Unexplained Disappearance Of Brian Shaffer Who Vanished Into Thin Air

Cynthia McKanzie – MessageToEagle.com – People are still looking for Brian Shaffer, a student from Ohio who vanished many years ago under mysterious circumstances.

Most peculiar about his vanishing is that one minute he was surrounded by people and then, before anyone could understand what had happened, he was suddenly gone.  He went into a building and never left it. Everyone looked for Brian, but he was nowhere to be found. It was as if he just vanished into thin air.

Left: Brian Shaffer – Right:  The South Campus Gateway Complex, with the Ugly Tuna Saloona on the 2nd floor. Source

How can we explain his bizarre disappearance? Those who favor conspiracy theories suggest he was abducted by aliens. Others think he may have accidentally entered an invisible world, another dimension. Naturally there also many who simply think poor Brian was murdered or deliberately decided to vanish.

We simply do not know what happened, but one thing is certain; Brian’s credit cards, bank account, and cell phone have not been used since the day he disappeared.

Born on February 25th, 1979, Brian Randall Shaffer was a young man who had a promising future ahead of him. At the time of his disappearance, he was in his second year of medical school at Ohio State University, where he had previously completed his undergraduate degree in Microbiology.

On March 31, 2006, when Brian was 27-year-old he went together with his friend William “Clint” Florence to Ugly Tuna to celebrate the beginning of spring break. It had been a stressful week of exams and the students wanted to relax. Though he handled the emotional situation well, he was also still dealing with his mother’s recent death.

Shortly after midnight, the two men met with Meredith, a friend of Florence. Meredith. The presence of the three of them was recorded on security cameras.

Brian, Clint and Meredith on the way up the escalator. Brian is in front, leaning on the handrail.

Brian, Florence and Meredith were seen ascending the escalator to the now-closed bar in the University Gateway around 1:15 AM on April 1.

The surveillance security camera also recorded how Brian was outside the bar talking to two women around 1:50 AM. Next, he re-entered the bar and was separated from his friends. Unfortunately, there were no surveillance cameras inside of the bar so its unknown what Brian did once he was inside the bar again.

At around AM, Florence and Meredith wanted to leave and they started calling Brian, but they got no answer. They searched for him inside the bar, but they couldn’t find him, so they decided to wait outside.

After a while, the two left, assuming Brian had gone home. However, Brian never returned home.

The next day, Alexis, his girlfriend called him several times, but all she heard was his voicemail. Alexis was slightly nervous because the couple planned to go to Miami the next day. When she didn’t hear from him, she hoped he would be waiting at the airport on Monday, but Brian did not show up.

Brian was subsequently reported missing and has not been seen since the day he disappeared.

Investigators searched the surrounding area and examined several possibilities of how Brian could have left the building unseen.

Brian coming off the escalator, with Clint and Meredith following.

This would have been difficult because Ugly Tuna had had one entrance at the top of the escalator. If Brian left the building, he should have been caught on the security camera, but he wasn’t. Investigators said it’s possible the camera missed him, but it’s unlikely this is what happened.

Another possibility is that Brian did leave Ugly Tuna but disguised as someone else, or maybe Brian died accidentally inside the bar. The bar staff was worried about lawsuits, so they used the emergency exit to get rid of his body.

See also:

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As 614 reports, “there was only one other way that Brian could have exited the bar that night, and it was from a back service door. Not only was this a door used exclusively by staff members, but it also opened to a construction site that would’ve posed a dangerous situation for a sober person, let alone someone who had been drinking all night.”

Could Brian have faked his own death to start a new life? Anything is possible of course, but if he did so his reason must only be known to him alone. Brian had excellent marks from the University, a good relationship with his girlfriend, Alexis, and he made so many plans for the future.

The Ugly Tuna Saloona closed in April 2018, and Brian Shaffer’s disappearance remains unsolved.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Brian Shaffer please contact the Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-645-8477, if requested you will remain anonymous.

Written by Cynthia McKanzie – MessageToEagle.com Staff Writer

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