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

[MerryB]

This article describes the different kinds of sniffer dogs and their use in forensic investigation.

I’ve seen several comments here suggesting that the dogs hit at Wendy’s because they love hamburger. The dogs are more sophisticated than that.

Detection Dogs – The Forensics Library

“Canines detect odors directly from the source or residual scents; odors which persist in an area after the original source is no longer present.

Obviously the air is full of a vast variety of different odors, many of which will be powerfully clear to the dog. Fortunately they are able to distinguish between different odors, even if one smell overpowers another, and trace a specific scent to its source.”

The dogs tracked Brian’s scent (they were given items of clothing) from the back of the building (facing Pearl Alley) heading south. They hit on an area in the Wendy’s parking lot which was behind the building, also facing Pearl. This hit was on urine and/or vomit.

Cadaver dogs were also brought in to search the building. Here’s an interesting article on how these dogs are used by archaeologists to find ancient remains.

https://extragoodshit.phlap.net/wp-...a-Scent-Archaeologists-Find-Where-to-Dig.html

 

[MerryB]

There is always some tidbit or weird thing in this case that makes me think there is more to this than a guy getting stuck in a wall.

....Tucker says she plans to re-interview people from the case, hoping to uncover one more clue. She believes someone already interviewed is withholding information...

What happened to Brian Shaffer? Columbus police continue to work case 14 years after his disappearance | 10tv.com

“She believes someone already interviewed is withholding information.”
Hmmm.. who could that be?

 

[Old Mozez]

“She believes someone already interviewed is withholding information.”
Hmmm.. who could that be?

last thing I heard is she’s off the case already. The new detectives assigned are languid in working his case. Reality of things seems to be more is discussed here than anywhere else at the moment.

 

[juan1]

This hit was on urine and/or vomit.

This is interesting. Thanks for sharing.
If true, this would argue strongly against the "scent was from his to trip TO the bar" theory.

 

[MysteryMaven]

“She believes someone already interviewed is withholding information.”
Hmmm.. who could that be?

Yes I wonder.....

 

[Falkner77]

“She believes someone already interviewed is withholding information.”
Hmmm.. who could that be?

I bet it rhymes with Mint Torrence.

 

[King91]

What do people believe Clint knows that he’s withholding? That he knew Brian was taking off?

 

[?unknown?]

The withheld information if it exists could be something as simple as Clint and Brian having an argument or fight before he disappeared and Clint didn’t mention or declare it to police (probably because he believed everyone would leap on it and instantly think he murdered Brian). Just because there could be more for Clint to say it doesn’t mean that more is anything of significance in terms of telling us what happened to Brian.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I think there's a pretty decent chance that somebody else had his phone during all those pings and maybe even as late as September when it rang.

Which to me indicates that Brian either lost/ditched the phone somewhere, or he was separated from it during some kind of foul play.

This is certainly a baffling case, but my gut tells me somebody harmed Brian that morning while he was stumbling around in Columbus, and whatever is left of him has simply been very well hidden all these years.

"Stumbling around" might be a bit of an overstatement. MOO

 

[GoBuckeyes]

What do people believe Clint knows that he’s withholding? That he knew Brian was taking off?

It's hard to say specifically what he's withholding, only that he's been less than helpful and lawyered up quickly. And, btw, I'm in support of the innocent lawyering up. But I also have an expectation that the individual will still help (through the lawyer) as best he can. That hasn't happened. MOO

 

[MerryB]

"Stumbling around" might be a bit of an overstatement. MOO

Agreed.
One might assume hitting the bars would result in intoxication. Do we have proof of that though? Clint didn’t want to answer any questions under oath...was he being truthful? He says they were doing shots of hard alcohol throughout the night. Yet, from the small bit of evidence available to us (CCTV footage), Brian does not seem to be heavily intoxicated. IMO he’s quite spry on that escalator, leaning back on the rail, turning to talk to Meredith, hopping off at the landing...just makes me wonder. Brian paid cash that night so there’s really no way to verify. MOO

 

[Ozoner]

You can see old aerial views of the Gateway Complex on Google Earth Pro. Ed from Unfound has a Youtube video posted of some of the views. However I don’t think he posted from the exact time Brian went missing. He also shows how high up a lot of the security cameras are in the area and how it would be extremely difficult to recognize someone from footage from one of those.
I was going to check out this Google Pro thing to see if there are views from April.

As others have mentioned there was no construction done over the weekend and the area was searched starting Monday.

If Brian is still in the complex I would think its because he got trapped or stuck in a weird place rather than a bunch of construction workers pouring concrete over him and swearing each other to secrecy.

There is no evidence he is in there but there is no evidence he is anywhere else either. Except for the phone pings. I hope we can learn more about the pings someday. Was Brian with the phone when it pinged? Was it a glitch? Who knows.

Scent dogs have found people before, it’s not some far fetched tool like psychics. Also I was thinking the scent could have been from BEFORE Brian went to the UTS that is the only thing that bothers me about it.

Yogi the bloodhound led LE to the body of Alie Berellez
Alie Berrelez


LA police dog's scent tracking helps locate missing 9-year-old girl

Former FBI Canine Specialist Trains Dogs to Find the Lost - 850 Business Magazine

What's the source for the claim that no construction was completed over the weekend? Please provide a link.

 

[Falkner77]

What do people believe Clint knows that he’s withholding? That he knew Brian was taking off?

Perhaps he and Brian were doing drugs that evening or knew of Brian's intentions to score some coke (maybe Clint put him in touch with someone?) after bar-hopping. The supposed planned after-party doesn't get addressed enough. If Florence testified on the record he was involved with (hard) drugs he may see his medical license or career aspirations jeopardized. He could also be fearful of snitching on a dealer Brian was getting involved with that night.

It may be unfair to him to speculate stuff like this, but this is the can of worms that gets opened when you're so evasive and shut off communication with law enforcement. If you've got nothing to hide, why hide at all?

 

[MerryB]

If you've got nothing to hide, why hide at all?

IMO whatever Clint is hiding is worse than allowing Brian’s friends and family to believe he’s guilty (or at the very least uncooperative). I completely understand why he gained legal counsel; however, his cooperation completely ceased and he made disparaging comments about Brian at a time when his family was desperate for answers and mourning the loss of Reneé.

 

[MerryB]

Alexis Waggoner’s father, Tom Waggoner, participated in the search for Shaffer in 2006. During that period he became acquainted with Florence.

“The gist of my perspective on Clint Florence is that I think that basically all roads to making any progress on the case on Brian Shaffer lead through Clint Florence,” Tom
Waggoner said.

***********************************
Derek Shaffer also said he thinks it’s odd that Clint has refused to take any polygraphs.

“As soon as the detective started getting involved, that’s when he pretty much had no contact with anybody,” Derek Shaffer said. “I’ve always thought he definitely knows something – just won’t come forward with it.”


Is Brian Shaffer alive?

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Alexis Waggoner’s father, Tom Waggoner, participated in the search for Shaffer in 2006. During that period he became acquainted with Florence.

“The gist of my perspective on Clint Florence is that I think that basically all roads to making any progress on the case on Brian Shaffer lead through Clint Florence,” Tom
Waggoner said.

***********************************
Derek Shaffer also said he thinks it’s odd that Clint has refused to take any polygraphs.

“As soon as the detective started getting involved, that’s when he pretty much had no contact with anybody,” Derek Shaffer said. “I’ve always thought he definitely knows something – just won’t come forward with it.”


Is Brian Shaffer alive?

Completely agree!

 

[XPh]

What in the world was the point of this comment? I specifically said “buried under concrete” yet you somehow incorporated a separate viewpoint of “entombed in the building” as if I ever scoffed at that theory.

You completely put words in my mouth and even attempted to be sarcastic by telling me to “open my mind.” Open my mind to what? I never said Brian being entombed was a bad opinion. I said I think it’s unlikely he is “buried under concrete.” No disrespect, but please read my comment before replying. Brian being entombed in the building is feasible to me.

I read your post, and in it you had said “people need to stop being married to their egos and open their mind.” I agree. Keeping an open mind is crucial, and that includes scenarios that end both inside and outside of the building.

“The point” of my post was that we can’t just dismiss the “inside the building theories” (of which there are more than just buried under concrete) anymore than we should dismiss the “outside the building theories.” Being open minded goes both ways for all of us. Glad to see from your response that you’re open to other theories that end inside the bar—I think we all should be.

 

[XPh]

I've laid out the reasons I don't think he was "entombed" in concrete or otherwise buried by construction workers, and frankly the people espousing this theory clearly have little or no experience in construction. This simply would not logistically happen, I don't know how else to say it.

I appreciate your comments and input on the construction site given your background knowledge; however, this is an example of what I am referring to in my earlier post. I think it is a misstep to assume that “ruling out” the construction area (if we want to call it that) means there are no other plausible theories that end in Brian being “entombed” in the building somewhere. None of the three possibilities you outlined mention this as a possibility.

For example: what about the roof? This actually came up recently on a well-known true crime podcast. One of the hosts asked about the roof, and the only answer anyone could come up with was along the lines of “I have to imagine they searched there.” But could CPD have done a quick cursory search early on, when they felt it was unlikely he was there (understandably so) and just missed him? I think it’s possible.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting that Brian Shaffer’s skeleton is just hanging out in full view on the roof. While the bar was small, the building itself is not. It houses an entire movie theater and other businesses. There are crevices. There is duct work (we have seen missing people later found in duct work—see: Jamie Minor). In fact, if you look at Google Earth, there are some weird angles where the two subunits of the building are conjoined. Could he have gotten wedged somewhere? Drunk people do weird things.

There was a stairwell located near where Brian was last seen on camera. Does it provide access to the roof? Is anyone familiar with the building layout to know how one would get up there? There has to be some way. A door can be seen on the aerial view.

If I were taking over this case, the first thing I would do is extensively search the roof and all crevices/duct work etc. even if it was searched before. I know it’s a long shot, but where else on this planet could you search so easily and have any greater chance of finding him?

I am sure there are other highly unusual places within the building structure that Brian could have ended up in a very strange accident as well. I agree the “buried in concrete” theory seems unlikely—maybe even distracting from all the other places in the building he could have ended up. But my point is: let’s not dismiss other possibilities that end in the bar without getting buried in concrete.

 

[Ozoner]

I appreciate your comments and input on the construction site given your background knowledge; however, this is an example of what I am referring to in my earlier post. I think it is a misstep to assume that “ruling out” the construction area (if we want to call it that) means there are no other plausible theories that end in Brian being “entombed” in the building somewhere. None of the three possibilities you outlined mention this as a possibility.

For example: what about the roof? This actually came up recently on a well-known true crime podcast. One of the hosts asked about the roof, and the only answer anyone could come up with was along the lines of “I have to imagine they searched there.” But could CPD have done a quick cursory search early on, when they felt it was unlikely he was there (understandably so) and just missed him? I think it’s possible.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting that Brian Shaffer’s skeleton is just hanging out in full view on the roof. While the bar was small, the building itself is not. It houses an entire movie theater and other businesses. There are crevices. There is duct work (we have seen missing people later found in duct work—see: Jamie Minor). In fact, if you look at Google Earth, there are some weird angles where the two subunits of the building are conjoined. Could he have gotten wedged somewhere? Drunk people do weird things.

There was a stairwell located near where Brian was last seen on camera. Does it provide access to the roof? Is anyone familiar with the building layout to know how one would get up there? There has to be some way. A door can be seen on the aerial view.

If I were taking over this case, the first thing I would do is extensively search the roof and all crevices/duct work etc. even if it was searched before. I know it’s a long shot, but where else on this planet could you search so easily and have any greater chance of finding him?

I am sure there are other highly unusual places within the building structure that Brian could have ended up in a very strange accident as well. I agree the “buried in concrete” theory seems unlikely—maybe even distracting from all the other places in the building he could have ended up. But my point is: let’s not dismiss other possibilities that end in the bar without getting buried in concrete.

Well said!

 

[justinkjones1993]

For the record, I do think Clint is likely witholding some information, but it doesn't necessarily have to be ground-breaking, smoking gun information that could solve the case.

For example, maybe he's been asked about his last conversation with Brian and refuses to talk about it because it may not have been pleasant or friendly. We know from Detective Hurst that they argued that night over something. For example, suppose Brian's last words to him were something like

"*advertiser censored** you and never speak to me again you piece of s***!"

If that's the case, Clint could feel that by telling the media or the police this, it could raise more suspicion around him or otherwise complicate the case. Seems pretty minor to most people, but an attorney could advise their client to not talk about stuff like this because it can certainly get twisted into something else.

(My opinion only).