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

[Old Mozez]

Yeah, there was no new information in this at all. It was a run down of the most basic information, more of interest to those who have no prior knowledge of the case of Brian Shaffer. That is still useful of course. Anything that makes a new group of people aware of this case helps keep the story alive.
I was wondering if they were aware of our discussion here, or have listened to the Brian Shaffer Dead or Alive podcast, and would therefore at least mention that there has recently been more in depth discussions about phone pings... and about the family dynamics at the time etc... But it seems they weren't aware of any of that.
I'm having deja vu here actually. I feel like I have already heard the same two podcast hosts do an episode on Brian Shaffer before, but I must be getting a couple of different podcasts confused.

lol, yeah I guess they can invoke deja-vues because it was the same copy-paste rantings like many of the other ones. They provided sources for their episodes, and it was the lantern and other older articles about Brian. Most of the times these podcasters don't really follow the case, and they haven't got the time to do indepth because they're releasing one episode every other week. Luckely at least we have Kelly and her episodes.

An other podcast which I listened to yesterday though called go west, talked a little more indepth about Brian's ealier life. One tidbit was that he was rather good in tennis and played in a team, and at one point the coach told him to cut his hair, which by that point had grown long. Brian refused and quit the team!
The rest of the podcast was same same...but at least I got to know something I hadn't heard before.

 

[Old Mozez]

The staff wouldn't have been leaving between 1:58 and 2:00, but the band might have left that early or even earlier. Most bands leave well before last call, at least in the bars and clubs I've been to.

@Looking4Brian wrote the other day that Brian went back in the bar told C&M he was going to talk to the band at that time, so they must have been there in physical presence at least for him to say so? Can it be that they were leaving exactly then and he walk with or behind them, or could be he have meant they were seated at the bar for a drink, and then went to talk to them?

Can it be altogheter that Brian meant by saying "I am going to talk to the band" , that the band was not in the bar anymore, because he had seen them the leave through that beige door, and said to C&M he was going to talk to band as in "so you know where I am" . Since a minute later C&M got up and Brian was nowhere to be seen inside the bar...

 

[Burtrito]

Hi! Why did Brian want to talk to the band and who were they? Is it possible he went back in and spoke to them? Were there cameras inside the bar?

 

[Old Mozez]

Hi! Why did Brian want to talk to the band and who were they? Is it possible he went back in and spoke to them? Were there cameras inside the bar?

The band were locals of the area and called Rockhouse, they couldn't however provide anything of use to the investigation. Unfortunately no cameras in the bar.
There was a camera outside the bar entrance overlooking the foyer and in an "service" area of the building where staff and the band were seen leaving.

 

[Ozoner]

Based on the timeline, it seems like Brian must have made his comment about wanting to talk to the band before his chat with Amber and Brightan. It may be that the band members were already packing up their equipment. They might have left through the beige door while Brian's conversation with the girls was still going on.
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After saying his goodbyes to the girls, Brian may have sought to follow the band. He might never have gone through the beige door before and might have been unsure of which way to go.
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If he walked through the second-floor opening to the elevator shaft, he might have fallen in a weird way and gotten stuck between a couple of walls or pillars right there near the elevator. He might have fallen or squirmed into a spot several feet off the ground and out of view.
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The people searching the construction site probably entered the site from the ground floor; they may not have thought to look for random crevices above the first floor. Even if they did, Brian might not have been in the line of sight of anyone searching the building. It's even possible that whatever work was done on Monday, such as installing ductwork or insulation, might have sealed off whatever crevice hid Brian's corpse.
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I think they should use ground penetrating radar to search the floors, but I also think that they should use it on the walls.

 

[Tman2004]

I'd sure like to see photos, too. I suppose if CPD has pics (I doubt that they do), they won't release them. About all we have now are the descriptions of Hurst, who was there. He characterized the 'construction area' as follows: 'treacherous', a 'mess', 'no floor', 'dirt floor' that was 'uneven' and 'unlevel' and 'floor was all dug up'. Brian speculated to have been in there. Then vanishes. Seemed not to have left the building. Then later a stench in the building. I think searchers missed his remains.

Again with with Hurst and how he speaks I think he’s overly cautious due to being a cop so everything is a danger to him and he speaks weird anyways. Someone else would probably look wlike it and say it was a messy construction area with a messed up floor with a bunch of things you could trip on. Remembered when he said “got exited out” that’s just weird. Completely dug up and no floor don’t mesh with a building that’s a few months away from completion and there’s that picture of the scissor lift inside. If there was no floor where was that thing sitting? I’m picturing an empty space with a foundation and lots of finished or unfinished walls and maybe 2-3 foot deep trenches to install additional plumbing or whatever.

Has a stench ever been reported elsewhere besides that single yelp review? You’d think the typical teenage kids who works at theaters would have said something to someone if there was a constant rotting smell at their new job.

Right now I still lean towards him being in there somewhere but not in some 30 foot trench covered in concrete and rebar.

 

[Old Mozez]

Based on the timeline, it seems like Brian must have made his comment about wanting to talk to the band before his chat with Amber and Brightan. It may be that the band members were already packing up their equipment. They might have left through the beige door while Brian's conversation with the girls was still going on.

If that, or if he stuck his head in the bar and told them that then.... The point is that if the band is outside the bar then it's a feasible path.

So in essence Brian wanted to talk to them band, they had stopped playing for the night and he saw his moment. He had recently seen them leaving that beige door, Amber and Brightan left right and there, (Is that why he didnt walk them to the car?) he went back inside the bar and told C & M " I am going to talk the band". He rushed off, attempted to pursue them he lost track of them in that maze of hallways, corridors and what not, took a wrong turn somewhere in or in the vicinity of the construction area and was fatally wounded.
Two minutes later C&M call him, being where he was his signal is lost...
I can live with that..... It shoult at least account for one of the theories.

 

[Old Mozez]

If this scenario is somehow "correct"

It wasn't Brian who ditched his friends, on the contrary he told them what he was up to. It was C&M who left him there...

 

[itsrak]

Again with with Hurst and how he speaks I think he’s overly cautious due to being a cop so everything is a danger to him and he speaks weird anyways. Someone else would probably look wlike it and say it was a messy construction area with a messed up floor with a bunch of things you could trip on. Remembered when he said “got exited out” that’s just weird. Completely dug up and no floor don’t mesh with a building that’s a few months away from completion and there’s that picture of the scissor lift inside. If there was no floor where was that thing sitting? I’m picturing an empty space with a foundation and lots of finished or unfinished walls and maybe 2-3 foot deep trenches to install additional plumbing or whatever.

Has a stench ever been reported elsewhere besides that single yelp review? You’d think the typical teenage kids who works at theaters would have said something to someone if there was a constant rotting smell at their new job.

Right now I still lean towards him being in there somewhere but not in some 30 foot trench covered in concrete and rebar.

As to the stench, I'm too lazy to go find and read posts from last year, but I remember just one yelp review complaining of a stench in the cinema, and a review complaining about the presence of UTS across from the cinema and how the UTS smelled. Of course, only a small percentage of folks leave reviews. Would be interesting to know if other patrons and employees observed a stench. A chat with the property manager circa 2006-2007 might be interesting...

 

[itsrak]

Based on the timeline, it seems like Brian must have made his comment about wanting to talk to the band before his chat with Amber and Brightan. It may be that the band members were already packing up their equipment. They might have left through the beige door while Brian's conversation with the girls was still going on.
-
After saying his goodbyes to the girls, Brian may have sought to follow the band. He might never have gone through the beige door before and might have been unsure of which way to go.
-
If he walked through the second-floor opening to the elevator shaft, he might have fallen in a weird way and gotten stuck between a couple of walls or pillars right there near the elevator. He might have fallen or squirmed into a spot several feet off the ground and out of view.
-
The people searching the construction site probably entered the site from the ground floor; they may not have thought to look for random crevices above the first floor. Even if they did, Brian might not have been in the line of sight of anyone searching the building. It's even possible that whatever work was done on Monday, such as installing ductwork or insulation, might have sealed off whatever crevice hid Brian's corpse.
-
I think they should use ground penetrating radar to search the floors, but I also think that they should use it on the walls.

Yeah, based on Hurst's description of the incomplete elevator shaft, the area around that elevator - just feet from where Brian was last seen and near the cinema from where a stench was reported - would seem like best place to begin any new search. I like your analysis.

 

[Burtrito]

Thanks for the info! Is it possible he was secreted out of the club inside the bands equipment Boxes like a PA or something large?

 

[Ozoner]

Thanks for the info! Is it possible he was secreted out of the club inside the bands equipment Boxes like a PA or something large?

So Brian approaches the band and says, "Hey guys, I really liked that last set. Do you have any CDs of your music for sale?"
Then they kill the six-foot-plus Brian, roll him like a yoga mat, and stuff him into a snare drum.
It might be possible, but it's extremely unlikely.

 

[Burtrito]

I was more thinking could he have hid but yeah... anything is possible!

 

[Ozoner]

I was more thinking could he have hid but yeah... anything is possible!

My last response was sort of tongue-in-cheek.
I really don't think a band playing in a small bar would have had anything large enough for Brian to have hidden in.
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I would really like to see blueprints for the Gateway Complex (explained by someone who knows how to read blueprints). Brian could not have fit inside a guitar case, but there are probably some spaces in the wall adjacent to elevator shaft where he could have fit.

 

[itsrak]

My last response was sort of tongue-in-cheek.
I really don't think a band playing in a small bar would have had anything large enough for Brian to have hidden in.
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I would really like to see blueprints for the Gateway Complex (explained by someone who knows how to read blueprints). Brian could not have fit inside a guitar case, but there are probably some spaces in the wall adjacent to elevator shaft where he could have fit.

I stopped at the Gateway complex last year and had a look around. UTS had just closed a week or two prior, and the interior space was already being refitted for office tenants. One thing I noted is that the complex is not rectangular/square, it is trapezoidal. Thus, there could conceivably be some wedge spaces. Although, it appeared that the building is not an aggregation/assemblage of older smaller buildings, but appeared to have been built as one, so wouldn't think unintentional wedges would have resulted. Here's a rough map made from an aerial:

 

[Ozoner]

I stopped at the Gateway complex last year and had a look around. UTS had just closed a week or two prior, and the interior space was already being refitted for office tenants. One thing I noted is that the complex is not rectangular/square, it is trapezoidal. Thus, there could conceivably be some wedge spaces. Although, it appeared that the building is not an aggregation/assemblage of older smaller buildings, but appeared to have been built as one, so wouldn't think unintentional wedges would have resulted. Here's a rough map made from an aerial:

So are the elevator and stairwell in between the escalator and the construction zone? Which is closer to the escalator, the elevator or the stairwell? What's underneath the escalator? Is that area concealed?
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There are probably some gaps around supporting framework for the elevator itself. If we're talking about a space that's tight enough for a grown to get wedged into without being able to breathe, that would probably be a six-inch to eight-inch gap (roughly). The elevator car hadn't been installed when Brian disappeared, but there might have been some kind of outer framework in place.
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Aside from falling, we have to consider that Brian might have dropped his phone into an enclosed area and then crawled in after it. (You probably heard the news story about the boy who died of positional asphyxia while trying to retrieve his shoe from the middle of a rolled up gym mat.)

 

[dotr]

So are the elevator and stairwell in between the escalator and the construction zone? Which is closer to the escalator, the elevator or the stairwell? What's underneath the escalator? Is that area concealed?
-
There are probably some gaps around supporting framework for the elevator itself. If we're talking about a space that's tight enough for a grown to get wedged into without being able to breathe, that would probably be a six-inch to eight-inch gap (roughly). The elevator car hadn't been installed when Brian disappeared, but there might have been some kind of outer framework in place.
-
Aside from falling, we have to consider that Brian might have dropped his phone into an enclosed area and then crawled in after it. (You probably heard the news story about the boy who died of positional asphyxia while trying to retrieve his shoe from the middle of a rolled up gym mat.)

Falling into something whilst trying to retrieve a phone or whatever and dying as a result is plausible.
It nearly happened to me... i used to have a very large aquarium which i could not reach properly to clean without standing on a chair.
One day i reached too deeply, lost my balance and ended up with my head fully immersed in the tank, practically falling right in, the glass walls would have broken if i had used them to pull myself back up, i somehow ended up pushing on the tank floor to get back up.
All i could think afterward is oh so that is how some people die in strange and inexplicable ways and oh boy, what will Wsers make of it all ?!

 

[arielilane]

Hey all, glad to see people still talking about Brian Shaffer. Thinking out loud and throwing some thoughts and opinions of mine out here. what do we know about the Ugly Tuna Saloona (UTS)? its still open, right? Who owns this business? I don't recall long standing campus bars still being in operation this long. They usually sell or change names, etc. Any one feel that UTS is protected here, or am I missing something? Just surprised there hasn't been more of a search of Brian at the bar.

 

[itsrak]

Hey all, glad to see people still talking about Brian Shaffer. Thinking out loud and throwing some thoughts and opinions of mine out here. what do we know about the Ugly Tuna Saloona (UTS)? its still open, right? Who owns this business? I don't recall long standing campus bars still being in operation this long. They usually sell or change names, etc. Any one feel that UTS is protected here, or am I missing something? Just surprised there hasn't been more of a search of Brian at the bar.

UTS closed last year, space gutted and refitted/converted I believe to office use. So, Brian definitely wasn't there in the UTS space all those years ...

 

[itsrak]

Falling into something whilst trying to retrieve a phone or whatever and dying as a result is plausible.
It nearly happened to me... i used to have a very large aquarium which i could not reach properly to clean without standing on a chair.
One day i reached too deeply, lost my balance and ended up with my head fully immersed in the tank, practically falling right in, the glass walls would have broken if i had used them to pull myself back up, i somehow ended up pushing on the tank floor to get back up.
All i could think afterward is oh so that is how some people die in strange and inexplicable ways and oh boy, what will Wsers make of it all ?!

If you got that on video, could have gotten on America's Funniest Home Videos...