WEBVTT
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Every disappearance has a final moment of certainty, a last sighting,
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a last call, a last place someone was known to be.
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The last known tells real true crime cases using only
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the facts.
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Today we are wrestling with a case that has rightfully
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earned the grim title of the King of missing person cases.
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It really has.
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We're talking about Brian Shaffer, a twenty seven year old
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Ohio State University medical student who, in the early hours
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of April first, two thousand and six, walked into a
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bar and then somehow just ceased to exist.
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The location was the ugly Tuna Salona, right there off campus. Yeah.
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And the reason this mystery remains so utterly compelling, i
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mean nearly two decades later, is that it seems to
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defy physics. You have a controlled environment, you have surveillance,
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you have definitive proof of entry.
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He's on camera, we see him walk in.
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We see him walk into the second floor bar. But
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despite the Columbus Police Department reviewing every single frame, tracking
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every single patron and employee, Brian Shaffer was never recorded
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walking out.
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It's just it's impossible.
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It's the vanishing act that should have been impossible, and
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that technological paradox that's what has kept this case so
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firmly lodged in the public consciousness.
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Okay, so let's try to unpack this impossibility by grounding
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it in a bit of reality. Who was Brian Shaffer
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in two thousand and six. He wasn't a transient, He
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wasn't a strange from his family. This was a highly successful,
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high achieving young man, you know, right on the cusp
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of his professional life.
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Absolutely. He grew up in Pickerington, Ohio, had already earned
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a degree in microbiology, and was well into medical school
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with OSU. I mean, his future was pretty much mapped.
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Out, and his personal life seemed to mirror that success.
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Precisely. He was in a serious, committed relationship with Alexis Wagoner,
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who is a fellow medical student. They were planning a
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big spring break trip to Miami, a.
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Trip that friends and family viewed as well. They thought
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he might propose, that.
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Was the feeling. So this suggests commitment, forward motion, stability,
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you know, all the things that argue again and someone
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just disappearing.
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But that stability, it was coupled with a really profound,
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very recent trauma.
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And that is the critical piece of the puzzle that
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so often gets overlooked in the rush to just analyze
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the security footage. Yeah, just three weeks, three weeks before
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he disappeared, Brian's mother, Renee Shaffer, had tragically died after
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a battle with cancer. So Brian was actively deeply grieving.
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So you have this young man who's trying to balance
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the high pressure world of medical school, all the expectations
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of his career, his relationship.
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All while navigating the raw immediate pain of losing his
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primary support system. It's an unbelievable amount of stress.
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That cocktail of grief, pressure, and high expectation is just
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essential context. It's what immediately struck the law enforcement officers
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who were handling the case.
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It was the lead investigator, retired Columbus Police sergeant John Hurst.
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He summed up the collective bewilderment best.
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What does he say?
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He noted that everyone, and I mean everyone, as he's
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got everything going for him, why would this individual just
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disappear like this?
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And that's the question. So we have to hold all
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of those factors, the achievement, the grief, the future plans,
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we have to hold them all in mind as we
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go through the timeline of the nighty Vanish right.
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So the evening of Friday, March thirty first, two thousand
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and six, it starts on a pretty normal note. Okay,
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Brian has dinner with his father, Randy Shaffer, just a
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routine family get together. He also tried to call his
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younger brother Derek, but Derek RDY had planned so he
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was unavailable.
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So he's reaching out, trying to connect with people.
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It suggests he was seeking company, maybe a bit of
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distraction as the weekend was starting and it was the
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unofficial start at spring break, you know, a chance to
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blow off steam after exams.
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And that's exactly what he planned to do. Around nine
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point three or or ten pm, he meets up with
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his friend Clint Florence.
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And this is where the celebratory part of the night
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really kicks in.
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You go bar hopping right.
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They start at the Ugly Tuna saloona which was a
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super popular spot. It was on the second floor the
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South Campus Gateway complex. And it's important to visualize this.
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It's a modern, busy retail and entertainment hub. This isn't
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some shady, isolated bar on a backstreet.
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No, it's a very public space.
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Very public. But their night wasn't confined to the Ugly Tuna.
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Like a lot of college students, they did a typical
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bar crawl, moving between a few different places in the
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area before eventually heading back to the Ugly Tuna around
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one point twenteen in the morning.
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And when they came back, they weren't alone.
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No, they had picked up Clint's friend, a woman named
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Meredith Read. And this is a critical detail because the
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moment the three of them, Brian, Clint, and Meredith arrive
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back at the Ugly Tuna, they are captured clearly on
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the security cameras.
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So that establishes the last definitive time he's seen inside
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the bar complex and with his friends exactly.
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And now we are closing in on the crucial moments,
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just before the bar's closing.
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Time, which was two am, or was it leader.
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The official closing time was generally two am, but alcohol
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service would stop then and patrons might linger until two
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point three zero. So at approximately one five to five am,
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the surveillance footage captures Brian outside the bar's upstairs.
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Entrance and he's talking to someone he is.
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He's talking briefly to two women, Brighton Zacho and Amber Ruick.
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The conversation was casually at a lasting maybe a minute
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or two.
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This is the absolute last moment we see Brian Schaffer
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on camera. So what does that final frame actually show.
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The video shows Brian walking off screen. He appears to
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be moving back toward the bar's entrance, but the camera's
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field of view cuts him off right before he crosses
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the threshold.
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So we don't actually see him go back in.
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We do not, and this detail is crucial because his friends,
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Clint and Meredith, they later said they believed he went
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back inside.
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They just assumed he did.
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They did, and they offered some conflicting ideas about why.
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Maybe he said he was going back to watch the band,
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or maybe he told the women he'd walked them to
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their car but then changed his mind because he was
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pretty intoxicated.
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But the hard visual evidence the video, it just ends
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with him moving out of frame.
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It ends.
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Let's pause on that conflict for a second. If Brian
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was highly intoxicated, which multiple sources suggest he was, his
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decision making would have been impaired. But does the video
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really show him heading back into the bar or just
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moving away from where he was talking.
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It shows him moving in the general direction of the entrance,
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that's all we can say for sure. The camera doesn't
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show him passing the security checkpoint or entering the main
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area again.
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And this is where the investigation just immediately hits a
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brick wall.
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Right, law enforcement has to rely on what the camera saw.
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His friends are relying on their intoxicated memory of him
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saying he'd.
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Be right back, and the camera is unyielding. He vanished
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in that minuscule gap of time and space exactly, so
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the bar officially closes. Clint and Meredith are now looking
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for him, yes, and.
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Their search was immediate, but ultimately unsuccessful. Clint specifically checked
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the men's restroom, a natural place to look, right, of course,
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when he couldn't find Brian in, he and Meredith just
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assumed he'd taken off. And here's the key mitigating factor.
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Brian had a reputation among his friends for doing this.
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Oh really, Yeah, He would occasionally just take off on
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his own without saying goodbye when he felt he'd had
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enough or was just ready to go home.
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So this behavior is why Clinton Meredith didn't immediately panic exactly.
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It's why they didn't sound the alarm. They just thought
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he was already home sleeping.
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It off that casual dismissal, just assuming he went home.
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It's just tragic in hindsight. How long did it take
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for the situation to escalate from Brian left early to
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Brian is missing?
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The urgency only truly spiked. On Monday, that's April third,
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he failed to show up for his scheduled flight to
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Miami with his girlfriend alexis.
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Missing a huge trip like that, a trip where he
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might propose that is completely out of character, totally.
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His father, Randy Shaffer, immediately drove to Brian's apartment.
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And what did he find there?
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The scene was incredibly telling, and it strongly argued again
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it's the idea that Brian had intentionally prepared to run away.
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How So, the apartment was immaculate, His car was parked outside, untouched,
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the bed was made. All his personal belongings, including his
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luggage for the Miami trip and his beloved guitars, were
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all neatly put away.
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No signs of a struggle, no hasty packing.
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No note, nothing. Everything about the apartment suggested Brian had
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planned to be back in a matter of hours. The
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missing person report was filed immediately after Randy confirmed he.
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Wasn't there, So the central paradox of this whole case
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is the surveillance footage. If he entered, and the investigators
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are certainly accounted for every other person who left, how
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did he manage to walk through a solid wall of technology.
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This is where the rigor of the investigation really comes
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into play, and it's why law enforcement is still so frustrated.
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Detective Andre Edwards of the Columbus PD and his team,
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they were meticulous.
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They didn't just watch the tapes.
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Oh no, they practically digitized the patrons. Edwards reportedly projected
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the video discs onto a wall, making the images lifelike,
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so he could track every single person's trajectory entering, moving
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within the bar, and eventually exiting. They even looked for
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signs of him changing clothes or trying to disguise himself.
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They were ruling out everything.
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And their absolute conclusion was that Brian Schaffer did not
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use the main exit.
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Correct The ugly Tuna was on the second floor and
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the main way out for patrons was to go down
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an escalator to the ground level of the gateway complex.
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Law enforcement has stated with one hundred percent certainty that
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Brian did not use that escalator.
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They accounted for everyone else who did everyone? So if
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the main exit is out, we have to look at
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the secondary, less controlled ways out. What were the options
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and what created that crucial blind spot.
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There were essentially three alternatives to the escalator. First, there's
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a dedicated fire escape. Second, and this is the most
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critical one, there were service exits that led into an
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active construction zone behind.
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The bar, an active construction zone that becomes the focus
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of Scraethurst's primary theory.
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His speculation hinges on the lack of security around these
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secondary exits.
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So tell me more about how vulnerable these construction entrances were.
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Well, according to Hurst, they weren't very secure at all.
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These were service doors or just openings covered by plywood panels,
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often secured with just a chain and a padlock. But
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when investigators looked at them, Hirst noted they were not
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fool proof. He said, you could easily push on the panels.
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They were simple enough for someone to slip through in
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or out of the construction area without a lot of difficulty.
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So it sounds less like a high security area and
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more like a poorly managed construction site that happens to
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border a busy nightlife hub.
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That's a perfect way to put it, and that lack
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of security was compounded by the technological failure sincre right.
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While there were surveillance cameras aimed at this general area
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behind the bar, they weren't static, fixed cameras. They were
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panning cameras, and for two thousand and six CPTV systems,
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that's a critical technical distinction.
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Let's get into the technical debas tails here for anyone listening,
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how does a panning camera create a fatal blind spot?
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A panning camera moves, you know, sweeps over a wide
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field of view, so it might spend thirty seconds looking
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toward the construction site, then thirty seconds looking toward the
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parking garage, and then it just repeats that cycle.
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So if Brian exits through that unsecured plywood during the
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window when the camera is sweeping the opposite.
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Direction, he would simply not exist on the tape. Unlike
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a fixed camera that gives you constant, though narrow coverage,
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the panning system created these temporary, recurring windows of opportunity.
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It was the perfect cover for a quick, unrecorded exit.
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And there were no cameras pointed directly at the exits.
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None. They were watching the peripheral area, not the exit
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points themselves.
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So the combination of an easy to breach exit and
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a camera system designed to look away periodically it creates
253
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the perfect scenario for an accidental vanishing. It does, but
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that still doesn't explain why Brian would use that route.
255
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The typical theory realized on spontaneous impaired thinking.
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Right. Yes, if we assume the most innocent interpretation, no
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foul play, no premeditated running away, the motivation is purely visceral.
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He was drunk.
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We know he was intoxicated, and, as one commentator aptly noted,
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alcohol is a banger in our bladders. Near closing time
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at a packed college bar, the restroom lines would have
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been insane.
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And if he was already outside talking to those two women,
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it's entirely plausible he just thought, I don't want to
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fight the crowd to use the bar restroom.
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Again, precisely, the theory suggests Brian intentionally used the service
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exit or stairs, not the main escalator, to find a
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less crowded or maybe even an outside place to relieve himself.
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He wasn't trying to a v law enforcement He was
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just trying to find a quiet corner to pee.
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And This idea has been talked about online, but it
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also matches up with what law enforcement thinks about spontaneous
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alcohol fueled behavior.
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It does. But wait, there's a challenge to that simple
275
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drunk pee break theory. Okay, if he was trying to
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00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:03.519
have bade his friends, as some have speculated, why choose
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such a complicated, high risk way out. If he wanted
278
00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:09.919
to leave without Clinton Meredith, he could have just walked
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00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:12.559
down the main escalator and left. His friends would have
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just assumed he'd gone home anyway.
281
00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:16.200
That's a really good point. So maybe it wasn't just
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about finding a bathroom.
283
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The thinking is that if he was already arguing with
284
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Clint earlier that night, maybe his motivation was twofold immediate
285
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physical relief and avoiding a potentially tense interaction with Clinton
286
00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:30.919
Meredith on the escalator right down.
287
00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:34.039
So by taking the service stairs he eliminates the chance
288
00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:36.159
of running into them. He thinks he can just quickly
289
00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:37.639
circle back to the street and head home.
290
00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:41.399
Exactly the decision to use the construction path, whether for
291
00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:44.240
a quick escape or a bathroom break, it suggests a
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level of temporary, localized evasion.
293
00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:51.840
That spontaneous impaired thinking theory makes the most immediate human
294
00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:54.960
sense for a college student, but it also means that
295
00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:58.960
accidental entry into the construction zone leads to a prominent disappearance.
296
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It does.
297
00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:03.639
Now, what about the intense theories early on that something
298
00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:05.080
happened to him inside the bar?
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00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:08.919
The Columbus PD was rigorous in ruling that out. The
300
00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.600
Ugly Tuna was structurally a big open room. It would
301
00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:15.600
have been very difficult to hide a covert homicide or
302
00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:17.000
an accidental death right there.
303
00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:18.720
And they brought in cadaver dogs.
304
00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:22.559
They did crucially, they brought in cadaver dogs. These dogs
305
00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:25.519
searched the entire building, the floors, the back areas, even
306
00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:27.679
the roof. They found no trace of human or mains
307
00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:28.879
or blood. Zero.
308
00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:31.039
And the idea that he might have fallen into a
309
00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:34.120
construction pit and been covered with wet cement that one
310
00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:35.679
always comes up in these mysteries.
311
00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:39.919
Scrainhurst definitively dismissed that. He confirmed that when the investigation
312
00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:43.279
started there was no evidence of fresh cement poured that
313
00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:46.000
would suggest a body had been hastily covered up. Plus,
314
00:14:46.039 --> 00:14:48.759
the bar has since been completely renovated and nothing was
315
00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.679
ever found within the walls or foundation during that later construction.
316
00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:55.639
So the police are firm. Whatever happened to Brian, it
317
00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:58.679
happened after he left the confines of the ugly Tuna Saluna.
318
00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:02.120
Yes, and if the bar is ruled out, the focus
319
00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:05.360
inevitably shifts to the person last known to be with Brian,
320
00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:09.879
Clint Florence Flynt Florence, and the suspicion surrounding him isn't
321
00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:12.519
just because of his proximity to the event, but because
322
00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:14.639
of his actions in the investigation that followed.
323
00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:18.759
And the specific key action that immediately put Clint under
324
00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:21.919
the microscope was his refusal to take a polygraph test.
325
00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:26.639
Absolutely, the contrast is just It's stark and immediate. Brian's father,
326
00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:29.600
Randy Shaffer, who was dealing with his own grief and
327
00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:33.519
was subject to these bizarre rumors about insurance fraud, he
328
00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:36.120
voluntarily took a polygraph and passed.
329
00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:39.080
Marriedithree. The friend who joined them also took one and passed.
330
00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:42.879
She did. Clint Florence stands completely alone as the only
331
00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:46.279
key figure to refuse, and he refused multiple times, right.
332
00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:49.440
At least twice, Yes, once when the Columbus police asked,
333
00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:52.120
and then again when the family's private investigator asked.
334
00:15:51.879 --> 00:15:55.480
Beyond the refusal. Clint then retained an attorney, Neil Rosenberg,
335
00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:59.000
and invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination when
336
00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:01.279
he was subpoened appear before the grand jury.
337
00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.639
So that combination of refusal and legal protection, it just
338
00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:09.759
creates this enormous unfillable gap in the police's understanding of
339
00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:10.840
those final moments.
340
00:16:10.919 --> 00:16:11.360
It does.
341
00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:14.759
But from a law enforcement perspective, how much does a
342
00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:18.200
polygraph refusal actually imply guilt? Sush to me, and Hurst
343
00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:21.639
did acknowledge that attorneys often advise clients not to take them,
344
00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:23.440
regardless of the truth, and.
345
00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:26.200
That's the tightrope pers had to walk. He knew intellectually
346
00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:29.879
that legal counsel often prohibits polygraphs because the tests aren't
347
00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:34.440
admissible in court and they are notoriously unreliable, Asras pointed out,
348
00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:37.120
if you fail, you look guilty, If you refuse, you
349
00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:39.559
look guilty, and even if you pass, the police might
350
00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:43.559
not trust the result anyway. However, the operational reality for
351
00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.320
the investigators was that Clint was the only eyewitness to
352
00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:49.360
that critical period, and his refusal meant they could not
353
00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:53.159
eliminate questions about his testimony. So for the police, the
354
00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:57.279
suspicion naturally hardened because a full, truthful accounting of the
355
00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:58.919
night was legally barred.
356
00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:02.320
So the real issue isn't just the polygraph refusal itself.
357
00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:07.279
It's the massive unfillable gap in the timeline that refusal created,
358
00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:10.039
especially since Clint was the last one with him.
359
00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:13.400
Exactly, and that gap is what fueled the family's relentless pursuit.
360
00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:16.640
But the situation got even more contentious two years later
361
00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:20.119
in two thousand and eight, when Clint's lawyer, Neil Rosenberg
362
00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:23.839
entered the public conversation with a really explosive claim.
363
00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:25.359
Remind us of what that claim was.
364
00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:28.720
Rosenberg sent an email to the family's PI asserting that
365
00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:32.000
a detective had led him to believe that Brian was alive. Wow.
366
00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:35.079
And then Rosenberg added that Brian should come forward and
367
00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:38.519
end this, essentially implying that Brian was responsible for his
368
00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:41.079
family's pain by voluntarily disappearing.
369
00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:44.119
If that were true, it would completely exonerate Clint and
370
00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:46.400
turn this into a voluntary missing person case.
371
00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:50.559
It would, but the police reaction was immediate and dismissive.
372
00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:54.920
Squat Hurst confirmed that absolutely none of the detectives actively
373
00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:57.039
working the case had ever made a statement.
374
00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:59.680
Like that, so Hurst called it baseless totally.
375
00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:03.680
He suggested it was either a deliberate misdirection or a
376
00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:08.119
huge misunderstanding used by the attorney to justify Clint's continued
377
00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:11.519
silence and maybe end the pressure on his client. The
378
00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:14.160
statement did nothing before salt in the family's wound and
379
00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:16.279
just intensify their suspicion of Clint.
380
00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:19.279
Let's deal deeper into the nature of their relationship. It
381
00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:22.480
wasn't always smooth sailing, which adds another layer of tension
382
00:18:22.519 --> 00:18:23.440
to that final night.
383
00:18:23.799 --> 00:18:27.960
We know there was underlying conflict. Investigators confirmed that Brian
384
00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:30.759
and Clint were involved in a verbal altercation inside the
385
00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:34.200
Ugly Tuna that very night, right before Brian disappeared.
386
00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:36.680
And this wasn't an isolated thing none at all.
387
00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.680
They had actually fought physically about two weeks prior, around
388
00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:42.480
Saint Patrick's Day. So this established a history of conflict
389
00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:43.960
and volatility in their friendship.
390
00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:47.039
And what about the rumors regarding Brian's personal life that
391
00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.519
the police unit was discussing.
392
00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:51.400
Yeah, the police unit did discuss the possibility that Clint
393
00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:54.680
was protecting a secret about his relationship with Brian. There
394
00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:58.960
were these persistent rumors that their relationship was more than
395
00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:00.319
friendship from.
396
00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.839
Clint's former roommates, right, they reported the two were a
397
00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:05.319
little too touchy philly.
398
00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:08.640
That's the phrase they used, touchy philly for anyone listening.
399
00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:11.319
That implies a level of physical intimacy or closeness that
400
00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:14.640
goes beyond a standard male friendship. In the context of
401
00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:17.960
the interviews, it was used to suggest a possible closeted relationship,
402
00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:19.920
or at least an ambiguous.
403
00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:22.160
One, So Spitthurst confirmed this was a legitimate line of
404
00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:23.000
inquiry for them.
405
00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:25.839
It was. The idea was that Clint's refusal to speak
406
00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:30.160
might stem from his desire to hide his sexuality, or
407
00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:33.759
perhaps an intimate situation that went wrong accidentally or otherwise
408
00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:34.480
that night.
409
00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:38.000
So if Clint was hiding a potentially intimate relationship or
410
00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:41.480
just hiding the fact that their argument escalated into something physical,
411
00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:44.400
his silence makes a certain kind of sense. Even if
412
00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:47.240
he wasn't directly involved in the disappearance itself.
413
00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:50.799
It creates a perfect motive for non cooperation. Whether he
414
00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:54.200
was guilty of foul play or simply guarding personal secrets.
415
00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:57.519
The outcome for the investigation is the same, a brick
416
00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:00.279
wall of silence. At the most critical point in the time.
417
00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:03.799
Line, and the family's belief in Clint's culpability is just
418
00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:05.200
it's undeniable.
419
00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:09.160
It is Both Derek Schaffer and Alexis Wagoner have publicly
420
00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:12.519
stated their belief that Clint knows more than he has revealed.
421
00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:16.920
Derek specifically pointed out that after the disappearance, Clint started
422
00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:19.799
speaking about Brian in a negative way, and that.
423
00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:23.440
Change in demeanor, combined with the legal stonewalling, convinced the
424
00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:26.559
family that Clint was actively concealing information.
425
00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:29.720
Right, regardless of whether that information was about a tragic accident,
426
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:33.759
a voluntary departure, or something much darker involving foul play.
427
00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:36.599
Moving beyond the ugly tuna and its immediate circle, let's
428
00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:39.480
establish the broader context of the search efforts. When a
429
00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:43.839
person vanishes, rumors immediately start circulating about financial distress or
430
00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:47.319
a secret second life. What did the investigation find about
431
00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:48.319
Brian's finances?
432
00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:51.440
The financial picture was pretty straightforward for a medical student,
433
00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:55.039
which is to say it involved debt, but not the
434
00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:58.359
kind of overwhelming, high risk debt that typically motivates a
435
00:20:58.480 --> 00:20:59.960
rapid flight or makes you a tark.
436
00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.680
So no massive debt with a bookie or anything like that.
437
00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:07.640
Nothing like that. The financial motive was largely dismissed, and
438
00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:11.039
Brian's father, Randy even had to defend himself against these
439
00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:15.359
completely unfounded rumors about life insurance money. It just highlights
440
00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:17.640
the level of cruel speculation the family was.
441
00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:19.799
Facing, and he passed a polygraph on that too.
442
00:21:20.119 --> 00:21:24.200
Absolutely, Randy's willingness to submit to that test just reinforces
443
00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.920
the integrity of the family's search. Money was not the
444
00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:27.599
catalyst here.
445
00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:30.759
The cell phone data, though, that remains one of the
446
00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:34.599
most maddening pieces of evidence. It provides this fleeting hope
447
00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:36.480
and then just frustrating contradiction.
448
00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:40.519
It really does. For months after Brian vanished, Alexis Wagner
449
00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:42.839
tried calling his phone and it went straight to voicemail
450
00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:47.000
every time. Every time. Then six months later, in September
451
00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:49.279
two thousand and six, something incredible happened.
452
00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:50.119
She called again.
453
00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:53.640
She called again, and this time the phone did not
454
00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:57.519
go straight to voicemail. It rang three times before it
455
00:21:57.559 --> 00:21:58.119
switched over.
456
00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:00.359
Six months later. That must have been a can't even
457
00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:01.160
imagine it.
458
00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:05.279
Caused mass hysteria and hope. The phone was traced to
459
00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:08.559
a tower pinging in Hilliard, Ohio, which is about fourteen
460
00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:09.400
miles west of.
461
00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:12.480
Columbus fourteen miles away. That's a huge distance for a
462
00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:14.960
phone that should have been dead or destroyed if he'd
463
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:17.079
fallen into a dumpster in near campus that night.
464
00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:20.759
It is, and while the carrier later dismissed this single
465
00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:24.680
ping as a potential system glitch, that dismissal itself is
466
00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:28.200
hotly debated. I mean, what causes a system glitch to
467
00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:31.279
ring three times and ping a tower fourteen miles away?
468
00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:34.640
Right, It's not definitive proof Brian was alive, but it
469
00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:38.400
strongly suggests the phone or someone using it was active
470
00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:42.599
and mobile far from the ugly Tuna months after he disappeared.
471
00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:45.119
And this is critical for supporting the voluntary disappearance theory.
472
00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:47.680
But there's an earlier detail about phone pings, one that's
473
00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:49.960
often cited that might be even more crucial to the
474
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:51.279
construction exit theory.
475
00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:57.079
That's right. Other sources indicate that investigators recorded pings much earlier,
476
00:22:57.559 --> 00:23:02.039
specifically twenty four to forty eight after the disappearance, and
477
00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:04.880
those pings were located within a six block radius of
478
00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:05.200
the bar.
479
00:23:05.559 --> 00:23:08.480
So if that earlier data is reliable, and that's a
480
00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:10.839
big if given the tech in two thousand and six.
481
00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:14.240
It proves the phone definitely left the immediate area of
482
00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:15.119
the Ugly Tuna.
483
00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.839
It means he was mobile at least for a moment
484
00:23:17.960 --> 00:23:18.960
after his last sighting.
485
00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:21.960
Let's talk about the physical search. How extensive were the
486
00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:23.920
efforts to find him in the immediate area.
487
00:23:24.039 --> 00:23:27.960
Oh, they were exhaustive. Dive teams scoured the Olontangi River,
488
00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:31.599
which runs near campus. However, investigators noted the river was
489
00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:34.519
extremely shallow at the time, only a couple of feet deep,
490
00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:37.960
making it unlikely to conceal a body permanently.
491
00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:39.960
Though drowning is still possible.
492
00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:43.240
Still possible. These horses to search trails. They scoured dumpsters
493
00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:46.759
and sewer systems all across the campus area. Every logical
494
00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:48.319
physical search avenue was pursued.
495
00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:50.480
But what about the failures of the technology that the
496
00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:52.000
investigators were relying on.
497
00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:54.880
The technological landscape of two thousand and six was just
498
00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:58.319
immensely frustrating for them. The Ugly Tuna blind spot was
499
00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:01.440
just the beginning. The police discovered that many cameras in
500
00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:04.279
the surrounding area, cameras that would have picked up Brian's
501
00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:07.319
path if you'd use the construction exit, were either not
502
00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.640
working or in some cases they were faked.
503
00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:12.960
Cameras, like the Wendy's drive through camera.
504
00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:16.720
Exactly the Wendy's camera, which was situated right near the
505
00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:19.039
most likely path he would have taken, was found to
506
00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:23.200
be non operational. Siki and Hurst described a scenario where
507
00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:26.440
every potential piece of corroborating evidence just seemed to be
508
00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:29.200
undermined by faulty or absent technology.
509
00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:33.759
That cumulative technological failure the panning camera, the non working
510
00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:37.599
drive through camera, the ambiguous cell phone data. It created
511
00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:40.200
the perfect environment for a flawless disappearance.51200:24:40.240 --> 00:24:43.039
It did it ensured that the critical fifteen minute window51300:24:43.039 --> 00:24:46.640
after two am remains almost entirely dark, which allows all51400:24:46.680 --> 00:24:50.720
three major theories accident, voluntary departure, or foul play to51500:24:50.759 --> 00:24:51.920
persist with equal force.51600:24:52.039 --> 00:24:53.880
And the amount of time and energy police had to51700:24:53.920 --> 00:24:57.279
spend chasing hoaxes and false leads must have been just incredible.51800:24:57.519 --> 00:25:01.440
The case generated massive national and Internet attention, which led51900:25:01.480 --> 00:25:05.960
to countless dead ends. Police investigated tips from Sweden, the52000:25:06.039 --> 00:25:08.519
Virgin Islands, numerous US states.52100:25:08.759 --> 00:25:12.240
The two thousand and eight online obituary message for Randy Schaffer,52200:25:12.440 --> 00:25:15.440
signed brian Us Virgin Islands that was one of the52300:25:15.440 --> 00:25:17.319
most prominent ones it was, and.52400:25:17.279 --> 00:25:20.319
They traced it back to a public library computer in Columbus,52500:25:20.960 --> 00:25:24.119
and in a bizarre repetition of bad luck, the camera52600:25:24.200 --> 00:25:26.640
at that public library was also non working.52700:25:26.720 --> 00:25:28.480
You can't make this stuff up, so.52800:25:28.440 --> 00:25:31.440
They couldn't identify who typed the message. Even the more52900:25:31.480 --> 00:25:34.359
recent twenty twenty sighting of a homeless man in Tijuana53000:25:34.680 --> 00:25:37.680
who resemble Brian was quickly ruled out by the FBI53100:25:37.799 --> 00:25:38.960
using facial recognition.53200:25:39.200 --> 00:25:42.240
So Brian Shaffer's disappearance is a lightning rod for speculation,53300:25:42.440 --> 00:25:46.599
precisely because the three major theories tragic accident, voluntary disappearance,53400:25:46.599 --> 00:25:50.000
and homicide all have elements that align with the evidence gaps.53500:25:50.319 --> 00:25:52.720
Let's start with the one. Carrie Ta Hurst lean toward53600:25:53.079 --> 00:25:55.000
theory A the tragic accident.53700:25:55.079 --> 00:25:59.000
Hurst's analysis was grounded in Brian's known behavior, his heavy53800:25:59.000 --> 00:26:02.079
intoxication that night, and his tendency to just take off.53900:26:02.160 --> 00:26:04.559
So the primary component here is the dumpster theory.54000:26:04.839 --> 00:26:09.839
Right. Hurst hypothesized that Brian, heavily impaired, stumbled into one54100:26:09.880 --> 00:26:13.160
of the large industrial dumpsters behind the complex, And crucially,54200:26:13.440 --> 00:26:16.759
these city dumpsters often have side doors or are low54300:26:16.839 --> 00:26:18.759
enough to the ground that you don't have to climb54400:26:18.799 --> 00:26:21.599
over the top. You might have been throwing up, passed out,54500:26:21.720 --> 00:26:23.960
or just fell in and then became trapped.54600:26:24.119 --> 00:26:27.240
That makes immediate grim sense. If he passed out in54700:26:27.279 --> 00:26:29.920
a dumpster, the garbage truck comes shortly after, and he's54800:26:29.920 --> 00:26:33.279
hauled away before anyone even realizes he's missing exactly.54900:26:33.559 --> 00:26:36.839
But this leads immediately to the logistical nightmare of the disposal.55000:26:37.480 --> 00:26:40.519
Where would the body have ended up? Investigators had two55100:26:40.559 --> 00:26:43.799
main challenges. City of Columbus dumpsters went to a Franklin55200:26:43.839 --> 00:26:47.519
County landfill. Comercial dumpsters from the Ugly Tuna, which are55300:26:47.519 --> 00:26:50.440
the more likely target, went to a separate facility, possibly55400:26:50.440 --> 00:26:51.200
one in Tennessee.55500:26:51.359 --> 00:26:54.000
How does the scale of those landfills make a physical55600:26:54.039 --> 00:26:57.200
search almost impossible even with cadaver dogs.55700:26:57.039 --> 00:27:00.599
The scale is astronomical. The Franklin County landfill, while they55800:27:00.640 --> 00:27:04.000
did search it with cadaver dogs, presented an immediate problem.55900:27:04.519 --> 00:27:07.960
The sheer volume of decomposing waste has so many sources56000:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.039
of organic residues.56100:27:09.119 --> 00:27:11.839
The dogs are getting hits on everything everything.56200:27:12.680 --> 00:27:15.920
Cadaver dogs alert on any trace of human blood remains,56300:27:16.200 --> 00:27:19.440
and a landfill has everything from discarded band aids to56400:27:19.559 --> 00:27:23.960
materials contaminated with blood. They can't differentiate a major alert56500:27:24.160 --> 00:27:26.880
from a false positive caused by ordinary.56600:27:26.440 --> 00:27:29.599
Waste and the commercial waste going to Tennessee.56700:27:29.960 --> 00:27:33.359
That's where the theory just spirals into impossibility. A commercial56800:27:33.400 --> 00:27:37.759
landfill hundreds of miles away processes weighed so quickly in56900:27:37.920 --> 00:27:41.400
volumes of thousands of tons per day. To effectively search57000:27:41.440 --> 00:27:44.680
that area years later would require a massive excavation of57100:27:44.720 --> 00:27:46.119
a site many acres wide.57200:27:46.200 --> 00:27:49.720
It's a needle in a haystack operation on a continental scale.57300:27:49.400 --> 00:27:52.640
Exactly, which is why the dumpster theory, while plausible, is57400:27:52.720 --> 00:27:55.559
functionally unprovable without a witness or a confession.57500:27:55.799 --> 00:27:58.720
But the cadaver dogs did give police a cent near57600:27:58.759 --> 00:27:59.319
the Wendy's.57700:27:59.519 --> 00:28:02.400
That's critical detail that supports both the dumpster theory and57800:28:02.440 --> 00:28:06.119
the construction exit theory. Dogs found Brian sent near the Wendy's,57900:28:06.200 --> 00:28:09.119
which is directly behind the ugly Tuna, and also at58000:28:09.160 --> 00:28:11.559
an abandoned building along the route he would have taken58100:28:11.880 --> 00:28:13.519
if he exited through the construction area.58200:28:14.039 --> 00:28:16.599
So this place is Brian, or at least his trajectory58300:28:16.759 --> 00:28:18.799
definitively in those rear alleyways.58400:28:19.160 --> 00:28:21.799
It confirms he did not just vanish on the main street.58500:28:22.640 --> 00:28:26.119
He moved through that service corridor right where the dumpsters58600:28:26.160 --> 00:28:26.759
were located.58700:28:27.160 --> 00:28:32.000
Let's pivot to theory be voluntary disappearance. This one relies58800:28:32.039 --> 00:28:35.400
on the complexity of his psychological state, the grief and58900:28:35.480 --> 00:28:36.000
the pressure.59000:28:36.720 --> 00:28:39.880
This theory posits that Brian sees the spontaneous moment of59100:28:39.920 --> 00:28:44.440
his unnoticed exit and just chose to maintain that anonymity permanently.59200:28:45.119 --> 00:28:48.200
The motivation is deep seated. We know he was grieving59300:28:48.240 --> 00:28:51.319
his mother's death. Friends noted that the pressure of medical59400:28:51.359 --> 00:28:54.319
school becoming a doctor was maybe more his mother's dream59500:28:54.359 --> 00:28:55.160
than his own.59600:28:55.039 --> 00:28:57.559
And he had other dreams, like a music career exactly.59700:28:58.119 --> 00:29:00.240
But if the grief and the desire for freedom were59800:29:00.279 --> 00:29:03.319
so overwhelming, why did he leave his guitars, his wall59900:29:03.400 --> 00:29:05.920
at his car. Why was his apartment so perfectly neat.60000:29:06.000 --> 00:29:09.000
That's the greatest counter argument to the voluntary disappearance theory.60100:29:09.119 --> 00:29:12.000
It is, and it forces us to refine the hypothesis.60200:29:12.640 --> 00:29:15.079
It suggests he was not planning a permanent vanishing when60300:29:15.079 --> 00:29:18.039
he left the bar. He likely planned a temporary escape,60400:29:18.160 --> 00:29:20.079
a quick drive to clear his head, a couple of60500:29:20.160 --> 00:29:23.400
days away to mourn, and that temporary plan became permanent60600:29:23.519 --> 00:29:25.079
due to some unforeseen event.60700:29:25.119 --> 00:29:27.839
So maybe he intended to come back for his stuff later,60800:29:28.079 --> 00:29:30.000
or something else happened.60900:29:30.079 --> 00:29:33.279
Right, maybe the act of disappearing became a self fulfilling61000:29:33.319 --> 00:29:37.240
prophecy after a critical mistake or encounter shortly after he61100:29:37.319 --> 00:29:37.799
left the bar.61200:29:38.240 --> 00:29:41.079
How feasible is running away in the modern age? Even61300:29:41.119 --> 00:29:42.319
back in two thousand.61400:29:42.000 --> 00:29:46.279
And six, scrad Hurst noted that disappearing is not impossible,61500:29:46.680 --> 00:29:49.640
but it's not the easiest thing to do either. Without61600:29:49.720 --> 00:29:53.720
ever accessing your identity, no bank accounts, no social media,61700:29:54.079 --> 00:29:57.759
no employment, no medical care, it's incredibly difficult.61800:29:57.440 --> 00:29:59.920
And police checked his computers for any signs of planning.61900:30:00.079 --> 00:30:02.920
They did they checked for searches related to running away62000:30:03.000 --> 00:30:05.839
or suicide and found nothing out of the ordinary, which62100:30:05.880 --> 00:30:10.000
suggests this was an impulsive act rather than a preveditated one.62200:30:09.839 --> 00:30:12.279
And the police have offered a way out if he62300:30:12.359 --> 00:30:12.799
is alive.62400:30:13.000 --> 00:30:16.599
It's a powerful incentive. Law enforcement has publicly said that62500:30:16.640 --> 00:30:19.359
if Brian were to contact them simply to confirm he's alive,62600:30:19.799 --> 00:30:22.920
his location would remain private and they'd immediately close the.62700:30:22.880 --> 00:30:26.160
Case, which would offer some peace to his family, particularly62800:30:26.240 --> 00:30:27.000
is brother Derek.62900:30:27.319 --> 00:30:31.000
Exactly, While still acknowledging the possibility that Brian just walked63000:30:31.039 --> 00:30:33.759
away and deserves the right to remain undetected.63100:30:34.039 --> 00:30:38.119
Finally, let's explore theory c homicide or foul play. This63200:30:38.279 --> 00:30:41.279
is the darkest scenario and the one Derek and alexis63300:30:41.400 --> 00:30:45.519
naturally gravitate toward. Given the total lack of closure.63400:30:45.519 --> 00:30:48.039
The high profile nature of the case immediately drew some63500:30:48.200 --> 00:30:52.440
unusual theories, primarily the smiley faced killer theory, which was63600:30:52.480 --> 00:30:54.599
gaining traction in the media around that time.63700:30:54.960 --> 00:30:57.839
For listeners who may not be steeped in true crime lore,63800:30:58.039 --> 00:31:02.000
can you briefly contextualize the smiley face theory and why63900:31:02.079 --> 00:31:03.640
Brian was thought to fit the pattern.64000:31:03.759 --> 00:31:06.799
Sure. The theory, which is largely dismissed by most law64100:31:06.880 --> 00:31:10.680
enforcement but was popularized by a few former detectives, suggests64200:31:10.680 --> 00:31:13.200
a group of organized killers are responsible for the deaths64300:31:13.200 --> 00:31:17.480
of young, white, college educated, intoxicated men across the Midwest.64400:31:17.839 --> 00:31:21.680
They supposedly leave a signature smiley faced graffiti near the body.64500:31:21.359 --> 00:31:24.200
Site, and Brian fits the victim profile perfectly.64600:31:24.519 --> 00:31:27.640
He does. But the biggest strike against this theory in64700:31:27.680 --> 00:31:32.559
Brian's case is the location. The victims are almost always64800:31:32.559 --> 00:31:35.440
found in or near water, and Brian was never found64900:31:35.480 --> 00:31:40.200
near the Olentangy River. Despite those exhaustive searches, law enforcement65000:31:40.319 --> 00:31:43.960
views this as a very loose connection, not a definitive lead.65100:31:44.440 --> 00:31:47.960
What about a more localized accidental homicide followed by a65200:31:48.000 --> 00:31:48.440
cover up.65300:31:48.920 --> 00:31:52.200
This is the scenario that would involve either Clint or65400:31:52.200 --> 00:31:54.880
someone else in the bar. The speculation is that there65500:31:54.920 --> 00:31:57.920
was an accidental death, maybe a drug overdose, a fight65600:31:57.920 --> 00:32:00.960
that went too far, and the body was quickly disposed.65700:32:00.599 --> 00:32:01.920
Of, so they would have had to get the body65800:32:01.920 --> 00:32:03.799
out of the bar without being seen, right.65900:32:04.240 --> 00:32:06.960
While interviews with bar staff cleared them and the dogs66000:32:06.960 --> 00:32:09.799
cleared the building. The possibility exists that the body was66100:32:09.839 --> 00:32:12.400
immediately put into a large trash bag or even a66200:32:12.440 --> 00:32:16.400
suitcase and hauled out through that construction entrance, taking advantage66300:32:16.400 --> 00:32:17.599
of that camera blind spot.66400:32:17.720 --> 00:32:20.559
But doesn't that require a tremendous amount of cool headed66500:32:20.640 --> 00:32:23.799
organization and physical effort for someone who is likely just66600:32:23.839 --> 00:32:25.240
as intoxicated as Brian.66700:32:25.559 --> 00:32:29.000
It does, which is why this theory struggles without hard evidence.66800:32:30.000 --> 00:32:32.440
If Klip was involved, he would have had to immediately66900:32:32.440 --> 00:32:36.359
transition from a drunken partygoer to a highly efficient criminal mastermind.67000:32:37.000 --> 00:32:40.200
Flawlessly disposing of a body getting out of the complex,67100:32:40.559 --> 00:32:44.519
covering his tracks without witnesses, all within minutes. It's a67200:32:44.599 --> 00:32:45.319
tall order.67300:32:45.759 --> 00:32:47.319
And the drug deal theory.67400:32:47.400 --> 00:32:50.160
The drug deal gone wrong theory suggests Brian left the67500:32:50.160 --> 00:32:52.799
bar to meet an outside contact for drugs and either67600:32:52.880 --> 00:32:56.200
overdosed or was killed during the transaction, with the body67700:32:56.279 --> 00:32:59.000
rapidly disposed of by the dealer into a nearby dumpster67800:32:59.119 --> 00:33:04.079
or construction pit to avoid prosecution. Again, highly speculative, but67900:33:04.160 --> 00:33:07.519
the rapid disposal via the dumpster remains the common denominator68000:33:07.519 --> 00:33:09.640
across all the most plausible tragic theories.68100:33:09.960 --> 00:33:13.480
So the Brian Shaffer case didn't just frustrate investigators in Columbus.68200:33:13.680 --> 00:33:17.759
It exposed these critical systemic vulnerabilities in missing persons protocols68300:33:17.799 --> 00:33:19.440
across the entire state of Ohio.68400:33:19.720 --> 00:33:23.319
It really did, especially concerning adults who vanish without immediate68500:33:23.359 --> 00:33:26.519
signs of foul play. And you have to recognize the68600:33:26.519 --> 00:33:29.920
scale of this issue in Ohio. The state reports high68700:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.160
numbers over twenty one thousand missing persons reports in twenty68800:33:34.200 --> 00:33:37.240
twenty four alone, with around three hundred and fifty adults68900:33:37.279 --> 00:33:39.799
currently designated as long term missing, and the.69000:33:39.759 --> 00:33:42.640
Schaffer case Because of its high profile and the specific69100:33:42.640 --> 00:33:45.480
failures involved, it served as this painful case study that69200:33:45.519 --> 00:33:47.359
eventually led to state level reform.69300:33:47.559 --> 00:33:50.599
That reform crystallized in twenty twenty five when Governor Mike69400:33:50.680 --> 00:33:54.039
DeWine convened the Ohio Missing Person's Working Group. Their mission69500:33:54.119 --> 00:33:57.400
was clear, used the lessons learned from frustrating cold cases69600:33:57.440 --> 00:34:01.119
like Brian Shaffer's to modernize and stream line state policy.69700:34:01.200 --> 00:34:04.519
So let's discuss the specific pain points they identified, starting69800:34:04.559 --> 00:34:07.079
with the most common hurdle, the twenty four hour myth.69900:34:07.279 --> 00:34:09.639
This is a direct parallel to the Shaffer case. The70000:34:09.719 --> 00:34:12.679
working group recognized that the general public often operates under70100:34:12.679 --> 00:34:15.400
the false assumption fueled by TV shows, that you have70200:34:15.440 --> 00:34:17.800
to wait twenty four hours to file a missing person's.70300:34:17.559 --> 00:34:21.800
Report, which is unequivocally false, completely false, but it delays70400:34:21.840 --> 00:34:24.199
those crucial initial hours of an investigation.70500:34:25.159 --> 00:34:28.840
Early reporting is absolutely vital. The cent trails, the immediate70600:34:28.840 --> 00:34:32.119
witness memories, the cell phone data, it's all freshest right70700:34:32.159 --> 00:34:36.159
after the disappearance. So the working group recommended educational initiatives70800:34:36.400 --> 00:34:39.159
to dispel this myth and encourage immediate.70900:34:38.760 --> 00:34:41.920
Reporting, and that would have been instrumental when Randy Shaeffer71000:34:42.000 --> 00:34:45.880
realized Brian was missing on Monday, April third. That early71100:34:45.920 --> 00:34:50.400
delay in confirming his absence likely cost investigators crucial time71200:34:50.519 --> 00:34:51.840
on Saturday and Sunday.71300:34:52.159 --> 00:34:55.599
Precisely. The second major pain point directly relates to those71400:34:55.599 --> 00:34:59.360
ambiguous phone pings we talked about. Law enforcement often struggled71500:34:59.360 --> 00:35:03.000
to get timely access to records, specifically cell phone data71600:35:03.000 --> 00:35:06.400
and social media info for high risk missing adults when71700:35:06.440 --> 00:35:08.679
there was no immediate evidence of a crime like kidnapping71800:35:08.719 --> 00:35:09.079
or murder.71900:35:09.239 --> 00:35:11.800
So when the police needed to definitively check the early72000:35:11.880 --> 00:35:15.079
pings within that six block radius, or when they needed72100:35:15.119 --> 00:35:17.880
to confirm if the Hilliard ping was a glitch or real,72200:35:18.320 --> 00:35:20.480
they were slowed down by bureaucratic hurdles.72300:35:20.719 --> 00:35:23.920
Yes, they needed evidence of a crime to secure a72400:35:24.000 --> 00:35:28.440
standard warrant, and Brian's case lacked that clear evidence. The72500:35:28.480 --> 00:35:32.760
Working group addressed this by recommending new legislation for administrative72600:35:32.800 --> 00:35:33.519
search warrants.72700:35:33.840 --> 00:35:34.559
What would that do.72800:35:34.840 --> 00:35:37.480
It's a mechanism that would allow officers quick access to72900:35:37.519 --> 00:35:41.440
these critical electronic records in high risk adult cases based73000:35:41.480 --> 00:35:44.960
on the totality of the circumstances, rather than requiring immediate73100:35:45.000 --> 00:35:48.320
proof of a violent felony. This ability to get records73200:35:48.400 --> 00:35:51.239
quickly could make or break a case like Brian's, where73300:35:51.239 --> 00:35:53.440
the timeline of the phone is everything.73400:35:53.480 --> 00:35:55.719
And the third area focus speaks to the longevity of73500:35:55.760 --> 00:35:58.199
these cases, which are now approaching two decades old.73600:35:58.679 --> 00:36:02.519
This addresses data preservation. Older case files, especially from two73700:36:02.519 --> 00:36:05.800
thousand and six, exist primarily on paper. The working group73800:36:05.840 --> 00:36:09.039
stress the critical importance of digitizing cold case files, fearing73900:36:09.119 --> 00:36:12.599
that older paper records could be destroyed, degraded, or lost over.74000:36:12.440 --> 00:36:16.280
Time, preventing future investigators from using new forensic tech or74100:36:16.320 --> 00:36:19.960
analysis techniques, and who was tasked with keeping that data safe.74200:36:20.119 --> 00:36:23.559
The recommendation was for local law enforcement to digitize all74300:36:23.800 --> 00:36:29.280
unresolved missing persons reports before destroying the original paper files. Furthermore,74400:36:29.480 --> 00:36:33.000
they recommended that the Bureau of Criminal Investigation the BCI,74500:36:33.440 --> 00:36:36.880
create and manage a central digital repository for all these74600:36:36.920 --> 00:36:38.239
cold case files.74700:36:38.039 --> 00:36:42.199
So the BCI, Ohio's primary criminal investigation agency would then74800:36:42.320 --> 00:36:45.880
ensure this data is preserved and accessible for decades.74900:36:45.639 --> 00:36:48.559
Right hoping to prevent the information deficits that plague the75000:36:48.559 --> 00:36:49.599
schaff for investigation.75100:36:49.760 --> 00:36:54.320
It's just striking that this one baffling, singular case forced75200:36:54.320 --> 00:36:58.280
a state level reckoning with basic investigative protocols. It shows75300:36:58.280 --> 00:37:01.679
that even with immense effort trait. Hurst called the investigation75400:37:02.320 --> 00:37:06.679
very very thorough, gaps in early technology and policy, combined75500:37:06.719 --> 00:37:09.800
with non cooperation from key witnesses, can lead to a75600:37:09.840 --> 00:37:11.639
mystery that lasts indefinitely.75700:37:11.960 --> 00:37:15.760
Hurst conceded that retiring without answers was very frustrating. Brian75800:37:15.800 --> 00:37:19.159
Shaffer's disappearance remains the perfect confluence of factors, a perfect75900:37:19.159 --> 00:37:22.320
camera blind spot, key technical failures, and the silence of76000:37:22.320 --> 00:37:25.079
a main witness. The result is a flawless disappearance that76100:37:25.119 --> 00:37:27.039
resists every known investigative theory.76200:37:27.320 --> 00:37:29.880
So we circle back to the enigma that started our76300:37:29.920 --> 00:37:34.239
deep dive Brian Schaffer. Was it a tragic accident involving76400:37:34.280 --> 00:37:38.480
an unseen dumpster, a meticulously planned voluntary disappearance fueled by76500:37:38.519 --> 00:37:41.559
grief and stress, or is something far darker involving foul76600:37:41.559 --> 00:37:43.039
play and a flawless cover up.76700:37:43.400 --> 00:37:46.719
The lack of definitive evidence forces all three scenarios to76800:37:46.760 --> 00:37:50.039
exist in a kind of equilibrium. The case just demonstrates76900:37:50.079 --> 00:37:52.480
the fundamental challenges and relying on the technology that was77000:37:52.480 --> 00:37:55.880
available in two thousand and six, the limitations of panning CCTV,77100:37:56.199 --> 00:37:59.000
the ambiguity of cell tower data, and how those initial77200:37:59.000 --> 00:38:02.679
information deficits create a ripple effect that prevents closure decades later.77300:38:03.159 --> 00:38:05.559
The chaos and opportunity of a busy college night life77400:38:05.559 --> 00:38:09.000
setting just offered the perfect cover for a rapid, irreversible event.77500:38:09.239 --> 00:38:11.960
So here's the final thought for you, tomul Over. Brian77600:38:12.039 --> 00:38:15.639
Schaeffer's last known movement was walking off camera, either back77700:38:15.639 --> 00:38:18.840
into the bar's chaotic hallway or toward a potential hidden77800:38:18.880 --> 00:38:21.800
service exit leading to a construction site. We know he77900:38:21.880 --> 00:38:25.199
was intoxicated, struggling with profound grief, and had just experienced78000:38:25.239 --> 00:38:27.800
a conflict with the friend he was with. Given that78100:38:27.880 --> 00:38:32.360
explosive combination, what single seemingly innocent and unrecorded decision made78200:38:32.360 --> 00:38:35.840
by a highly impaired person, a decision to seek relief,78300:38:36.199 --> 00:38:39.280
to evade conflict, or to simply get some fresh air,78400:38:39.360 --> 00:38:43.440
could have resulted in a flawless, permanent, and untraceable disappearance.78500:38:44.480 --> 00:38:46.519
What does that tell us about the fragility of human78600:38:46.519 --> 00:38:50.480
accountability in a chaotic, opportune moment where technology briefly fails.78700:38:50.719 --> 00:38:53.119
If you have any information regarding the Brian Shaffer case,78800:38:53.119 --> 00:38:56.639
please contact the Columbus Division of Police Investigative Desk at78900:38:56.639 --> 00:38:59.519
six one four six four five four six x two four.79000:39:00.000 --> 00:39:01.679
Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into79100:39:01.679 --> 00:39:04.519
one of America's most frustrating true crime mysteries. We'll see79200:39:04.519 --> 00:39:05.039
you next time.79300:39:05.360 --> 00:39:08.519
This was the last known The facts are limited. The79400:39:08.599 --> 00:39:12.519
record ends where the answers disappear. Until more is known,79500:39:12.960 --> 00:39:14.679
this case remains unresolved.
