body-swallowing area doesn't hold up to scrutiny. I understand the appeal of the idea but it completely ignores the fact that this area was searched repeatedly, not just by law enforcement but also Randy and others, beginning the Monday after his disappearance. That search also includes numerous dogs on a number of occasions. I don't believe there's any evidence to suggest that Brian is still there or was somehow missed. I haven't heard any professionals involved in the case suggest that he is... in fact, the general consensus seems to be that if Brian is to be found/recovered then it will be from somewhere outside the bar.

Moving on; I had forgotten that the Websleuths forum had been talking about Brian since mere days after he vanished. I went back and was reading through the first discussion and someone had copied a message that Alexis, Brian's girlfriend, had made on MySpace concerning the phone call and cell tower ping.

The ringing actually went on for far longer than has been covered in most reports AND it confirms that it happened to multiple people:

"There's been some news coverage recently regarding Brian's phone ringing. Here's the deal: two weekends ago on Friday September 8 at about 11:30 I called Brian cell phone as usual before going to bed. I call his phone at least once a day before I go to sleep, and sometimes more often. Anyway, that night, his phone rang which was the first time I had heard that since the last time I called and talked to him the night he disappeared. Of course, I freaked out, and called it another three times or so and each time it rang and then went to his voice mail. I asked my brother to call his phone too, and he got the same result. I called one of the detectives that had been working on the case to let him know, then I called Brian's dad to tell him about it. It continued to ring through the rest of the night and stopped sometime between 3 and 7 am. It didn't ring anymore that Saturday, but started up again sometime on Sunday morning and rang throughout the day. It wasn't ringing anymore on Monday, and hasn't since then. We also sent the phone a bunch of text messages between me, my brother, and a group of friends and family. Obviously, we were hoping and praying that this was the big break that we needed. I was very happy that I had been keeping up on paying Brian's bills for him, that's for sure! We kept it under wraps in case someone had Brian's phone and was trying to use it, or didn't know that it was turned on somehow. At this point we're not sure what happened or how it happened. These are the explanations I have heard so far from a variety of sources:

1. It was a computer glitch that caused the problem. Maybe some programming work at Cingular. This fits with the fact that since this happened there hasn't been any change on his phone bill. I've looked at it everyday since this happened, and I've been looking at all his bills for months now anyways.

2. It was actually turned on and working on and off for a weekend. Could be, and what we would want to have happend since that means that someone had the phone. Of course, if there's no way to track it without having phone calls coming in or out then it doesn't matter. Cingular told us 5 months ago that his phone didn't have GPS.

3. There's the Hilliard thing from some unnamed source that Brian's dad heard from. Apparently somehow there's information saying that Brian's phone was bouncing off some tower in Hilliard which is a suburb or Columbus, but for some reason this same information doensn't say when this happened. I think that sounds strange personally.

Basically, all I know is that for a few hours a couple of weeks ago Brian's cell phone was ringing before going to his voice mail for the first time in months. I kept calling it to hear it purely because it was one of the best sounds I have ever heard, even if no one picked up. His phone rang. That was good enough for me. It also scared the crap out of me, because I had no idea what I would say if a person answered it. I just wish I could have had the chance. I really wish I could get a straight story from someone on what happened and why because wondering where Brian is, is more than enough of a question to ask myself everyday without this one too."

So the phone rang from about 11:30pm Friday September 8, 2006 until early into the morning of Saturday (stopped between 3-7am). It did not ring at all Saturday and then started ringing again Sunday Sep 10th and did so ALL DAY.

It sounds like the info about pinging the Hilliard tower is also known but not investigated at this point.

Then I discovered that the cell tower ping was seriously considered as evidence as long as a YEAR after the fact. So much so that the founder of Equusearch had his teams searching Hilliard.If Cingular had confirmed it was just a glitch then Equusearch wouldn't have been devoting time on this search. It's unclear why they chose that exact spot specifically but I'd love to know.

"Teams concentrated on a field near Scioto Darby Creek Road. According to officials, Shaffer's cell phone was last used in the area.

"There's a report that the last (cell phone call) did ping off a tower in this area, so we want to take it serious and eliminate areas," Miller said."

From an article dated Aug 25, 2007 published by NBC4i:
http://www.nbc4i.com/.../news.apx.-content-articles-CMH...(Dead link)
You can still read the full article half way down this page: BrianShaffer

Do I think this means Brian was alive? No... but that they would devote time to searching Hilliard makes me even more confident that his phone was there and pinging at least for one weekend.

 

[itsrak]

So I asked Kelly Bruce (host of the Comeback and Missing In Ohio podcasts) about the construction area, Hurst's comments on it, and the condition of it specifically. This is what she said:



So the idea it was some huge, dark, treacherous body-swallowing area doesn't hold up to scrutiny. I understand the appeal of the idea but it completely ignores the fact that this area was searched repeatedly, not just by law enforcement but also Randy and others, beginning the Monday after his disappearance. That search also includes numerous dogs on a number of occasions. I don't believe there's any evidence to suggest that Brian is still there or was somehow missed. I haven't heard any professionals involved in the case suggest that he is... in fact, the general consensus seems to be that if Brian is to be found/recovered then it will be from somewhere outside the bar.

Moving on; I had forgotten that the Websleuths forum had been talking about Brian since mere days after he vanished. I went back and was reading through the first discussion and someone had copied a message that Alexis, Brian's girlfriend, had made on MySpace concerning the phone call and cell tower ping.

The ringing actually went on for far longer than has been covered in most reports AND it confirms that it happened to multiple people:



So the phone rang from about 11:30pm Friday September 8, 2006 until early into the morning of Saturday (stopped between 3-7am). It did not ring at all Saturday and then started ringing again Sunday Sep 10th and did so ALL DAY.

It sounds like the info about pinging the Hilliard tower is also known but not investigated at this point.

Then I discovered that the cell tower ping was seriously considered as evidence as long as a YEAR after the fact. So much so that the founder of Equusearch had his teams searching Hilliard.If Cingular had confirmed it was just a glitch then Equusearch wouldn't have been devoting time on this search. It's unclear why they chose that exact spot specifically but I'd love to know.



From an article dated Aug 25, 2007 published by NBC4i:
http://www.nbc4i.com/.../news.apx.-content-articles-CMH...(Dead link)
You can still read the full article half way down this page: BrianShaffer

Do I think this means Brian was alive? No... but that they would devote time to searching Hilliard makes me even more confident that his phone was there and pinging at least for one weekend.

As to Sgt. Hurst's characterization of the construction area as 'completely dug up' supposedly subsequently morphing into 'a small hole' (!!) per Kelly Bruce, I'll take lead detective Sgt. Hurst's word over Kelly Bruce's any day, for sure, unless he speaks directly/publicly on the matter again and corrects his original podcast comments. 'nuff said.

Listen here for yourself (episode 2, 10:30 in) as Sgt. Hurst just last year characterized part of the construction area as having been in a 'completely dug up' (not partly dug up, much less one small hole!) state when Brian went missing: Listen to ComeBack - A True Crime Podcast

And nice work digging up the phone ping dialogue - interesting. Based on my own experience with glitchy Cingular service back in the day, and Cingular's expertise as the carrier in this case, I tend toward Cingular's view that it was a glitch. But you never know. Anyhoo, nice digging.

 

[jtfolden]

Kelly Bruce is directly contradicting what Sgt. Hurst said when she interviewed him! Why didn't she correct him at that time?! I'll take lead detective Sgt. Hurst's word over Kelly Bruce's any day, for sure. 'nuff said. And nice work digging up the phone ping dialogue - interesting. Based on my own experience with glitchy Cingular service back in the day, I tend toward Cingular's view that it was a glitch. But you never know.

She asked him for clarification and he gave it. It may be contradicting what you presume the construction area looked like but do you think she would make up what he said? If you can find ANY statement or photo, any article or report, or anyone else saying there were huge trenches that someone could be lost in then please let me know. I'd seriously love to see it but when I was 'digging around', figuratively, I found nothing. Hurst has never described big holes or trenches but has said it was all thoroughly searched... and I even pointed out to Kelly how frustrating it was that virtually no one clearly describes the condition at the time. Maybe she'll get him on record next podcast. ;-)

As far as the ping goes; Cingular, as far as all reporting goes that I found, never comes down on a side - they state it could be glitch OR the phone was turned on. Would Equusearch come to Ohio and search Hilliard if Cingular definitively said it was a glitch? I can't imagine.

Anyway; anyone have any idea of the significance of Scioto Darby Creek Road in Hilliard?

 

[itsrak]

She asked him for clarification and he gave it. It may be contradicting what you presume the construction area looked like but do you think she would make up what he said? If you can find ANY statement or photo, any article or report, or anyone else saying there were huge trenches that someone could be lost in then please let me know. I'd seriously love to see it but when I was 'digging around', figuratively, I found nothing. Hurst has never described big holes or trenches but has said it was all thoroughly searched... and I even pointed out to Kelly how frustrating it was that virtually no one clearly describes the condition at the time. Maybe she'll get him on record next podcast. ;-)

As far as the ping goes; Cingular, as far as all reporting goes that I found, never comes down on a side - they state it could be glitch OR the phone was turned on. Would Equusearch come to Ohio and search Hilliard if Cingular definitively said it was a glitch? I can't imagine.

Anyway; anyone have any idea of the significance of Scioto Darby Creek Road in Hilliard?

What you characterize as presumption is simply speculation based on Hurst's characterization of the construction area, speculation as to how the site might potentially have been 'completely dug up' so as to explain Brian's potentially having been in an accident there. Not presumption, just guessing, theorizing. Like you are doing in regard to phone ringing mystery. I'll believe Kelly's recounting of Sgt. Hurst's modification of his comment from 'completely dug up' to 'there was a small hole' when Sgt. Hurst directly confirms it.... Well, maybe I'll believe it. Or maybe I'll think that such a weird change in Hurst's recall that I'll suspect that building owner OSU had a word with him. Ya know, risk of big accidental death lawsuits and all.

 

[jtfolden]

What you characterize as presumption is simply speculation based on Hurst's characterization of the construction area, speculation as to how the site might potentially have been 'completely dug up' so as to explain Brian's potentially having been in an accident there. Not presumption, just guessing, theorizing. Like you are doing in regard to phone ringing mystery. I'll believe Kelly's recounting of Sgt. Hurst's modification of his comment from 'completely dug up' to 'there was a small hole' when Sgt. Hurst directly confirms it.... Well, maybe I'll believe it. Or maybe I'll think that such a weird change in Hurst's recall that I'll suspect that building owner OSU had a word with him. Ya know, risk of big accidental death lawsuits and all.

...but you are adding the distinction. Dug up could just mean the earth had been excavated and leveled, ready for the concrete... or numerous other things. You are adding the trenches and man swallowing holes to fit the possible theory. That would be like if his gf just said the phone was ringing and then I theorized his phone must have been pinging a tower but no one actually said it. Lots of people reported that, however. There may be debate why it pinged but no one has mentioned big trenches and holes. In fact, near as I can tell - this info I got from Kelly is the first time Hurst has mentioned a hole specifically?

Like I asked earlier; has anyone that has seen it described the condition of the contraction area? I tried to find pictures and couldn't.

 

[XPh]

Excellent discussion lately.

Just throwing this out there:

Is it possible that he is in the building but NOT the construction site? Someplace so bizarre that no one thought to check? Perhaps the construction site was/is a red herring which drew all the focus while the true answer lies somewhere else within the building.

I know—it seems far fetched, but I’m just trying to think outside the box. What about someplace on the roof of the building? The building is quite a large complex. Is it possible that there exists some very odd hidden crevice somewhere that Brian ended up in?

I know most will say “he would have been found by now,” but I’m not so sure. We have seen cases of missing people turn up in duct work, chimneys, and even between walls.

It just seems like all discussions of him being in the building focus on the construction site. Understandably so—and understandably the approach police took as well. But could all that attention there be the reason he was missed somewhere else?

It’s a big building. I don’t know.

 

[itsrak]

...but you are adding the distinction. Dug up could just mean the earth had been excavated and leveled, ready for the concrete... or numerous other things. You are adding the trenches and man swallowing holes to fit the possible theory. That would be like if his gf just said the phone was ringing and then I theorized his phone must have been pinging a tower but no one actually said it. Lots of people reported that, however. There may be debate why it pinged but no one has mentioned big trenches and holes. In fact, near as I can tell - this info I got from Kelly is the first time Hurst has mentioned a hole specifically?

Like I asked earlier; has anyone that has seen it described the condition of the contraction area? I tried to find pictures and couldn't.

The only credible info I know of concerning the state of the construction area are the lead detective's assertions that it was 'completely dug up' and 'difficult to navigate even sober', and several images made by media within a few weeks of 4/1/06 showing exterior surfaces of the building, including photo linked recently of the south facade of the building (which facade had a long way to go to get completed in time for Sunflower Markets opening in 9/06), in which one can observe through open doorway a guy standing next to a large piece of construction equipment that I am pretty sure is a scissor lift

 

[itsrak]

Excellent discussion lately.

Just throwing this out there:

Is it possible that he is in the building but NOT the construction site? Someplace so bizarre that no one thought to check? Perhaps the construction site was/is a red herring which drew all the focus while the true answer lies somewhere else within the building.

I know—it seems far fetched, but I’m just trying to think outside the box. What about someplace on the roof of the building? The building is quite a large complex. Is it possible that there exists some very odd hidden crevice somewhere that Brian ended up in?

I know most will say “he would have been found by now,” but I’m not so sure. We have seen cases of missing people turn up in duct work, chimneys, and even between walls.

It just seems like all discussions of him being in the building focus on the construction site. Understandably so—and understandably the approach police took as well. But could all that attention there be the reason he was missed somewhere else?

It’s a big building. I don’t know.

My only two thoughts are
1) the hideous stench reported by a patron in the Gateway Theatre food prep area circa 2008...prolly nothing, but who knows
2) per attached aerial image (former UTS space in red, Sunflower Market due south and east), East 9th Ave and N. High St. are not quite perpendicular, and the building in which Brian was last seen is thus not quite square. Thus opening some chance for an angled crevice. I had a look in and around the building last year to the extent I could w/o getting hassled, and concluded that it appeared to have been built all at once rather than in sections over years. Thus, chance for some odd crevice didn't seem high to me, nor the between-walls scenario. The roof, as you can see, has a lot going on, lots of HVAC etc. Gateway Theatre roof in particular is unusual, arched as it is and distinct from rest of roof.....FWIW...

 

[itsrak]

The only credible info I know of concerning the state of the construction area are the lead detective's assertions that it was 'completely dug up' and 'difficult to navigate even sober', and several images made by media within a few weeks of 4/1/06 showing exterior surfaces of the building, including photo linked recently of the south facade of the building (which facade had a long way to go to get completed in time for Sunflower Markets opening in 9/06), in which one can observe through open doorway a guy standing next to a large piece of construction equipment that I am pretty sure is a scissor lift

1) close up of guy standing next to scissor lift in construction area in mid-April 2006. The construction was obviously far from complete, nowhere near ready to open for business.

2)Exterior view April 2006, Sunflower Market space, under construction, far from complete. This is view north from south side of building. UTS space is due north on 2nd floor, above Mad Mexx restuarant.

3) Same view as two, but partial/closer-up (use trash bin and lamp post for reference), and shot post Sept.2006, at which time construction of Sunflower Market space had been completed. A lot of work was done between April and Sept 2006. This was obviously an active construction site (though likely deserted at 2am) at the time Brian Shaffer is thought to have entered it in the wee hours of 4/1/06...

What is more likely, that Brian, who per CPD video analysis seems not to have left the building by conventional means, somehow died there in an accident, or that he did make it out and off to either a death by some other cause or perhaps even a secret new life in a new place under a new identity?...

 

[neesaki]

So I asked Kelly Bruce (host of the Comeback and Missing In Ohio podcasts) about the construction area, Hurst's comments on it, and the condition of it specifically. This is what she said:



So the idea it was some huge, dark, treacherous body-swallowing area doesn't hold up to scrutiny. I understand the appeal of the idea but it completely ignores the fact that this area was searched repeatedly, not just by law enforcement but also Randy and others, beginning the Monday after his disappearance. That search also includes numerous dogs on a number of occasions. I don't believe there's any evidence to suggest that Brian is still there or was somehow missed. I haven't heard any professionals involved in the case suggest that he is... in fact, the general consensus seems to be that if Brian is to be found/recovered then it will be from somewhere outside the bar.

Moving on; I had forgotten that the Websleuths forum had been talking about Brian since mere days after he vanished. I went back and was reading through the first discussion and someone had copied a message that Alexis, Brian's girlfriend, had made on MySpace concerning the phone call and cell tower ping.

The ringing actually went on for far longer than has been covered in most reports AND it confirms that it happened to multiple people:



So the phone rang from about 11:30pm Friday September 8, 2006 until early into the morning of Saturday (stopped between 3-7am). It did not ring at all Saturday and then started ringing again Sunday Sep 10th and did so ALL DAY.

It sounds like the info about pinging the Hilliard tower is also known but not investigated at this point.

Then I discovered that the cell tower ping was seriously considered as evidence as long as a YEAR after the fact. So much so that the founder of Equusearch had his teams searching Hilliard.If Cingular had confirmed it was just a glitch then Equusearch wouldn't have been devoting time on this search. It's unclear why they chose that exact spot specifically but I'd love to know.



From an article dated Aug 25, 2007 published by NBC4i:
http://www.nbc4i.com/.../news.apx.-content-articles-CMH...(Dead link)
You can still read the full article half way down this page: BrianShaffer

Do I think this means Brian was alive? No... but that they would devote time to searching Hilliard makes me even more confident that his phone was there and pinging at least for one weekend.

Very interesting, thanks for getting the info from Kelly on the construction site and for refreshing my memory on the cell phone info.

 

[jtfolden]

1) close up of guy standing next to scissor lift in construction area in mid-April 2006. The construction was obviously far from complete, nowhere near ready to open for business.

If that is a scissor lift, as you suggest, then they aren't going to be using it on soft uneven ground with lots of holes and trenches. It's likely going to be flat, hard packed earth or concrete in there then.

What is more likely, that Brian, who per CPD video analysis seems not to have left the building by conventional means, somehow died there in an accident, or that he did make it out and off to either a death by some other cause or perhaps even a secret new life in a new place under a new identity?...

The video analysis doesn't help your theory. It doesn't show him enter or even move in the direction of the construction area either. In fact, the camera in the back, first floor hall is the one the showed the band leaving. That same camera should have showed Brian heading to the construction area.

What's more likely is that Brian is somewhere else that has not been searched at all as opposed to somehow being missed laying dead in a relatively small area that was searched by multiple teams, and multiple dogs, within days of disappearance... And none of the people who searched it think he could still be there.

 

[jtfolden]

Very interesting, thanks for getting the info from Kelly on the construction site and for refreshing my memory on the cell phone info.

I'm just glad she replied back with some info.

The phone thing is really interesting to me. I wish I knew what made them search that specific area in Hilliard though. The phone had no GPS so the details how they decided would be helpful.

 

[jtfolden]

Btw... When did Brian's Facebook page get deleted and is there an archive? It was still online in 2017 or so. :-/

 

[Ozoner]

So I asked Kelly Bruce (host of the Comeback and Missing In Ohio podcasts) about the construction area, Hurst's comments on it, and the condition of it specifically.

Snipped.

Kelly Bruce doesn't strike me as having sound judgement. You're free to disagree, of course, but any way you look at it, hosting a podcast doesn't make someone much of an authority.

What's more likely is that Brian is somewhere else that has not been searched at all as opposed to somehow being missed laying dead in a relatively small area that was searched by multiple teams, and multiple dogs, within days of disappearance... And none of the people who searched it think he could still be there.

Snipped.

You're misstating the known facts. We've never been told when tracking dogs or cadaver dogs were taken in to search the area. The initial search likely did not include cadaver dogs. The search with cadaver dogs may have been weeks or even months later.

Using cadaver dogs even a few days later would have been too late if concrete had been poured in the interim, and we don't know the dates on which concrete was poured.

 

[itsrak]

If that is a scissor lift, as you suggest, then they aren't going to be using it on soft uneven ground with lots of holes and trenches. Yeah, not likely operator would take it off paved area onto unpaved, freshly dug - unstable. It's likely going to be flat, hard packed earth or concrete in there then. That is a specious argument. Of course there would still have been plenty of concrete, and who knows (well, Hurst knew) what parts of construction area were dug up - Sunflower, retail fronting pedestrian plaza on north side, other. Plus, photo was made a few weeks after Brian went missing. I look forward to hearing Hurst say he mis-spoke and that he meant to say there was just a small hole in the construction area when he said it was 'completely dug up'. Just a brain fart.

The video analysis doesn't help your theory. It doesn't show him enter or even move in the direction of the construction area either. In fact, the camera in the back, first floor hall is the one the showed the band leaving. That same camera should have showed Brian heading to the construction area. That's just false, unserious. Maybe take it up with the lead detective, who has suggested that Brian may well have entered the construction area. So Brian is not on video entering the construction area. So what. He's not on video leaving the building - does that prove he didn't leave? Of course not. Though it does suggest he may not have.

What's more likely is that Brian is somewhere else that has not been searched at all as opposed to somehow being missed laying dead in a relatively small area that was searched by multiple teams, and multiple dogs, within days of disappearance... And none of the people who searched it think he could still be there. Your last statement is a statement of fact. It is not speculation. You cannot prove your statement of fact. Unserious.

CPD concluded that of all the patrons caught on video entering bldg, one was, strangely, not caught on video leaving. Only one. And, also strangely, one of the patrons in the building that night/early morn permanently disappeared that night, total radio silence 13+ years now, very likely dead. Strange night. Even more strangely, turned out the patron per video seeming not to have left is also the patron who permanently disappeared that early morn. One and the same! Hundreds of patrons, yet one and the same! What are the chances, the probability, that the seeming failure to leave the building on the one hand, and the permanent disappearance on the other, are linked, such as by causality? High, IMO. Very high.

 

[Ozoner]

Excellent discussion lately.

Just throwing this out there:

Is it possible that he is in the building but NOT the construction site? Someplace so bizarre that no one thought to check? Perhaps the construction site was/is a red herring which drew all the focus while the true answer lies somewhere else within the building.

I know—it seems far fetched, but I’m just trying to think outside the box. What about someplace on the roof of the building? The building is quite a large complex. Is it possible that there exists some very odd hidden crevice somewhere that Brian ended up in?

I know most will say “he would have been found by now,” but I’m not so sure. We have seen cases of missing people turn up in duct work, chimneys, and even between walls.

It just seems like all discussions of him being in the building focus on the construction site. Understandably so—and understandably the approach police took as well. But could all that attention there be the reason he was missed somewhere else?

It’s a big building. I don’t know.

I consider it very likely. Construction isn't perfect: there can be large gaps between walls that get hidden during finishing work; there can be gaps where room was left for the installation of heating ducts or access to plumbing; there are gaps included intentionally in some structures to allow for temperature- and moisture-related dimensional changes in building materials; sometimes a stud wall is built right in front of a very rough, not-so-straight concrete wall and basically used as a nailer for drywall or paneling; etc.