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

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GoBuckeyes said:
However, neither is there any evidence that Brian was in the construction area, correct?
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We know he didn’t leave, down the escalators and wasn’t seen leaving by the back exit. 1. Brian was inside that building. 2. We know there was construction going on, Those 2. are facts. The lead detective states he thinks Brian most likely got exited out through the construction area. Considering 15 years have passed and no trace of Brian has been found, I just happen to think he most likely didn’t get exited out.

Now, can it be that he did, well, I don’t think it’s right for anyone to spend another 15 years waiting for clarifications on his whereabouts, whether he got out or not. Just get a team in there and do a new run of searches.
 
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Long-time lead detective Hurst speculated that Brian had entered the construction area. Brian's dad Randy thought Brian may have been in there as well - that is why he too was compelled to run dogs through. What about the developer and owner of the complex, The Ohio State University, how did their search go? What effort/resources did Brian's alma mater put forth? More concerned about potential litigation than about their alumnus? Got their priorities $traight.
 
Old Mozez said:
We know he didn’t leave, down the escalators and wasn’t seen leaving by the back exit. 1. Brian was inside that building. 2. We know there was construction going on, Those 2. are facts. The lead detective states he thinks Brian most likely got exited out through the construction area. Considering 15 years have passed and no trace of Brian has been found, I just happen to think he most likely didn’t get exited out.

Now, can it be that he did, well, I don’t think it’s right for anyone to spend another 15 years waiting for clarifications on his whereabouts, whether he got out or not. Just get a team in there and do a new run of searches.
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So what then happens if another search and "dig" uncovers nothing and there's no trace of him? Wont we just question law enforcement and professional investigators yet again and insist he has to be hidden somewhere there, citing some medieval philosopher?

I dont think anyone's saying it's impossible he died in the construction area that night, however there's also no logical way for it to have occurred and furthermore no trace (blood, spatter, decomp, clothing fibers, cadaver dog detection) indicating any type of deceasement there. So, it's no better a theory than abduction/foul play/runaway at this point.
 
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Falkner77 said:
So, it's no better a theory than abduction/foul play/runaway at this point.
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Some form of activity will be the only way to find Brian Shaffer.

LE have exausted all possible alternatives at the moment concerning the “foul play/walk off” theory and The Attorney General just proclaimed his case is as cold as a case can be.

Won’t hurt to do some more “digging” in that complex.
 
Old Mozez said:
Won’t hurt to do some more “digging” in that complex.
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It really depends on what kind of "digging" you're referring to. If there were a cheap and reliable way to completely survey the premises (above and below ground) without destroying structures, I'm sure that most people would be on board. But to my knowledge, that technology doesn't exist.
Now, if you are referring to a more significant excavation, then it would "hurt" to dig, as it is simply not realistic to expend the resources to destroy structures and move dirt for a chance of him being there. We would need far more evidence than what is currently public.
 
juan1 said:
It really depends on what kind of "digging" you're referring to. If there were a cheap and reliable way to completely survey the premises (above and below ground) without destroying structures, I'm sure that most people would be on board. But to my knowledge, that technology doesn't exist.
Now, if you are referring to a more significant excavation, then it would "hurt" to dig, as it is simply not realistic to expend the resources to destroy structures and move dirt for a chance of him being there. We would need far more evidence than what is currently public.
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Right, I listed a few points some pages back. There are some hefty scanners at the moment which a private detective firm used to find a body of a missing person behind a wall, albeit not in the US.

A common denominator might be those tunnels, they are all under the OSU campus I’ve learned. Apparently they go as far as down to High Street. Common because could have been a point of entrance/exit / accident/ foul play/suicide.
Four med. students got arrested trespassing them at one point as they are illegal to visit.
I don’t have boots on the ground in Columbus, perhaps any1 local can uncover more. Would be interesting to find out more as this may have evaded LE.
 
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I could see him being harmed outside the building if he never went back in the building in the first place. But we are told when he leaves the camera after talking to the two girls he had to go back inside as there was nowhere else for him go but back in. So he definitely DID go back inside. What are the chances that a man who went inside and disappeared never to be seen again somehow managed to evade every camera on the premises, every camera in the adjacent businesses, every camera on the surrounding streets, not be witnessed anywhere by a single person (despite it being a busy rowdy student area full of drunk people), never has a wallet or phone or piece of clothing or anything been recovered..Despite Brian’s case being kind of well known around YouTube and social media platforms (his name is always first when you type “people who vanished”or whatever into google and his videos have thousands more views than other incidents) not even one person has had their memory jogged and thought “hold on a minute I’m sure I saw that guy around that time in that pizza shop around the block let me notify the cops”. “Didn’t I see that guy on vacation in the Maldives”. These kinds of things DO occur in pretty much every missing person case ever even if they are dead ends or lead nowhere. I don’t believe that he managed to pull of some masterful disappearance that kept him neatly concealed from humanity for 15 years.

logic dictates that nobody either then or since has reported any knowledge/sighting/false lead/memory of Brian because he was never seen again by anyone after he went back inside. He has to be in the construction area or somewhere else in that building.
 
?unknown? said:
I could see him being harmed outside the building if he never went back in the building in the first place. But we are told when he leaves the camera after talking to the two girls he had to go back inside as there was nowhere else for him go but back in. So he definitely DID go back inside. What are the chances that a man who went inside and disappeared never to be seen again somehow managed to evade every camera on the premises, every camera in the adjacent businesses, every camera on the surrounding streets, not be witnessed anywhere by a single person (despite it being a busy rowdy student area full of drunk people), never has a wallet or phone or piece of clothing or anything been recovered..Despite Brian’s case being kind of well known around YouTube and social media platforms (his name is always first when you type “people who vanished”or whatever into google and his videos have thousands more views than other incidents) not even one person has had their memory jogged and thought “hold on a minute I’m sure I saw that guy around that time in that pizza shop around the block let me notify the cops”. “Didn’t I see that guy on vacation in the Maldives”. These kinds of things DO occur in pretty much every missing person case ever even if they are dead ends or lead nowhere. I don’t believe that he managed to pull of some masterful disappearance that kept him neatly concealed from humanity for 15 years.

logic dictates that nobody either then or since has reported any knowledge/sighting/false lead/memory of Brian because he was never seen again by anyone after he went back inside. He has to be in the construction area or somewhere else in that building.
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Nice post. I think we witnessed Brian in his final moments on video speaking with Amber and Brightan. Dead within minutes in a freak, drunken accident. If searchers then could somehow have known what we know now - that 15 years and running would pass without a single sign of life outside the complex, they'd have been laser-focused inside the complex that first week leaving no stone unturned.
 
Old Mozez said:
A common denominator might be those tunnels, they are all under the OSU campus.

I don’t have boots on the ground in Columbus, perhaps any1 local can uncover more. Would be interesting to find out more as this may have evaded LE.
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SBM

I am local, was at OSU at the time. I wanted to point out a few things:

*Those tunnels are to the northwest of the Gateway area and run from McCracken Power Plant (near the Shoe) to Sullivant Hall, and along Neil Ave. to the Medical Center. In 2018, Ohio State completed a restoration project on the utility lines & many now house fiber optic cables to service the wireless needs on campus. Here is some good info:
https://library.osu.edu/documents/university-archives/subject_files/tunnels.pdf

*The Gateway is named such because it sits on the edge of campus on the south end, serving as the “gateway” to campus from the Short North area downtown.

*I also wanted to add as a former patron of the UTS, there were various alternate ways to exit the bar that were used. At the time, many of us wondered why it was made to sound as if Brian had to exit via the escalator when it was generally known the emergency exit was just inside the bar on the right, which had stairs leading straight down & out the side of the building. We know per Hurst there was no camera focused on this door. There were also stairs and an elevator behind the false door by the top of the escalator that led down to the hallway, where he could’ve gone through Mad Mex or out the service exit. Many patrons regularly exited with the band.
 
XPh said:
Theories involving Brian being stuck or “entombed” in the bar do not necessarily have to end in him buried in concrete. As you suggested to others, perhaps you should open your mind to other ways one can get stuck in a rather large building.

We have seen stories about people getting stuck in between walls, behind coolers at a grocery store, and in duct work. They’ve been posted here. Some weren’t found for years until something triggered the discovery. It happens.

I tend to agree with you that being covered in concrete is unlikely, but open your mind to other possibilities. MOO.
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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.
 
MerryB said:
SBM

I am local, was at OSU at the time. I wanted to point out a few things:

*Those tunnels are to the northwest of the Gateway area and run from McCracken Power Plant (near the Shoe) to Sullivant Hall, and along Neil Ave. to the Medical Center. In 2018, Ohio State completed a restoration project on the utility lines & many now house fiber optic cables to service the wireless needs on campus. Here is some good info:
https://library.osu.edu/documents/university-archives/subject_files/tunnels.pdf
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Scanned through that pdf the other night: ref to p.10
“ The Ohio State University Physical Plant JS is the heart of a 5.85 mile complex of veins and arteries that supplies life to the University.
This circulatory system of tunnels criss-crosses Main Campus and furnishes electricity and natural gas as we-ll as cables for closed circuit TV.
The tunnels run from Eleventh to Wood- ruff Avenues and from High Street to Tuttle Park Place. Tunnels also run under the entire medical school complex and West Campus”
 
If people are going to insist that Brian is still inside the UTS, then I'm gonna say it's just as plausible that he drowned in the Oletangy river or some other nearby water source, and the searches just weren't thorough.

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.

The camera thing is also overblown, IMO. We have other cases of CCTV cameras not being reliable, such as Jennifer Kesse's disappearance. The person of interest in that footage manages to completely conceal his face by accident just because the camera's scans are too slow. If he had moved slightly faster, the cameras would have missed him entirely. Cameras in 2006 were not fool-proof HD, and I'm not sure how many there really were around Columbus or how much footage was saved from that night. None of us know.

I believe Shaffer is dead from all the evidence I've seen. To me, this case has 3 possibilities, which I think recovering his cell phone and more data from it would point to one of them.

1. Brian left the bar undetected, went a short distance from the UTS, and was killed by a stranger. Body could be anywhere.

2. Brian got into an argument with Clint Florence, left early to avoid Clint, then an altercation occurred sometime later at either Brian's apartment or wherever Clint was staying, resulting in Brian's death. Again, body could be anywhere.

3. Brian was drunk, fell in a river, and accidentally drowned. Body has simply not been found.

I think 1 and 2 are most likely because his cell phone had some pings and ringing after he vanished on 4/1/06. Somebody knows something.
 
justinkjones1993 said:
If people are going to insist that Brian is still inside the UTS, then I'm gonna say it's just as plausible that he drowned in the Oletangy river or some other nearby water source, and the searches just weren't thorough.

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.

The camera thing is also overblown, IMO. We have other cases of CCTV cameras not being reliable, such as Jennifer Kesse's disappearance. The person of interest in that footage manages to completely conceal his face by accident just because the camera's scans are too slow. If he had moved slightly faster, the cameras would have missed him entirely. Cameras in 2006 were not fool-proof HD, and I'm not sure how many there really were around Columbus or how much footage was saved from that night. None of us know.

I believe Shaffer is dead from all the evidence I've seen. To me, this case has 3 possibilities, which I think recovering his cell phone and more data from it would point to one of them.

1. Brian left the bar undetected, went a short distance from the UTS, and was killed by a stranger. Body could be anywhere.

2. Brian got into an argument with Clint Florence, left early to avoid Clint, then an altercation occurred sometime later at either Brian's apartment or wherever Clint was staying, resulting in Brian's death. Again, body could be anywhere.

3. Brian was drunk, fell in a river, and accidentally drowned. Body has simply not been found.

I think 1 and 2 are most likely because his cell phone had some pings and ringing after he vanished on 4/1/06. Somebody knows something.
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'Nobody knows anything' is more likely in my view. That is the explanation for why no one has squawked. Just a stupid drunken accident followed by a botched search, followed by the refusal of the building owner - OSU - to do right by one of it's own.
 
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juan1 said:
It really depends on what kind of "digging" you're referring to. If there were a cheap and reliable way to completely survey the premises (above and below ground) without destroying structures, I'm sure that most people would be on board. But to my knowledge, that technology doesn't exist.
Now, if you are referring to a more significant excavation, then it would "hurt" to dig, as it is simply not realistic to expend the resources to destroy structures and move dirt for a chance of him being there. We would need far more evidence than what is currently public.
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I posted a detailed description in Thread #4 in April 2020 that described relatively non-destructive building investigation techniques that I have used myself. Moving dirt, cutting concrete, or excavation is not necessarily needed. In addition, Brian may not be under a concrete slab. A likely location would be in the wall voids, which are substantial due to the irregular geometry of the floor plan. Brian could also have been on the jobsite for a limited amount of time, and removed while inert using a dumpster or cart. The explanation for Brian’s phone pinging and apparently working well after his disappearance is that IMO someone other than Brian had it. Although I have no explanation for what happened to Brian, I lean more towards foul play than an accident.
 
juan1 said:
Detective Tucker has stated that she believes someone withheld information. I'm inclined to believe the investigators on that one.
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Yes, I noticed that she sounded quite definite about that in the interview we've all seen. She didn't say that it's "possible" someone knows more than they're saying, or that she suspects this "may" be the case. She straight out believes that someone does know more than they're saying. Detective Tucker's opinion on that point really got my attention.
 
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


https://www.850businessmagazine.com/former-fbi-canine-specialist-trains-dogs-to-find-the-lost/
 
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