The main question I have is why Brian did not proceed with his expressed intention to walk the two girls to their car. He waited with one of them while the other went to the bathroom, and that may have made him late. He may have already arranged for someone to pick him up out of sight of Clint and Meredith. Also, his phone was on when one of the girls put her phone number in it at 1:55 am, but when Meredith called him from Clint's phone a little after 2 am, it goes right to voicemail. Everything happened very fast after 1:55 am. I believe he was in a vehicle almost right away. The police interviewed "orange shirt guy" who looked suspicious to them on camera. He turned out to be a taxi driver who liked to lurk around the bar between fares. I would be concerned about a taxi driver, because Brian had to be in someone's vehicle. I don't think he wanted to go home alone. He told other friends in the bar he would call them when he got home for an "after party" at his place. But he may have worried no one would come. He either called someone he knew to pick him up or he took a ride with someone he didn't know. He was avoiding Clint and Meredith. Maybe he didn't want to be a third wheel. Or he didn't want them to see him leaving with a woman who was not Alexis. Or he didn't want them to see him leaving with a known drug dealer. I don't believe he left to start a new life under these circumstances. It is conceivable that this was an unusual suicide, and he did not want his body found. He could have been kidnapped by a male stalker and killed or killed by someone he knew with motives unknown. Lie detector tests do more harm than good. There is zero science behind them, and they exclude guilty people and implicate innocent people. No one should take one.
I used to live in Portland Oregon and in the old town you can actually take tours of the "Shanghai tunnels" which were an elaborate underground system of tunnels that ran directly under saloons and bars. There were trap doors in the floor that could be triggered to open and the inebriated person would drop through the floor into the tunnel. Once inside they unfortunately could be basically trafficked out to sea wherever their captors took them. Is it possible something like that happened here?
As for tunnels in Columbus near campus. There is 42,240 feet of steam and electric tunnels snaking below campus. First constructed in 1906 (largely by Ohio Penitentiary prisoners), these tunnels now transport power to more than 100 campus buildings. There are entry points-quite a few of them, actually-like those below the Recreation and Physical Activity Center and the Mathematics Tower which is a very short distance (approx 1 mile) from the Ugly Tuna. To be clear, it is illegal (and really dangerous) to enter the tunnels alone. Also there is a tunnel nearby the Ugly Tuna, sinisterly named Gates of Hell (also called the Portal to Hell and the Blood Bowl). This tunnel is located behind a Tim Hortons. It's literally straight up N High Ave just past the Ugly Tuna. The inside of the passage is covered in graffiti, which quickly disappears within the darkness. The Blood Bowl / Gates of Hell is located in a ravine behind the Tim Hortons at 2754 North High Street in Columbus It is a drainage tunnel under North High Street. Entering the tunnel, which requires you to step into the mouth of a graffiti monster, leads to a dank stretch of utter blackness. Though sometimes people do wander into the tunnel, it’s technically off limits to the public. Entering or exploring the area is at your own risk. It was built for a stream that goes from Glen Echo Park to the Olentangy River, but is mostly dry, except after rain.
As much as I would love for this to be aliens, I do believe his body is somewhere inside the framework of that building. He could have wandered into a spot where he shouldn't have been and then fell. He could have broken his neck and died instantly, thus no calls for help. There's a service elevator there--could he have somehow fallen down the shaft? If his body ended up at basement level, it could account for no smell of decomposition.
I absolutely agree. From what I've heard/read about this case, there was construction going on near the bar, in the same larger "mini mall" (or consumer center or whatever you want to call it). It makes the most sense. Brian is slightly inebriated; he decides to go through some door or use some elevator that was supposed to be off limits Maybe a drunk patron grabbed the warning/under construction/caution sign that was supposed to be on the elevator or door to take home and put up on their college apartment wall because they thought it would be ironic or funny. Or maybe Brian just didn't read or didn't care about the "off limits" sign. Maybe a worker/crew forgot to put a caution sign up, or they thought nobody would try to enter the area because it clearly seemed under constructiom/off-limits. So Brian goes through a door/passageway/"up to the roof" because it seems like a fun and slightly dangerous adventure. It's pitch black (almost 2 am) and the area he enters is unlit (why would it be, nobody is supposed to be doing construction while its dark?) He falls down a work shaft/scaffolding/unfinished flooring/etc., breaking his neck or rendering him instantly unconscious and dying without quick help. He dies in something like sewage piping/electrical shaft/etc, which is soon built over and then there's essentially no chance of ever finding his remains unless the entire building is torn down. My friends and I did dumb stuff like that when we were out drinking in college Like, "Let's try climbing up this fire escape/scaffolding/etc and see where it goes. Maybe we can get up to the roof and have a perfect serene spot to smoke a bowl and look up at the stars." That type of stuff. It's a little bit weird that he would try something like that alone, but who knows. Not many other explanations make.much sense and/or rely on "aliens," "dimensional portals," etc. Brian probably fell into a construction area. When and if the building is torn down, he'll probably be found. It's gotta be awful for his family and friends; having absolutely no idea what happened. I can't even imagine.
@@notbot4525 the problems is that there's a camera that points down that back hallway that leads to the construction. And the construction at this point was patchwork stuff, no gaping holes to fall in.
@@danporter1176 yeah, I forgot I made that long comment. From learning more about the case, the construction area theory seems less likely. I've started leaning towards some type of "incident" happening within the bar itself. I'm not necessarily saying that there was a cover-up; however, it seems like something happened within the bar itself. Maybe Brian gets into a fight that gets way out of hand or has some kind of accident, and someone in bar feels some type of fear about reporting the death - so they instead carry his body out with deliveries? Or he follows the band and groupies out of some sort of worker exit and something bad happens later on in the night, Brian dies, and the group of people fear reporting again. Or a lunatic either drugs Brian or somehow surmises that Brian is extremely tired and not completely with it, somehow takes advantage of the situation, essentially kidnaps Brian, and then fulfills some sadistic fantasy. I guess it's within the realm of possibility (though far outside the realm of probability) that Brian voluntarily disappeared. It seems like it would be incredibly difficult -if not inpossible - for Brian to either plan so well/got so lucky that he juuuuuust manages to avoid any and all cameras. It's a really bizarre case; that's for sure. One of the more bizarre disappearance cases I've seen
I went to OSU and just north of gateway (where ugly tuna is) there was a half way house that had ex cons and homeless people. This is like merely 150 ft. We had been hasseled(non violently) so many times for money walking by there we always crossed the street to avoid it. If he was murdered i feel like there would be no short list of people who couldve done it from that halfway house
I would really love to hear y'all's take on the Christian andreacchio Case. You were both so intelligent and with years of experience under your belt, your input is fascinating to listen to.
The two girls should be questioned again. Notice that Brian is not talking to them; he is walking up to them. He extends his arm, and one girl seems to be passing something to him - probably their phone numbers that they said they gave him. This is why he disappeared. He was giving his friends the slip so they wouldn't know he was fooling around on his girlfriend. Then they go back into the bar; all of them. Brian goes out the back with the band somehow, so he could meet up with those girls secretly. Along the way he may have encountered a criminal, and the girls might have even been partners with the criminal.
Det Hurst has stated in interviews that he is certain that Brian made it out of the building. Clint and Meredith where seen going down the escalator at I believe 2:01 am. They were seen getting into Meredith's car from CC footage in the parking garage. They were also seen on camera driving towards Clintonville where they both stayed that night. People need to go from there when trying to decide what happened to Brian. This takes a lot of the mystery out of this case.
@@mickroberts8540 According to CPD no. After Brian was seen walking off camera with the two girls, Brighton went and used the restroom while Brian and Amber talked. After Brighton came back both of them said goodbye to Brian. Within 1 to 2 minutes later Clint and Meredith were seen leaving at 2:01am. I personally think that Brian saw them walking to the doorway and left through the back entrance. Brian had an argument with Clint earlier in the bar and I think he just wanted to avoid them and go home. CPD watched the video until I believe the next day and Brian was not seen. I've been to the UTS and from where Brian was standing he could see into the bar and would have been able to seen Clint and Meredith walking to the exit. It's an odd angle but Brian would have been able to see them likely before they would have seen him.
@@tsmith3286 Finally an educated comment. Plus, they traced him using track dogs to a restaurant nearby. I believe it was a Denny’s. He left the bar and simply wasn’t picked up on camera. One camera panned back and forth and another one was set to manual during the fight with Clint. Clint only got the lawyer after he got caught in a lie. He lied about not going to Brian’s after leaving.
@@josephdale69 Thanks. The restaurant was Wendy’s and it’s no longer there. The cameras from Wendy’s to what would have been his walk home were not working. Considering he had such a short walk home there would not have been many cameras anyway. The argument with Clint was inside the bar and there were no cameras inside at that time. I’m not sure if I understand about the lie that you said Clint told. I do know that he was driven back to his car by Meredith the next morning. He had parked his car at Brian‘s the night before then they set out on foot.
T smith it’s been a while since I went over this case but could Clint have killed him? Or maybe he left through a side exit and fell into a construction zone that went unnoticed and possibly covered. I think my main theory back in the day was that he was taken away in the bands boxes (snuck out).
Brian's dinner with his dad was probably not pleasant and energizing. Randy was an electrician. They were a family of modest means. Brian had started at Ohio University with a major in business and minor in computer science. He got a DUI and spent 3 says in jail. After that, he made a hard turn and went to OSU as a microbiology major and then on to medical school, mostly because he loved his mom and wanted to meet her expectations. Clint did his undergrad in Texas. While he and Brian were dorm mates Brian's first year in medical school, Clint was not a medical student. Rather, he was a PhD student in microbiology. They probably didn't see each other that much after that first year in the dorm. Randy seemed hypersensitive to remarks Clint made about Brian. I think Clint was just being honest. Brian was hitting on one of those girls in the bar. It's a fact. It was a pattern of behavior that Clint took for granted. Brian's mom wanted Brian to marry Alexis and had a friend of hers recommend a jeweler to her son. Brian was reportedly still seeing his high school girlfriend from time to time. Brian was upset that Randy was seeing another woman while his mom was sick. Randy had been blind-sided that his wife left 25% of her insurance to each of her sons and only 50% to Randy. He had been counting on all of it. He supposedly told Brian's brother he could keep $1000 but should give Randy the balance. The policy was only $80,000. So, Brian would have received $20,000. Brian had been getting help with expenses from his mom, and I think Randy was having trouble keeping that going. Brian had a lot of debt. Randy said he had given Brian a check for $4000 for tuition that was due in early March, but it was never found or cashed. Brian had spent a substantial amount of time in Puerto Rico for school. He was really looking forward to the trip with Alexis to Miami. He did have a history of depression in the past and had used Prozac at one time. But no one thought he was suffering from anything but stress and grief when he vanished. I think the phone ping in Hilliard was real. Someone found that phone and charged it. It doesn't mean much. The phone was separated from his body, whether he was alive or dead. He could have been kidnapped and held prisoner for a time. Every possibility seems remote because we know so little. I believe he is dead. He had no $ to start a new life. And he didn't have $ to continue with the life he had. I'm inclined to think he suicided with the intention to protect his loved ones from ever knowing what he did.
There were 4 doors out of the bar, and there were additional exits Brian could have used, according to the lead detective, who is retired. A door on the second floor went to the escalator. There was also a fire exit somewhere on that floor. There was a faux wall behind where Brian was standing at 1:55 am, talking to the two girls. There was a wooden door to the basement behind the faux wall. In the basement, there was a service door and there was also a door to the construction area. But there were other businesses in the mall that left their basement doors open and not covered by cameras. They were still open at 2:00 am. Brian could have entered one of those in the basement and walked out their front door. One of the bar's cameras in the basement had been overridden by someone, reportedly to view girls in the bar. So, there were a lot of gaps in camera coverage. They aren't even 100% sure Brian didn't go down the escalator. The fact that he is not caught on many cameras in the street suggests to me that Brian entered someone's vehicle right away.
Interesting facts: 1. After Brian's disappearance, Clint moved to TN & changed his first name to William 2. Clint never helped search for Brian or helped make posters 3. Clint spent 6 hours at Brian's place the day Brian disappeared 4. Clint refused a polygraph 5. Clint refused to cooperate with police 6. Clint and Brian had an argument a few days before the disappearance
Great job guys! Got to your channel from MMM and am binge listening to your episodes. Fascinating stuff! Regarding this case, my guess is as good as any one else's, but I think we are missing some pieces of information that are critical to understand what may have happened, and that concerns the cctv coverage. As I understood there are conflicting reports on that matter. If indeed all the exits were covered by cameras, then it would have been impossible for Brian to leave unnoticed, unless somehow concealed. If some of the cameras weren't working, then it's more likely he left on his own and something happened to him later on. However I feel in this scenario it increases the need for a serious amount of random, accidental, series of unfortunate events to follow and somehow leave no trace. In one of MM's episodes you made the point that it takes a lot of trouble to go unnoticed on your daily life, and I think the same applies to a situation like this. He would have to avoid the several cameras, go unnoticed by everyone leaving the bars in the area, and end up somewhere where nobody could find his body for years, in a significantly sized and busy city. What are the odds? But what I find most intriguing is the phone. This is the point that makes me believe in foul play. I'm guessing since it was just a ping they weren't able to narrow down an area and make searches. How would his phone end up 14 miles from where he was last seen? It leads me to believe that someone disposed of his phone in that area (and probably of his body not too far), six months later someone found it and turned it on, probably kept it after eventually changing the SIM card. I would also be curious to know if any of the bar staff has any relation to the suburb you mentioned. Weather a murder or an accident followed by a cover up, I feel like someone knows something and isn't telling.
I think it has to be an employee of that bar... he most likely did meet with foul play somewhere, but we have to remember that no other camera in the area picked up anything that would suggest there was a fight in the courtyard, or that Brian walked away from the area. So, I guess the odds are that something did happen at the bar... and a person who worked there KNOWS how to evade the CCTV cameras... I mean, is a customer going to know how to do that? Very unlikely... My guess is that someone who worked at the Ugly Tuna is very good at lying & keeping secrets.
@@James-4812 The UT is pretty small inside I’ve been there. No cameras inside at the time. It’s one big room with a couple bathrooms so no real places to hide. It was first night of spring break so it was packed and so were the streets. Brian left the back way so he would not have exited through the courtyard. Both Clint and Meredith were seen exiting down the escalator into the parking garage and driving in the direction of Clintonville.
the remark at 18:10 about no one leaving in different clothes is actually inaccurate. there was someone who left in an orange sweatshirt that did not enter in one. however the investigators were able to track down that person, and determined that person had the sweater tied around their waist upon entering the saloona.
what in the hell was going on in 2006? Brian Shaffer, and then just a few months later, Jesse Ross. eerily similar circumstances. that's one I would love for you guys to cover someday.
In my opinion, the idea that "when someone is murdered the body is always found" doesn't apply here. If I had to guess, Brian got out of the bar and immediately was offered - or asked for - a ride. And we usually don't attend to the fact that we are really vulnerable when in a strangers car. A moving car is always a potencial "crime scene on wheels". And if you're drunk at 2am riding in a strangers car, you're a VERY easy target. The phone ping reinforces my hypothesis. It was turned on by the killer or by someone who knows the killer. It's not too far-fetched to imagine someone would, before disposing the body, grab his phone and his wallet.
I think what was really well established on this podcast is that he never left the bar. Period. Why? We don’t have the answer. I think either A) harm was done to him at the bar Saturday night by whoever. The police didn’t start looking for him till Monday, so that gave somehow 48 hours to dispose of the body if it was kept at ugly tuna. B) he’s in the construction site/building somewhere somehow and that’s the most plausible theory. The fact that he’s not on ANY camera near or outside the bar leaving can only lead us to one conclusion: that he never left the bar for whatever reason.
But you’re assuming that the cameras were working. Det Hurst stated in an interview that the cameras on N High St leading in the direction to Brian’s apartment either didn’t work and were not recording. Det Hurst said Brian exited out the construction doors right across the street from Wendy’s. From there it’s just a short walk down to the corner of King where Brian would make a right. From there I’m not sure if there were any cameras at all.
When somebody come back to their apartment, things are out the beds not made etc. From what I gather, and from what the detective at the time was working the case, he indicated the evidence suggests he did not return to the apartment. Let’s assume he did return to the apartment and was missed on every single surveillance tape they checked. What did he do next?
@@johnlanton9363 Have you ever left your house and came back later for maybe something you forgot? What clues did you leave that you had come back? If Brian made it home and left again within minutes he would not have left any clues he was there. As I have said before, according to Det Hurst none of the cameras that Brian would have had to pass on his way home were working. So it wasn't every single cam just the ones he would have passed. I think Brian left with someone he knew and I think he was killed. I don't think it was intentional. This is as I mentioned just my own personal theory. It's based on all the research I have gathered.
I dont know about you guys, but when i'm drinking at bars and they close and im not that messed up, I might go looking for a random party. especially in a college town. Maybe he ran into some random people, got really drunk or high, and then a freak accident happened to him trying to go home later. In fact, if he wandered around a bit in a college town on a friday night after the bars closed I would be surprised if he didnt run into somebody who was still partying.
He wasn't seen on any camera in the surrounding area, or even in train stations, airports etc. If you really think about it, there really is only one explanation as to how he got out of there... he MUST have left through a door somewhere and jumped into a car (or someone pulled him into it) and the car was parked up very close to that ONE door. This would explain how he wasn't seen on any camera because once you're in a car, a camera isn't going to see you inside it, especially at night.
This reminds me of the Woman in the Suitcase mystery that was solved by Ken Brennan. It's possible something happened in the bar and he was smuggled out unconscious or dead. If that did occur, it's also possible any security videos were doctored before being handed over to the police. On the other hand, perhaps the poor guy will be found in an elevator shaft 1 day.
@@whitehartlane7240 Well, the bar is on the first floor of that building, for a long time I thought that maybe he ended up between the floors somewhere, and this might explain why he wasn't found. But then I don't know exactly how the building is constructed & they did say they checked the entire building and that there was no way he could have fallen through the floor. This is what makes me think that he must have left and got into a vehicle... because there is just NO way he could have not been seen if he was walking outside.
@@James-4812 The podcast mentioned the building was 4 storeys high? Perhaps I'm wrong. Any podcast discussing this case has to begin by mapping out the complex and exits to have an informed conversation. I think it's possible he left via an exit that wasn't covered by cameras and entered a car. On the other hand, if he got into an altercation in the bar (ie security) and was seriously hurt a cover up is viable. If that happened, it's worth considering that his body could have been smuggled out via garbage. I've read the police searched dumpsters. It seems they've considered this theory. It would be nice to have an expert clarify if the cell phone ping was a glitch or not. That would be a game changer.
It seems like every theory you look at, there's a problem with it, & it just takes you right back to the starting place which is the bar... which makes you wonder if he really didn't leave the bar and is still there. The running away theory doesn't make sense, because he was never seen again, the foul play theory doesn't make sense, because there was no evidence of a murder... my thoughts are always being directed right back to the bar... and I keep thinking that his disappearance was caused by a careless decision HE made, whether is was intentional or not.
@@whitehartlane7240 I'm not going to lie that so crossed my mind. All of these cases that are so mysterious I wld. Think only someone of authority higher up cld. Cover it up or a dirty cop. It cld happen.
I don't buy into the smiley face killer at all. However I am seriously wondering about a Gacey type serial killer in Columbus. There have been multiple men go missing in Columbus. All are of similar age and physical stats.
I wonder if they steal men taking them underground initially and then traffick them…I hope not. I read a comment that the owners of this bar owned another bar and an different man also went missing…this was after Brian.
Smiley Face Killer is a big theory in the Boston area where I live. A lot of college age males found in the Charles River after a night of drinking at a local bar. Problem is there is zero evidence to back it up. Toxicology shows no drugs in the system of victims, no surveillance of them being followed or drugged, and no defensive wounds to indicate foul play. Unfortunately, seems more like a case of inexperienced drinkers being over served and stumbling around in black out, and as we all know, it doesn't take you long to find a body of water in most cities. I wondered if this is what happened to Brian, but it seems unlikely he could perfectly hide from all security footage of neighboring buildings. This case reminds me of a Dateline episode I saw where police couldn't figure out how a missing women got out of a hotel undetected. One keen detective noticed a man carry a fairly large suitcase and that turned to be the answer. Smuggling Brian out in band equipment is a great idea but has it's problems like ever other potential theory. I've also had a similar thought to what Alice discussed that maybe he never left the bar and fell in somewhere that has been overlooked. However, I think the most likely explanation is he went out one of the doors in the back of the building. I saw a video that showed at least 3-4 doors he could've used. Beyond that is anyone's guess. I have theorized maybe he got in a car and that's how he got away without being caught on camera. Truly baffling case. The fact that his body has never been located could suggest the idea of him still being in that building may not be that crazy...
Bryan may have purposely decided to disappear. He lost his mother 3 weeks earlier and grief can be a powerful thing. It makes you rethink life and your decisions. For him to call his girlfriend may have been his opportunity to say goodbye in his own way. He may have taken an employee exit without being caught and possibly borrowed a baseball cap or something from an employee or changed his appearance in some way to disguise himself. So he may have been on camera but in disguise.
I think you are correct. Have you listened to that message he left on his girlfriend’s phone? He goes on about what a great person she is and that he loves her; it sounded to me like he was saying goodbye.
What about the roof? Looking on google maps, it appears the roof of the building is connected to a building right next to it, and the rest of the buildings are (possibly) close enough to roof hop across. I was waiting to hear this explored and debunked, but it wasn’t.
You mentioned the Sherlock Holmes stories a few times. There are a couple of other Holmes references that are worth making. In one of the introductions, Watson is talking about different cases that he won't cover. I don't know whether this was the story where he referenced the giant rat of Sumatra, the story for which the world was not ready. In the list of cases mentioned, Watson mentions a guy who steps back into his home to get something and is never seen again. That sentence from a Holmes story came to me as I listened. I think there was another Holmes story where Watson is listening while Holmes outlines the facts in a case. At some point, Watson states that it was impossible. Holmes agrees that the facts are impossible as stated and concludes that he therefore must have stated them incorrectly. That's the first thing that comes to my mind after listening to these two podcasts. What you've stated is impossible (unless one is serious about the paranormal), and therefore, something you've stated is incorrect. I'm surprised that someone hasn't reached for the obvious accusation of police corruption. If we could be certain that he's not in the building and not buried on the construction site somewhere, then he either had to pass through town without the police seeing him on any surveillance cameras or the police have to be incorrect or lying about him not appearing on those cameras. If someone reaches for the popular "the police are corrupt" explanation, then he could have stumbled into a situation where he saw some terrible evidence of police corruption. The police person involved killed him and snuck his body out of the building. The police would then put a few other corrupt officers and detectives on the team that reviewed all of the video and declared that he never appeared anywhere on any camera. I don't believe this explanation, but this one holds together better than UFOs or stepping into another dimension. I don't know whether this bar has windows that would open to an alley without surveillance, but you never say that he couldn't have gone out of a window or that the cameras would cover every window and every door. I don't know why he would go out a window, but his going out a window makes more sense than the paranormal explanations. If he went out a window and got into a vehicle, he might never appear on surveillance video. For instance, if he had a confrontation with someone in the bar and just wanted to avoid the person, he might have gone out a window. If he then got into the wrong car, he could have been killed and dumped somewhere. I don't believe in the "smiley face" theory, but if someone wanted to kill him that way, drugging him and then dropping him from a window would also make more sense than being seen carrying him from the bar. If there were a group of people committing these kinds of murders, I'm sure that they've had victims who washed against the shore and were eaten by coyotes and other scavengers. That he wasn't found wouldn't cause them to break cover to take credit for killing him. If he left the bar through some side door that didn't have surveillance and then had an accident on the construction site, I can't rule out someone with a big financial stake in the company finding his body the next day, realizing that there was time to dump him somewhere, and taking his body offsite for disposal somewhere. That's a cold-hearted thing to do, but for someone who feels financially desperate, that might not be out of the question. The person might rationalize that the death was an accident and getting rid of the body is not the same as committing murder. I don't like this explanation either, but this makes more sense than a UFO or inter-dimensional travel. None of this is impossible. I grew up in East Tennessee. I didn't see huge amounts of snow when I was a kid. When I went to grad school the first time, I went to Penn State. In State College, Pennsylvania, I learned about snow. The grocery store nearest my apartment had a big parking lot, and during the winter, they had a service that would plow all of the snow to the back row of the lot and leave it in huge piles. By the end of the snow season, the back of the lot had piles that were ten or twelve feet high and stretched across the entire lot. One night, I was taking a walk as a study break. I'd never seen such huge piles of snow, and I decided that I wanted to walk on the pile of snow. I walked up the side and then walked along the ridge line of the snow pile. At one point, I stepped on a bit of thin snow covering a little crevasse. I fell through the thin snow and hit the bottom of the crevasse which was luckily only two feet deep. I realized that if the hollow area had gone all the way to the asphalt, I could have fallen ten or twelve feet. I could have been knocked out or suffered a broken leg. The store had closed for the night, so shouting wouldn't have helped. I could have died there and my body not found until the snow melted in March or April. If the construction people had partially filled some hole with gravel, maybe he fell into the hole and sank into the gravel. If the hole never really had much purpose and wasn't going to be structurally significant, they might have covered the hole at some point and never realized that he was there. If there were a few burlap bags in the hole, he might have covered himself partially with bags because he felt cold. If he died there, maybe no one noticed that the bags weren't lying flat on the bottom of the hole. If they had dug the hole to plant a tree, they could have put a tree on him. I don't like this explanation either, but I like this explanation more than I like the UFO or Twilight Zone explanation. Because this is possible even though unlikely, one can't settle on some other unlikely explanation until this one is completely disproven.
a little late and I agree with you bout the window, theres a high chance he left or was put through a window where there was a blind spot in the cameras then fell into the construction zone with no one to hear him and got buried before it was too late. His phone couldve been found by someone at the bar, then was sold or traded in and that night when the new owner got the phone or its last life juice before dying got his girlfriends call or to at least ring. I can also see something going well with the band as even that was kinda suspicious even with Brian's love for music to do so and he ended up being a roadie to the band, lost his phone in the process and decided that maybe a new phone and life was a better option for his grieving and left. But that would also fall through cause of his tattoo, unless he covered it or got it removed it would've been the main identifier. Honestly this is one of my favorite weird missing persons case and I always want to listen and hear more about it no matter how many times I've heard the story to see if any new details or new ideas can come out of it. Best guess he's prolly dead but we can have our theories.
I read somewhere that one of the cctv cameras was one that would pan a certain area back and forth. Maybe he slipped out then. However, as you mentioned what about all the other cameras in the area? Very daunting case.
Brian lived .6 miles away and the cameras that would have caught him leaving were either not working or not on. The only camera that was reviewed to my knowledge was one that pointed toward the drive through at Wendy's.
I am still curious about the homeless man. His features are so similar to Brian Shaffer. Is it implausible that the FBI is not being forthright for whatever reason? Still, no idea how he left that bar! Have any recent searches been conducted at the bar using resources i.e. cadaver dogs, sonar, etc.?
This case is truly baffling. I've tried to find detailed information about the various exits and what was/was not covered by cameras and it's still unclear. If only these sorts of details were available for the general public to dissect. My best guess is the solution is much simpler than some people think, e.g. He was missed on camera while exiting somehwere/somehow and later met foul play or an accident. It's just hard to have a solid theory because we don't know the details of the most basic stuff.
Well I feel the management would not have wanted to broadcast any exists that were not covered with a security camera for liability reasons if nothing else.
Yes he was missed because the very few cameras that would have caught his short walk back home were not working that night. I totally agree that this is most likely how it went down. I believe that Brian made it back to his apartment and later left with someone he knew and met with foul play. Of course that's just my opinion.
There’s zero evidence to suggest that he made it back to his apartment. It was in pristine condition. Nobody had slept in the bed. None of his bank accounts have been touched. None of his belongings were taken. What evidence is there to suggest that he made it back to his apartment at all? Quite the opposite.
@@johnlanton9363 You're right, there is zero evidence that he made it back to his apartment. There is evidence to suggest he made it out of the building. There is no opposite evidence that suggests he didn't make it out. He bed not being slept in is not evidence that he didn't make it back. No one knows what condition he left his apartment in so if Brian did make it back and left again no one would know unless a neighbor saw him return or he left with someone after he returned to his apartment which is what I believe he did. Just my own personal theory.
#1 aliens, #2 kidnapped by Bigfoot... I have listened to several podcasts on this one. I like the Brian never left theory, but I honestly have NO idea. I've played with diff theories. To be carried out in the trash or suitcase, etc -other people are involved and I doubt that one. I don't buy smiley face, Clint did it, Brian purposely disappeared or construction site accident. So I'm back to aliens or bigfoot. Great show, guys! Edit: Brett, you talked about wondering into old hospital instead of going to the bathroom, and I have Absolutely done that! I've gotten in trouble a few times (with friends/fam) for wondering off. That's why I like the "Brian never left" theory. Or it was Bigfoot.
Yes the police interviewed the band and they never named them as people of interest so I guess they weren’t suspicious at all and they did cooperate with the police when asked to be questioned
Yup..48 hrs before searching the premises, and so many holes in the (official) investigation. I listened to the interview with the leading investigator and he just seemed to trust right from the offset that everyone was telling the truth. Sec.camera at the emergency exit had a glitch right around the time when Brian is supposed to have disappeared, but he ( the investigator) says -Security was there and they say nobody left through that exit anyway..so.. Me - ?????? For real, it just sounds like he's taking every ones word as ultimate truth, and in my opinion, that's not a good way to investigate.I would like to see a floor plan of the actual tuna saloona, but to date, not come across one. All attention lies around what happened the last time he was seen on camera with the two women, and i also listened to an interview with one of those women and she was either playing amnesia of some sort or she was so drunk that she cannot remember a thing, cos that was basically her answers to all questions, -I really can't remember. She gave Brian, this ultra handsome dude her phone number and he was flirting and kissing her neck she says, but yet, she cannot remember what they were talking about! My next statement is probably not relevant in any way, but, if i'm a young woman out on town and a dude like Brian starts flirting with me and things get as far as neck kissing and number sharing, i will bloody well remember what we were talking about even after a few drinks. And back to the subject, - as said, TWO days before the premises were search (if that info is correct, but it doesn't really matter even f it was just one day or half a day, there was plenty of time for someone ( one or more people) to get Brians body out and away from those premises without getting detected and before police started searching. ( A big trash container for example, every restaurant has them) . My own theory meanwhile is that he was kidnapped, not killed. Apparently sniffer dogs were used on site and they didn't react to anything..and if that is true, then, Brian was still alive when he left the premises, whether voluntarily or by force.
There are many questions in this case, and so few answers. I have a difficult time believing though that there isn’t at least one person who knows something about this case. Something that offers at least a little more information that we are currently lacking.
Could Brian, being extremely intoxicated, have climbed down from the bar's balcony and fallen into a dumpster, passing out. Then, the following day the garbage truck collected the bin and his body ended up being crushed and carried away by the lorry?
I believe its ok to speculate, after all, we have basically nothing to go on, all we can do is speculate and theorize as to what could have happened to Brian, we now know that one camera was tampered with, thats when he was either leaving the building or was taking out, personally I believe the security firm hired by the bar is involved, its actually really obvious that they were, but i don't know what happened , im working on a theory,
Finally someone who isn't scared to be LOGICAL AND TRUTHFUL ABOUT WHAT THEY THINK ACTUALLY AND TRUTHFULLY HAPPENED TO THIS POOR GUY. YOUR A SMART AND LOGICAL PERSON WHICH IS RARE IMO. I think his disappearance has something to do with those that work with and for the bar. To me it's makes the most sense and is most logical. SOMEBODY WHO KNEW HOW THE CAMERAS WORKED AND KNEW HOW TO WORK THEM MUST OF KNEW HOW TO KEEP HIM OUTTA CAMERA VIEW. THINK ABOUT IT. HE GOES INTO THE BAR AND DOESN'T COME OUT. THAT JUST SCREAMS OUT LOUD SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HIM I MEAN WHY ELSE WOULD HE JUST VANISH IN A BAR THAT HE CAME TO WITH SOME FRIENDS. THAT MEANS SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HIM AND THE BAR IS PROBABLY MOST LIKELY INVOLVED. I WOULD HAVE LOOKED A LOT DEEPER INTO THAT BAR IF I WERE THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND WITH PRESSURE. BECAUSE THERE IS NO WAY A MAN JUST WALKS INTO A BAR AND DOESN'T COME OUT UNLESS SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED TO HIM. I THINK HE WAS KEPT SEALED AND HIDDEN IN THE BAR UNTIL IT CLOSED THEN HE WAS DONE AWAY WITH. BUT THIS CASE IS BAFFLING AND MYSTERIOUS , FRUSTRATING. BUT WHEN I VERY FIRST GOT INTO THIS CASE. THE FIRST THING THAT CAME TO MY MIND AND HEART WAS THAT IT WAS THE BAR THAT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS DISAPPEARANCE. I THINK THE BAR WORKERS/SECURITY WAS INVOLVED. I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT SINCE I FIRST GOT INTO THIS CASE SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING.IVE ALWAYS THOUGHT THE BAR WAS INVOLVED IN HIS VANISHING SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING I HEARD ABOUT IT.
Then to think the man hasn't used his bank account. His father passed away and he didn't acknowledge that and wasn't heard from and didn't attend his fathers funeral and hadn't contacted his brother and wasn't answering his girlfriends phone calls the phone just kept going to voicemail and nobody has heard from him at all. SOMETHING HAD TO HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM INSIDE THAT BAR TO CAUSE HIM TO JUST VANISH LIKE THAT.
@@outlawmakaveli3969 and, what if instead of brian saying he was gonna go talk to the band, What if he said, im going to talk to someone in the back , it was loud in the bar so what if clint misheard brian, this case should not be unsolved ,
I think it’s weird that a college student even HAS a lawyer. Does Meredith have a lawyer? He’s either a sketchy character who has a criminal past, or he had something to do with it. It would never occur to me to get a lawyer if my friend went missing, and I am a murder podcast junkie.
This is a completely ridiculous idea, but is there anyway Bryan could have like been smuggled out in one of the band's bigger drums? It's honestly the only way I can think of him getting out of the bar even though I can't for the life of me think of a motive other than idk, they're all drunk and they thought it'd be funny or something. My friends and I have done more ridiculous things because we thought it'd be funny. It still doesn't explain what happened to him afterwards though.
Did anyone see the Utube where the guy shows more detailed footage of Brian talking to the two girls ? He got the footage from HLN news. You can see Brian put something into one of the girls purses. It looks like a phone. It’s very clear when slowed down and the only footage that is not cropped of this scene.
It floors me that I don’t hear more about a suicide theory. Which seems to make more since than him being in the wall for goodness sake. Brian did express dissatisfaction with his life and his Mother did just pass. In combination with drinking, who knows really how much someone is hurting? I think we all want to believe Brian is happy on a beach somewhere but it’s so improbable. Unfortunately, I think he made it out and then something happened in the next brief time. Possibly hit by a car and put in the trunk. Targeted while being alone possibly. But I just think him taking his own life is the simplest explanation. Although, you never know and I certainly hope I’m wrong.
I think maybe the band had something to do with it maybe he paid them money to sneak Him out or something or they change clothes with them.... And for the message and obituary maybe it’s someone that knows where he is and are trying to give a clue to his family and he could’ve moved on to a different place
I also thought he was tucked away in the walls somehow, but they searched that place top to bottom. Also bodies usually smell to high heaven, and a smell of a body smells like nothing else.
Look up Inna Budnytska she was abducted from her hotel room in Miami. There was no footage of her leaving the hotel... eventually they found out that she was beaten and put into a suitcase.. and then was taken out of the hotel
I can say with 99% certainty that no one in Columbus says the actual phrase 'irish goodbye'. I've never heard that and I've lived in both Columbus and Hilliard (where the phone ping was located) Ohio. This case is so strange. It's a local mystery.
Could his friend that left maybe saw him on the street and Clint had him get in the car. Or did the band have something to do with it? Would be last people to talk to him. Just so strange?
It's so painfully obvious that clint is involved. When your "best friend" goes missing you don't lawyer up and not cooperate. He knows what happened. Make him talk put him on the stand and give him a lie detector test . guarantee he fails
You guys ask how did he pull it off but if we knew clint would be in jail and Brian would be found.i bet my life clint is guilty. Any friend is gonna help. Clint is not a friend
It's quite possible. However he was quite helpful at the beginning. Later he refused a poly which is likely because his lawyer advised him not to and to distance himself from the family. It is likely his lawyer advised him he would be considered a prime suspect and if he fails the poly even though he may have not been guilty. There are many people charged with crimes that did not commit them.
as a future lawyer, i'd never take a polygraph, even if i was innocent. science doesn't back them up, they're almost always used against you even if you're innocent. any good lawyer would tell you not to take them.
I can't stop thinking about the "La Femme Nikita" scenario: knowingly or unknowingly, he was recruited to an lntl spy agency and that night was his extraction point. His closest relative- his mom died, he was very depressed, and he wanted to do something meaningful with his life, so he applied to the CIA/FBI or something bigger then himself. Clint knew. He offered Alexis an out of the relationship, but she didn't get the hint. That night, he came out from the back, and was picked up by recruiters. The postcard he later sent his dad was entirely real. Espionage agencies always need doctors. Option 2: Brian went somewhere to have a fling, and something went very wrong in that apartment. He was murdered, or kidnapped to be murdered or to be abductef into the int'l sex trade? He was a handsome man.
It happens - there was a famous case in 1900 of that happening just 12 miles from where I live. The victim's body acted like a candlewick turning the blaze inwards.
There was a back exit which opened out toward a construction area, facing a Wendy's. I believe the police dogs tracked Brian's scent to the Wendy's and then ... he vanished. The cameras covering that area were not working -- but the dogs followed the scent.
@@IndianaJoe0321 they never talk about that on any of these shows. Maybe he got into an argument at the bar, left the back way , and then encountered that person or someone else. Pushed him in car or whatever. Crazy they never found him.
OK, Sorry I have to be a cynic here. It is not "romantic" and "nice" if someone up and leaves their life and runs away. It's narcissistic. They only care about themselves and no one else. It would make me look down upon the person who disappeared. Knowing the only one in the world they care about is themselves.
I disagree vehemently. You never know what’s going on in someone’s life that would make them want to leave. It’s easy to judge them & label them as a bad person, when you don’t know what that person is going through.
um when somone is in crisis or depressed etc , you don’t typically think about others and not even in a selfish way. Depression can change the chemicals in your brain. and guess what some people think others won’t miss them if they leave. I have thought about doing it many times esp when I feel my life keeps spiraling down and I have no support system.
My speculation: Brian started new life just like Maura Murray. In this case, Clint helped Brian get a new identity which is why he is not saying anything. Brian was sick and tired of living a life his parents wanted him to.
The sheer statistical improbability of him disappearing randomly surely suggests that Brian had a cleverly worked out plan which involved evading CCTV which worked out perfectly. The fact that there are no clues is a big clue in itself. I reckon he's safe and sound elsewhere in the world, under an assumed name, living a new life.
The main question I have is why Brian did not proceed with his expressed intention to walk the two girls to their car. He waited with one of them while the other went to the bathroom, and that may have made him late. He may have already arranged for someone to pick him up out of sight of Clint and Meredith. Also, his phone was on when one of the girls put her phone number in it at 1:55 am, but when Meredith called him from Clint's phone a little after 2 am, it goes right to voicemail. Everything happened very fast after 1:55 am. I believe he was in a vehicle almost right away. The police interviewed "orange shirt guy" who looked suspicious to them on camera. He turned out to be a taxi driver who liked to lurk around the bar between fares. I would be concerned about a taxi driver, because Brian had to be in someone's vehicle. I don't think he wanted to go home alone. He told other friends in the bar he would call them when he got home for an "after party" at his place. But he may have worried no one would come. He either called someone he knew to pick him up or he took a ride with someone he didn't know. He was avoiding Clint and Meredith. Maybe he didn't want to be a third wheel. Or he didn't want them to see him leaving with a woman who was not Alexis. Or he didn't want them to see him leaving with a known drug dealer. I don't believe he left to start a new life under these circumstances. It is conceivable that this was an unusual suicide, and he did not want his body found. He could have been kidnapped by a male stalker and killed or killed by someone he knew with motives unknown. Lie detector tests do more harm than good. There is zero science behind them, and they exclude guilty people and implicate innocent people. No one should take one.
I used to live in Portland Oregon and in the old town you can actually take tours of the "Shanghai tunnels" which were an elaborate underground system of tunnels that ran directly under saloons and bars. There were trap doors in the floor that could be triggered to open and the inebriated person would drop through the floor into the tunnel. Once inside they unfortunately could be basically trafficked out to sea wherever their captors took them. Is it possible something like that happened here?
Yes I just made a comment that this is a possibility.
No.
As for tunnels in Columbus near campus. There is 42,240 feet of steam and electric tunnels snaking below campus. First constructed in 1906 (largely by Ohio Penitentiary prisoners), these tunnels now transport power to more than 100 campus buildings. There are entry points-quite a few of them, actually-like those below the Recreation and Physical Activity Center and the Mathematics Tower which is a very short distance (approx 1 mile) from the Ugly Tuna. To be clear, it is illegal (and really dangerous) to enter the tunnels alone.
Also there is a tunnel nearby the Ugly Tuna, sinisterly named Gates of Hell (also called the Portal to Hell and the Blood Bowl). This tunnel is located behind a Tim Hortons. It's literally straight up N High Ave just past the Ugly Tuna. The inside of the passage is covered in graffiti, which quickly disappears within the darkness.
The Blood Bowl / Gates of Hell is located in a ravine behind the Tim Hortons at 2754 North High Street in Columbus
It is a drainage tunnel under North High Street. Entering the tunnel, which requires you to step into the mouth of a graffiti monster, leads to a dank stretch of utter blackness.
Though sometimes people do wander into the tunnel, it’s technically off limits to the public. Entering or exploring the area is at your own risk. It was built for a stream that goes from Glen Echo Park to the Olentangy River, but is mostly dry, except after rain.
@@BarWatchWow 😮
As much as I would love for this to be aliens, I do believe his body is somewhere inside the framework of that building. He could have wandered into a spot where he shouldn't have been and then fell. He could have broken his neck and died instantly, thus no calls for help. There's a service elevator there--could he have somehow fallen down the shaft? If his body ended up at basement level, it could account for no smell of decomposition.
I absolutely agree.
From what I've heard/read about this case, there was construction going on near the bar, in the same larger "mini mall" (or consumer center or whatever you want to call it).
It makes the most sense.
Brian is slightly inebriated; he decides to go through some door or use some elevator that was supposed to be off limits
Maybe a drunk patron grabbed the warning/under construction/caution sign that was supposed to be on the elevator or door to take home and put up on their college apartment wall because they thought it would be ironic or funny.
Or maybe Brian just didn't read or didn't care about the "off limits" sign. Maybe a worker/crew forgot to put a caution sign up, or they thought nobody would try to enter the area because it clearly seemed under constructiom/off-limits.
So Brian goes through a door/passageway/"up to the roof" because it seems like a fun and slightly dangerous adventure.
It's pitch black (almost 2 am) and the area he enters is unlit (why would it be, nobody is supposed to be doing construction while its dark?)
He falls down a work shaft/scaffolding/unfinished flooring/etc., breaking his neck or rendering him instantly unconscious and dying without quick help.
He dies in something like sewage piping/electrical shaft/etc, which is soon built over and then there's essentially no chance of ever finding his remains unless the entire building is torn down.
My friends and I did dumb stuff like that when we were out drinking in college
Like, "Let's try climbing up this fire escape/scaffolding/etc and see where it goes. Maybe we can get up to the roof and have a perfect serene spot to smoke a bowl and look up at the stars."
That type of stuff.
It's a little bit weird that he would try something like that alone, but who knows.
Not many other explanations make.much sense and/or rely on "aliens," "dimensional portals," etc.
Brian probably fell into a construction area. When and if the building is torn down, he'll probably be found.
It's gotta be awful for his family and friends; having absolutely no idea what happened. I can't even imagine.
If any of this was true than they would have found something by now but still nothing.
@@notbot4525 the problems is that there's a camera that points down that back hallway that leads to the construction. And the construction at this point was patchwork stuff, no gaping holes to fall in.
@@danporter1176 yeah, I forgot I made that long comment.
From learning more about the case, the construction area theory seems less likely.
I've started leaning towards some type of "incident" happening within the bar itself. I'm not necessarily saying that there was a cover-up; however, it seems like something happened within the bar itself.
Maybe Brian gets into a fight that gets way out of hand or has some kind of accident, and someone in bar feels some type of fear about reporting the death - so they instead carry his body out with deliveries?
Or he follows the band and groupies out of some sort of worker exit and something bad happens later on in the night, Brian dies, and the group of people fear reporting again.
Or a lunatic either drugs Brian or somehow surmises that Brian is extremely tired and not completely with it, somehow takes advantage of the situation, essentially kidnaps Brian, and then fulfills some sadistic fantasy.
I guess it's within the realm of possibility (though far outside the realm of probability) that Brian voluntarily disappeared. It seems like it would be incredibly difficult -if not inpossible - for Brian to either plan so well/got so lucky that he juuuuuust manages to avoid any and all cameras.
It's a really bizarre case; that's for sure.
One of the more bizarre disappearance cases I've seen
I went to OSU and just north of gateway (where ugly tuna is) there was a half way house that had ex cons and homeless people. This is like merely 150 ft. We had been hasseled(non violently) so many times for money walking by there we always crossed the street to avoid it. If he was murdered i feel like there would be no short list of people who couldve done it from that halfway house
I would really love to hear y'all's take on the Christian andreacchio Case. You were both so intelligent and with years of experience under your belt, your input is fascinating to listen to.
The two girls should be questioned again. Notice that Brian is not talking to them; he is walking up to them. He extends his arm, and one girl seems to be passing something to him - probably their phone numbers that they said they gave him. This is why he disappeared. He was giving his friends the slip so they wouldn't know he was fooling around on his girlfriend. Then they go back into the bar; all of them. Brian goes out the back with the band somehow, so he could meet up with those girls secretly. Along the way he may have encountered a criminal, and the girls might have even been partners with the criminal.
One of the girls is interviewed here - ruclips.net/video/XAOEgsUkjqI/видео.html
Det Hurst has stated in interviews that he is certain that Brian made it out of the building. Clint and Meredith where seen going down the escalator at I believe 2:01 am. They were seen getting into Meredith's car from CC footage in the parking garage. They were also seen on camera driving towards Clintonville where they both stayed that night. People need to go from there when trying to decide what happened to Brian. This takes a lot of the mystery out of this case.
Maybe just missed on the footage. Could he be leaving before?
@@mickroberts8540 According to CPD no. After Brian was seen walking off camera with the two girls, Brighton went and used the restroom while Brian and Amber talked. After Brighton came back both of them said goodbye to Brian. Within 1 to 2 minutes later Clint and Meredith were seen leaving at 2:01am. I personally think that Brian saw them walking to the doorway and left through the back entrance. Brian had an argument with Clint earlier in the bar and I think he just wanted to avoid them and go home. CPD watched the video until I believe the next day and Brian was not seen. I've been to the UTS and from where Brian was standing he could see into the bar and would have been able to seen Clint and Meredith walking to the exit. It's an odd angle but Brian would have been able to see them likely before they would have seen him.
@@tsmith3286 Finally an educated comment. Plus, they traced him using track dogs to a restaurant nearby. I believe it was a Denny’s. He left the bar and simply wasn’t picked up on camera. One camera panned back and forth and another one was set to manual during the fight with Clint. Clint only got the lawyer after he got caught in a lie. He lied about not going to Brian’s after leaving.
@@josephdale69 Thanks. The restaurant was Wendy’s and it’s no longer there. The cameras from Wendy’s to what would have been his walk home were not working. Considering he had such a short walk home there would not have been many cameras anyway. The argument with Clint was inside the bar and there were no cameras inside at that time. I’m not sure if I understand about the lie that you said Clint told. I do know that he was driven back to his car by Meredith the next morning. He had parked his car at Brian‘s the night before then they set out on foot.
T smith it’s been a while since I went over this case but could Clint have killed him? Or maybe he left through a side exit and fell into a construction zone that went unnoticed and possibly covered. I think my main theory back in the day was that he was taken away in the bands boxes (snuck out).
I have to say that this is actually one of the most satisfying podcasts about this case I've come across.
Brian's dinner with his dad was probably not pleasant and energizing. Randy was an electrician. They were a family of modest means. Brian had started at Ohio University with a major in business and minor in computer science. He got a DUI and spent 3 says in jail. After that, he made a hard turn and went to OSU as a microbiology major and then on to medical school, mostly because he loved his mom and wanted to meet her expectations. Clint did his undergrad in Texas. While he and Brian were dorm mates Brian's first year in medical school, Clint was not a medical student. Rather, he was a PhD student in microbiology. They probably didn't see each other that much after that first year in the dorm. Randy seemed hypersensitive to remarks Clint made about Brian. I think Clint was just being honest. Brian was hitting on one of those girls in the bar. It's a fact. It was a pattern of behavior that Clint took for granted. Brian's mom wanted Brian to marry Alexis and had a friend of hers recommend a jeweler to her son. Brian was reportedly still seeing his high school girlfriend from time to time. Brian was upset that Randy was seeing another woman while his mom was sick. Randy had been blind-sided that his wife left 25% of her insurance to each of her sons and only 50% to Randy. He had been counting on all of it. He supposedly told Brian's brother he could keep $1000 but should give Randy the balance. The policy was only $80,000. So, Brian would have received $20,000. Brian had been getting help with expenses from his mom, and I think Randy was having trouble keeping that going. Brian had a lot of debt. Randy said he had given Brian a check for $4000 for tuition that was due in early March, but it was never found or cashed. Brian had spent a substantial amount of time in Puerto Rico for school. He was really looking forward to the trip with Alexis to Miami. He did have a history of depression in the past and had used Prozac at one time.
But no one thought he was suffering from anything but stress and grief when he vanished. I think the phone ping in Hilliard was real. Someone found that phone and charged it. It doesn't mean much. The phone was separated from his body, whether he was alive or dead. He could have been kidnapped and held prisoner for a time. Every possibility seems remote because we know so little. I believe he is dead. He had no $ to start a new life. And he didn't have $ to continue with the life he had. I'm inclined to think he suicided with the intention to protect his loved ones from ever knowing what he did.
There were 4 doors out of the bar, and there were additional exits Brian could have used, according to the lead detective, who is retired. A door on the second floor went to the escalator. There was also a fire exit somewhere on that floor. There was a faux wall behind where Brian was standing at 1:55 am, talking to the two girls. There was a wooden door to the basement behind the faux wall. In the basement, there was a service door and there was also a door to the construction area. But there were other businesses in the mall that left their basement doors open and not covered by cameras. They were still open at 2:00 am. Brian could have entered one of those in the basement and walked out their front door. One of the bar's cameras in the basement had been overridden by someone, reportedly to view girls in the bar. So, there were a lot of gaps in camera coverage. They aren't even 100% sure Brian didn't go down the escalator. The fact that he is not caught on many cameras in the street suggests to me that Brian entered someone's vehicle right away.
I like your theory of Brian exiting sight unseen and being transported away rather quickly.
Interesting facts:
1. After Brian's disappearance, Clint moved to TN & changed his first name to William
2. Clint never helped search for Brian or helped make posters
3. Clint spent 6 hours at Brian's place the day Brian disappeared
4. Clint refused a polygraph
5. Clint refused to cooperate with police
6. Clint and Brian had an argument a few days before the disappearance
yeah, Clint has nothing to do with his disappearance
Great job guys! Got to your channel from MMM and am binge listening to your episodes. Fascinating stuff!
Regarding this case, my guess is as good as any one else's, but I think we are missing some pieces of information that are critical to understand what may have happened, and that concerns the cctv coverage. As I understood there are conflicting reports on that matter. If indeed all the exits were covered by cameras, then it would have been impossible for Brian to leave unnoticed, unless somehow concealed.
If some of the cameras weren't working, then it's more likely he left on his own and something happened to him later on. However I feel in this scenario it increases the need for a serious amount of random, accidental, series of unfortunate events to follow and somehow leave no trace. In one of MM's episodes you made the point that it takes a lot of trouble to go unnoticed on your daily life, and I think the same applies to a situation like this. He would have to avoid the several cameras, go unnoticed by everyone leaving the bars in the area, and end up somewhere where nobody could find his body for years, in a significantly sized and busy city. What are the odds?
But what I find most intriguing is the phone. This is the point that makes me believe in foul play. I'm guessing since it was just a ping they weren't able to narrow down an area and make searches. How would his phone end up 14 miles from where he was last seen? It leads me to believe that someone disposed of his phone in that area (and probably of his body not too far), six months later someone found it and turned it on, probably kept it after eventually changing the SIM card. I would also be curious to know if any of the bar staff has any relation to the suburb you mentioned. Weather a murder or an accident followed by a cover up, I feel like someone knows something and isn't telling.
I think it has to be an employee of that bar... he most likely did meet with foul play somewhere, but we have to remember that no other camera in the area picked up anything that would suggest there was a fight in the courtyard, or that Brian walked away from the area. So, I guess the odds are that something did happen at the bar... and a person who worked there KNOWS how to evade the CCTV cameras... I mean, is a customer going to know how to do that? Very unlikely... My guess is that someone who worked at the Ugly Tuna is very good at lying & keeping secrets.
@@James-4812 The UT is pretty small inside I’ve been there. No cameras inside at the time. It’s one big room with a couple bathrooms so no real places to hide. It was first night of spring break so it was packed and so were the streets. Brian left the back way so he would not have exited through the courtyard. Both Clint and Meredith were seen exiting down the escalator into the parking garage and driving in the direction of Clintonville.
"The problem with this theory" - more like the problem with all the theories which makes it the oddest case EVER !!!!
the remark at 18:10 about no one leaving in different clothes is actually inaccurate. there was someone who left in an orange sweatshirt that did not enter in one. however the investigators were able to track down that person, and determined that person had the sweater tied around their waist upon entering the saloona.
Then they didn’t leave in different clothes.
what in the hell was going on in 2006? Brian Shaffer, and then just a few months later, Jesse Ross. eerily similar circumstances. that's one I would love for you guys to cover someday.
In my opinion, the idea that "when someone is murdered the body is always found" doesn't apply here. If I had to guess, Brian got out of the bar and immediately was offered - or asked for - a ride. And we usually don't attend to the fact that we are really vulnerable when in a strangers car. A moving car is always a potencial "crime scene on wheels". And if you're drunk at 2am riding in a strangers car, you're a VERY easy target. The phone ping reinforces my hypothesis. It was turned on by the killer or by someone who knows the killer. It's not too far-fetched to imagine someone would, before disposing the body, grab his phone and his wallet.
@@kkap895 Probably using the service door used by the band in the end of the show.. The band left the bar. He kept walking...
I think what was really well established on this podcast is that he never left the bar. Period. Why? We don’t have the answer. I think either A) harm was done to him at the bar Saturday night by whoever. The police didn’t start looking for him till Monday, so that gave somehow 48 hours to dispose of the body if it was kept at ugly tuna.
B) he’s in the construction site/building somewhere somehow and that’s the most plausible theory.
The fact that he’s not on ANY camera near or outside the bar leaving can only lead us to one conclusion: that he never left the bar for whatever reason.
But you’re assuming that the cameras were working. Det Hurst stated in an interview that the cameras on N High St leading in the direction to Brian’s apartment either didn’t work and were not recording. Det Hurst said Brian exited out the construction doors right across the street from Wendy’s. From there it’s just a short walk down to the corner of King where Brian would make a right. From there I’m not sure if there were any cameras at all.
I think it’s pretty well established he wasn’t back at his apartment. Nothing is touched, why would he go back?
@@johnlanton9363 Why? Because he lived there. What do you mean nothing is touched?
When somebody come back to their apartment, things are out the beds not made etc. From what I gather, and from what the detective at the time was working the case, he indicated the evidence suggests he did not return to the apartment.
Let’s assume he did return to the apartment and was missed on every single surveillance tape they checked. What did he do next?
@@johnlanton9363 Have you ever left your house and came back later for maybe something you forgot? What clues did you leave that you had come back? If Brian made it home and left again within minutes he would not have left any clues he was there. As I have said before, according to Det Hurst none of the cameras that Brian would have had to pass on his way home were working. So it wasn't every single cam just the ones he would have passed. I think Brian left with someone he knew and I think he was killed. I don't think it was intentional. This is as I mentioned just my own personal theory. It's based on all the research I have gathered.
I dont know about you guys, but when i'm drinking at bars and they close and im not that messed up, I might go looking for a random party. especially in a college town. Maybe he ran into some random people, got really drunk or high, and then a freak accident happened to him trying to go home later. In fact, if he wandered around a bit in a college town on a friday night after the bars closed I would be surprised if he didnt run into somebody who was still partying.
Then you would've just seen him leave normally on camera.
He wasn't seen on any camera in the surrounding area, or even in train stations, airports etc. If you really think about it, there really is only one explanation as to how he got out of there... he MUST have left through a door somewhere and jumped into a car (or someone pulled him into it) and the car was parked up very close to that ONE door. This would explain how he wasn't seen on any camera because once you're in a car, a camera isn't going to see you inside it, especially at night.
This reminds me of the Woman in the Suitcase mystery that was solved by Ken Brennan. It's possible something happened in the bar and he was smuggled out unconscious or dead. If that did occur, it's also possible any security videos were doctored before being handed over to the police. On the other hand, perhaps the poor guy will be found in an elevator shaft 1 day.
@@whitehartlane7240 Well, the bar is on the first floor of that building, for a long time I thought that maybe he ended up between the floors somewhere, and this might explain why he wasn't found. But then I don't know exactly how the building is constructed & they did say they checked the entire building and that there was no way he could have fallen through the floor. This is what makes me think that he must have left and got into a vehicle... because there is just NO way he could have not been seen if he was walking outside.
@@James-4812 The podcast mentioned the building was 4 storeys high? Perhaps I'm wrong. Any podcast discussing this case has to begin by mapping out the complex and exits to have an informed conversation. I think it's possible he left via an exit that wasn't covered by cameras and entered a car. On the other hand, if he got into an altercation in the bar (ie security) and was seriously hurt a cover up is viable. If that happened, it's worth considering that his body could have been smuggled out via garbage. I've read the police searched dumpsters. It seems they've considered this theory. It would be nice to have an expert clarify if the cell phone ping was a glitch or not. That would be a game changer.
It seems like every theory you look at, there's a problem with it, & it just takes you right back to the starting place which is the bar... which makes you wonder if he really didn't leave the bar and is still there. The running away theory doesn't make sense, because he was never seen again, the foul play theory doesn't make sense, because there was no evidence of a murder... my thoughts are always being directed right back to the bar... and I keep thinking that his disappearance was caused by a careless decision HE made, whether is was intentional or not.
@@whitehartlane7240 I'm not going to lie that so crossed my mind. All of these cases that are so mysterious I wld. Think only someone of authority higher up cld. Cover it up or a dirty cop. It cld happen.
Did the police check what town the band was in when his phone pinged 6 months later?
The band is a red Herring dude 🙄
I don't buy into the smiley face killer at all. However I am seriously wondering about a Gacey type serial killer in Columbus. There have been multiple men go missing in Columbus. All are of similar age and physical stats.
ruclips.net/video/yqlx45E5Jm0/видео.html
I wonder if they steal men taking them underground initially and then traffick them…I hope not. I read a comment that the owners of this bar owned another bar and an different man also went missing…this was after Brian.
As crazy as it sounds, I find this to be the most logical conclusion b
What band was playing?
Rock house
@@kevinsizemore8833 thank you.
@@jhuestis452 you're welcome,
Smiley Face Killer is a big theory in the Boston area where I live. A lot of college age males found in the Charles River after a night of drinking at a local bar. Problem is there is zero evidence to back it up. Toxicology shows no drugs in the system of victims, no surveillance of them being followed or drugged, and no defensive wounds to indicate foul play. Unfortunately, seems more like a case of inexperienced drinkers being over served and stumbling around in black out, and as we all know, it doesn't take you long to find a body of water in most cities. I wondered if this is what happened to Brian, but it seems unlikely he could perfectly hide from all security footage of neighboring buildings.
This case reminds me of a Dateline episode I saw where police couldn't figure out how a missing women got out of a hotel undetected. One keen detective noticed a man carry a fairly large suitcase and that turned to be the answer. Smuggling Brian out in band equipment is a great idea but has it's problems like ever other potential theory. I've also had a similar thought to what Alice discussed that maybe he never left the bar and fell in somewhere that has been overlooked.
However, I think the most likely explanation is he went out one of the doors in the back of the building. I saw a video that showed at least 3-4 doors he could've used. Beyond that is anyone's guess. I have theorized maybe he got in a car and that's how he got away without being caught on camera. Truly baffling case. The fact that his body has never been located could suggest the idea of him still being in that building may not be that crazy...
I love this channel!
Bret and Alice; The Prosecutors.
Good stuff 👍
Great job 👍👌
Bryan may have purposely decided to disappear. He lost his mother 3 weeks earlier and grief can be a powerful thing. It makes you rethink life and your decisions. For him to call his girlfriend may have been his opportunity to say goodbye in his own way. He may have taken an employee exit without being caught and possibly borrowed a baseball cap or something from an employee or changed his appearance in some way to disguise himself. So he may have been on camera but in disguise.
I think you are correct. Have you listened to that message he left on his girlfriend’s phone? He goes on about what a great person she is and that he loves her; it sounded to me like he was saying goodbye.
What about the roof? Looking on google maps, it appears the roof of the building is connected to a building right next to it, and the rest of the buildings are (possibly) close enough to roof hop across. I was waiting to hear this explored and debunked, but it wasn’t.
You mentioned the Sherlock Holmes stories a few times. There are a couple of other Holmes references that are worth making.
In one of the introductions, Watson is talking about different cases that he won't cover. I don't know whether this was the story where he referenced the giant rat of Sumatra, the story for which the world was not ready. In the list of cases mentioned, Watson mentions a guy who steps back into his home to get something and is never seen again. That sentence from a Holmes story came to me as I listened.
I think there was another Holmes story where Watson is listening while Holmes outlines the facts in a case. At some point, Watson states that it was impossible. Holmes agrees that the facts are impossible as stated and concludes that he therefore must have stated them incorrectly. That's the first thing that comes to my mind after listening to these two podcasts. What you've stated is impossible (unless one is serious about the paranormal), and therefore, something you've stated is incorrect.
I'm surprised that someone hasn't reached for the obvious accusation of police corruption. If we could be certain that he's not in the building and not buried on the construction site somewhere, then he either had to pass through town without the police seeing him on any surveillance cameras or the police have to be incorrect or lying about him not appearing on those cameras. If someone reaches for the popular "the police are corrupt" explanation, then he could have stumbled into a situation where he saw some terrible evidence of police corruption. The police person involved killed him and snuck his body out of the building. The police would then put a few other corrupt officers and detectives on the team that reviewed all of the video and declared that he never appeared anywhere on any camera. I don't believe this explanation, but this one holds together better than UFOs or stepping into another dimension.
I don't know whether this bar has windows that would open to an alley without surveillance, but you never say that he couldn't have gone out of a window or that the cameras would cover every window and every door. I don't know why he would go out a window, but his going out a window makes more sense than the paranormal explanations. If he went out a window and got into a vehicle, he might never appear on surveillance video. For instance, if he had a confrontation with someone in the bar and just wanted to avoid the person, he might have gone out a window. If he then got into the wrong car, he could have been killed and dumped somewhere.
I don't believe in the "smiley face" theory, but if someone wanted to kill him that way, drugging him and then dropping him from a window would also make more sense than being seen carrying him from the bar. If there were a group of people committing these kinds of murders, I'm sure that they've had victims who washed against the shore and were eaten by coyotes and other scavengers. That he wasn't found wouldn't cause them to break cover to take credit for killing him.
If he left the bar through some side door that didn't have surveillance and then had an accident on the construction site, I can't rule out someone with a big financial stake in the company finding his body the next day, realizing that there was time to dump him somewhere, and taking his body offsite for disposal somewhere. That's a cold-hearted thing to do, but for someone who feels financially desperate, that might not be out of the question. The person might rationalize that the death was an accident and getting rid of the body is not the same as committing murder. I don't like this explanation either, but this makes more sense than a UFO or inter-dimensional travel.
None of this is impossible.
I grew up in East Tennessee. I didn't see huge amounts of snow when I was a kid. When I went to grad school the first time, I went to Penn State. In State College, Pennsylvania, I learned about snow. The grocery store nearest my apartment had a big parking lot, and during the winter, they had a service that would plow all of the snow to the back row of the lot and leave it in huge piles. By the end of the snow season, the back of the lot had piles that were ten or twelve feet high and stretched across the entire lot.
One night, I was taking a walk as a study break. I'd never seen such huge piles of snow, and I decided that I wanted to walk on the pile of snow. I walked up the side and then walked along the ridge line of the snow pile. At one point, I stepped on a bit of thin snow covering a little crevasse. I fell through the thin snow and hit the bottom of the crevasse which was luckily only two feet deep. I realized that if the hollow area had gone all the way to the asphalt, I could have fallen ten or twelve feet. I could have been knocked out or suffered a broken leg. The store had closed for the night, so shouting wouldn't have helped. I could have died there and my body not found until the snow melted in March or April.
If the construction people had partially filled some hole with gravel, maybe he fell into the hole and sank into the gravel. If the hole never really had much purpose and wasn't going to be structurally significant, they might have covered the hole at some point and never realized that he was there. If there were a few burlap bags in the hole, he might have covered himself partially with bags because he felt cold. If he died there, maybe no one noticed that the bags weren't lying flat on the bottom of the hole. If they had dug the hole to plant a tree, they could have put a tree on him. I don't like this explanation either, but I like this explanation more than I like the UFO or Twilight Zone explanation. Because this is possible even though unlikely, one can't settle on some other unlikely explanation until this one is completely disproven.
a little late and I agree with you bout the window, theres a high chance he left or was put through a window where there was a blind spot in the cameras then fell into the construction zone with no one to hear him and got buried before it was too late. His phone couldve been found by someone at the bar, then was sold or traded in and that night when the new owner got the phone or its last life juice before dying got his girlfriends call or to at least ring.
I can also see something going well with the band as even that was kinda suspicious even with Brian's love for music to do so and he ended up being a roadie to the band, lost his phone in the process and decided that maybe a new phone and life was a better option for his grieving and left. But that would also fall through cause of his tattoo, unless he covered it or got it removed it would've been the main identifier.
Honestly this is one of my favorite weird missing persons case and I always want to listen and hear more about it no matter how many times I've heard the story to see if any new details or new ideas can come out of it. Best guess he's prolly dead but we can have our theories.
I read somewhere that one of the cctv cameras was one that would pan a certain area back and forth. Maybe he slipped out then. However, as you mentioned what about all the other cameras in the area? Very daunting case.
Brian lived .6 miles away and the cameras that would have caught him leaving were either not working or not on. The only camera that was reviewed to my knowledge was one that pointed toward the drive through at Wendy's.
I am still curious about the homeless man. His features are so similar to Brian Shaffer. Is it implausible that the FBI is not being forthright for whatever reason? Still, no idea how he left that bar! Have any recent searches been conducted at the bar using resources i.e. cadaver dogs, sonar, etc.?
This case is truly baffling. I've tried to find detailed information about the various exits and what was/was not covered by cameras and it's still unclear. If only these sorts of details were available for the general public to dissect. My best guess is the solution is much simpler than some people think, e.g. He was missed on camera while exiting somehwere/somehow and later met foul play or an accident. It's just hard to have a solid theory because we don't know the details of the most basic stuff.
With you all the way.
Well I feel the management would not have wanted to broadcast any exists that were not covered with a security camera for liability reasons if nothing else.
Yes he was missed because the very few cameras that would have caught his short walk back home were not working that night. I totally agree that this is most likely how it went down. I believe that Brian made it back to his apartment and later left with someone he knew and met with foul play. Of course that's just my opinion.
There’s zero evidence to suggest that he made it back to his apartment. It was in pristine condition. Nobody had slept in the bed. None of his bank accounts have been touched. None of his belongings were taken. What evidence is there to suggest that he made it back to his apartment at all? Quite the opposite.
@@johnlanton9363 You're right, there is zero evidence that he made it back to his apartment. There is evidence to suggest he made it out of the building. There is no opposite evidence that suggests he didn't make it out. He bed not being slept in is not evidence that he didn't make it back. No one knows what condition he left his apartment in so if Brian did make it back and left again no one would know unless a neighbor saw him return or he left with someone after he returned to his apartment which is what I believe he did. Just my own personal theory.
I believe Brian exited the bar through a back/side door and ended up in the river by accident.
#1 aliens, #2 kidnapped by Bigfoot... I have listened to several podcasts on this one. I like the Brian never left theory, but I honestly have NO idea. I've played with diff theories. To be carried out in the trash or suitcase, etc -other people are involved and I doubt that one. I don't buy smiley face, Clint did it, Brian purposely disappeared or construction site accident. So I'm back to aliens or bigfoot. Great show, guys!
Edit: Brett, you talked about wondering into old hospital instead of going to the bathroom, and I have Absolutely done that! I've gotten in trouble a few times (with friends/fam) for wondering off. That's why I like the "Brian never left" theory. Or it was Bigfoot.
If Brian went to talk with the band - were the members interviewed? Did they talk to Brian at all?
Yes the police interviewed the band and they never named them as people of interest so I guess they weren’t suspicious at all and they did cooperate with the police when asked to be questioned
Is it a possibility someone is covering up someone else? Like police? How does someone just vanish? Something isnt being totally disclosed.....
Yup..48 hrs before searching the premises, and so many holes in the (official) investigation. I listened to the interview with the leading investigator and he just seemed to trust right from the offset that everyone was telling the truth. Sec.camera at the emergency exit had a glitch right around the time when Brian is supposed to have disappeared, but he ( the investigator) says -Security was there and they say nobody left through that exit anyway..so..
Me - ?????? For real, it just sounds like he's taking every ones word as ultimate truth, and in my opinion, that's not a good way to investigate.I would like to see a floor plan of the actual tuna saloona, but to date, not come across one. All attention lies around what happened the last time he was seen on camera with the two women, and i also listened to an interview with one of those women and she was either playing amnesia of some sort or she was so drunk that she cannot remember a thing, cos that was basically her answers to all questions, -I really can't remember. She gave Brian, this ultra handsome dude her phone number and he was flirting and kissing her neck she says, but yet, she cannot remember what they were talking about!
My next statement is probably not relevant in any way, but, if i'm a young woman out on town and a dude like Brian starts flirting with me and things get as far as neck kissing and number sharing, i will bloody well remember what we were talking about even after a few drinks.
And back to the subject, - as said, TWO days before the premises were search (if that info is correct, but it doesn't really matter even f it was just one day or half a day, there was plenty of time for someone ( one or more people) to get Brians body out and away from those premises without getting detected and before police started searching. ( A big trash container for example, every restaurant has them) .
My own theory meanwhile is that he was kidnapped, not killed. Apparently sniffer dogs were used on site and they didn't react to anything..and if that is true, then, Brian was still alive when he left the premises, whether voluntarily or by force.
My first theory was the band but now its more practical to believe to me that he left someway but that's really crazy too.
Great job guys.
There are many questions in this case, and so few answers. I have a difficult time believing though that there isn’t at least one person who knows something about this case. Something that offers at least a little more information that we are currently lacking.
When did the police start looking for Brian at the bar?
The Detective on case is interviewed in Ch3 of BRIAN SHAFFER - DEAD OR ALIVE ?
Yes, and the detective talks about how one camera was tampered with,
Could Brian, being extremely intoxicated, have climbed down from the bar's balcony and fallen into a dumpster, passing out. Then, the following day the garbage truck collected the bin and his body ended up being crushed and carried away by the lorry?
I believe its ok to speculate, after all, we have basically nothing to go on, all we can do is speculate and theorize as to what could have happened to Brian, we now know that one camera was tampered with, thats when he was either leaving the building or was taking out, personally I believe the security firm hired by the bar is involved, its actually really obvious that they were, but i don't know what happened , im working on a theory,
Finally someone who isn't scared to be LOGICAL AND TRUTHFUL ABOUT WHAT THEY THINK ACTUALLY AND TRUTHFULLY HAPPENED TO THIS POOR GUY. YOUR A SMART AND LOGICAL PERSON WHICH IS RARE IMO. I think his disappearance has something to do with those that work with and for the bar. To me it's makes the most sense and is most logical. SOMEBODY WHO KNEW HOW THE CAMERAS WORKED AND KNEW HOW TO WORK THEM MUST OF KNEW HOW TO KEEP HIM OUTTA CAMERA VIEW. THINK ABOUT IT. HE GOES INTO THE BAR AND DOESN'T COME OUT. THAT JUST SCREAMS OUT LOUD SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HIM I MEAN WHY ELSE WOULD HE JUST VANISH IN A BAR THAT HE CAME TO WITH SOME FRIENDS. THAT MEANS SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HIM AND THE BAR IS PROBABLY MOST LIKELY INVOLVED. I WOULD HAVE LOOKED A LOT DEEPER INTO THAT BAR IF I WERE THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND WITH PRESSURE. BECAUSE THERE IS NO WAY A MAN JUST WALKS INTO A BAR AND DOESN'T COME OUT UNLESS SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED TO HIM. I THINK HE WAS KEPT SEALED AND HIDDEN IN THE BAR UNTIL IT CLOSED THEN HE WAS DONE AWAY WITH. BUT THIS CASE IS BAFFLING AND MYSTERIOUS , FRUSTRATING. BUT WHEN I VERY FIRST GOT INTO THIS CASE. THE FIRST THING THAT CAME TO MY MIND AND HEART WAS THAT IT WAS THE BAR THAT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS DISAPPEARANCE. I THINK THE BAR WORKERS/SECURITY WAS INVOLVED. I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT SINCE I FIRST GOT INTO THIS CASE SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING.IVE ALWAYS THOUGHT THE BAR WAS INVOLVED IN HIS VANISHING SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING I HEARD ABOUT IT.
Then to think the man hasn't used his bank account. His father passed away and he didn't acknowledge that and wasn't heard from and didn't attend his fathers funeral and hadn't contacted his brother and wasn't answering his girlfriends phone calls the phone just kept going to voicemail and nobody has heard from him at all. SOMETHING HAD TO HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM INSIDE THAT BAR TO CAUSE HIM TO JUST VANISH LIKE THAT.
@@outlawmakaveli3969 and, what if instead of brian saying he was gonna go talk to the band,
What if he said, im going to talk to someone in the back , it was loud in the bar so what if clint misheard brian, this case should not be unsolved ,
I think it’s weird that a college student even HAS a lawyer. Does Meredith have a lawyer? He’s either a sketchy character who has a criminal past, or he had something to do with it. It would never occur to me to get a lawyer if my friend went missing, and I am a murder podcast junkie.
This is a completely ridiculous idea, but is there anyway Bryan could have like been smuggled out in one of the band's bigger drums? It's honestly the only way I can think of him getting out of the bar even though I can't for the life of me think of a motive other than idk, they're all drunk and they thought it'd be funny or something. My friends and I have done more ridiculous things because we thought it'd be funny. It still doesn't explain what happened to him afterwards though.
World's most epic April Fool's prank?
Did anyone see the Utube where the guy shows more detailed footage of Brian talking to the two girls ? He got the footage from HLN news. You can see Brian put something into one of the girls purses. It looks like a phone. It’s very clear when slowed down and the only footage that is not cropped of this scene.
It floors me that I don’t hear more about a suicide theory. Which seems to make more since than him being in the wall for goodness sake. Brian did express dissatisfaction with his life and his Mother did just pass. In combination with drinking, who knows really how much someone is hurting? I think we all want to believe Brian is happy on a beach somewhere but it’s so improbable. Unfortunately, I think he made it out and then something happened in the next brief time. Possibly hit by a car and put in the trunk. Targeted while being alone possibly. But I just think him taking his own life is the simplest explanation. Although, you never know and I certainly hope I’m wrong.
Has the balcony of the bar ever been looked into much?? I'd be curious
There was a case of an elderly woman who fell into the floor of her attic and wasn't found for some period of time.
I’ve always favoured the theory that he left by a door that was not on security camera and fell in a body of water.
But why they haven't found the body yet?
I think he fell somwhere and died too. But this case is super mysterious and strange.
I think maybe the band had something to do with it maybe he paid them money to sneak Him out or something or they change clothes with them.... And for the message and obituary maybe it’s someone that knows where he is and are trying to give a clue to his family and he could’ve moved on to a different place
Do your research guys. The Ugly Tuna had a 'No Aliens' policy at the time.
I also thought he was tucked away in the walls somehow, but they searched that place top to bottom. Also bodies usually smell to high heaven, and a smell of a body smells like nothing else.
Look up Inna Budnytska she was abducted from her hotel room in Miami. There was no footage of her leaving the hotel... eventually they found out that she was beaten and put into a suitcase.. and then was taken out of the hotel
drugs play a role not matter what angle you look at
I can say with 99% certainty that no one in Columbus says the actual phrase 'irish goodbye'. I've never heard that and I've lived in both Columbus and Hilliard (where the phone ping was located) Ohio.
This case is so strange. It's a local mystery.
It's like "ghosting," but the term is usually only heard in the northeastern U.S.
Could his friend that left maybe saw him on the street and Clint had him get in the car. Or did the band have something to do with it? Would be last people to talk to him. Just so strange?
Your guess is as good as ours.
What about the band? What if they smuggled him out in some band crate or something?
Raymond Clark killed the Asian student at Yale, a day before her wedding. He hid her body behind an access panel in the bathroom.
He is going to get his comeuppance one day
It's so painfully obvious that clint is involved. When your "best friend" goes missing you don't lawyer up and not cooperate. He knows what happened. Make him talk put him on the stand and give him a lie detector test . guarantee he fails
But tell me how. How could he be involved?
You guys ask how did he pull it off but if we knew clint would be in jail and Brian would be found.i bet my life clint is guilty. Any friend is gonna help. Clint is not a friend
@@michaeldee2894 It's quite possible Clint is not a very good friend.
It's quite possible. However he was quite helpful at the beginning. Later he refused a poly which is likely because his lawyer advised him not to and to distance himself from the family. It is likely his lawyer advised him he would be considered a prime suspect and if he fails the poly even though he may have not been guilty. There are many people charged with crimes that did not commit them.
as a future lawyer, i'd never take a polygraph, even if i was innocent. science doesn't back them up, they're almost always used against you even if you're innocent. any good lawyer would tell you not to take them.
Died in the club .taken out in the bands trunk accidental overdose was sold drugs by someone in the band and they panicked
I can't stop thinking about the "La Femme Nikita" scenario: knowingly or unknowingly, he was recruited to an lntl spy agency and that night was his extraction point. His closest relative- his mom died, he was very depressed, and he wanted to do something meaningful with his life, so he applied to the CIA/FBI or something bigger then himself. Clint knew. He offered Alexis an out of the relationship, but she didn't get the hint. That night, he came out from the back, and was picked up by recruiters. The postcard he later sent his dad was entirely real. Espionage agencies always need doctors. Option 2: Brian went somewhere to have a fling, and something went very wrong in that apartment. He was murdered, or kidnapped to be murdered or to be abductef into the int'l sex trade? He was a handsome man.
Men get kidnapped into international sex industry too?
wrong, wrong, wrong.
Arrin Stoner on RUclips has enhanced the video surveillance on this as well!!
Spontaneous human combustion? 🔥?
I'll buy it.
It happens - there was a famous case in 1900 of that happening just 12 miles from where I live. The victim's body acted like a candlewick turning the blaze inwards.
Is there truly no other way to get out? It seems odd that there's ONE way out.
A few ways out.
There was a back exit which opened out toward a construction area, facing a Wendy's. I believe the police dogs tracked Brian's scent to the Wendy's and then ... he vanished. The cameras covering that area were not working -- but the dogs followed the scent.
@@IndianaJoe0321 they never talk about that on any of these shows. Maybe he got into an argument at the bar, left the back way , and then encountered that person or someone else. Pushed him in car or whatever. Crazy they never found him.
OK, Sorry I have to be a cynic here. It is not "romantic" and "nice" if someone up and leaves their life and runs away. It's narcissistic. They only care about themselves and no one else. It would make me look down upon the person who disappeared. Knowing the only one in the world they care about is themselves.
I disagree vehemently. You never know what’s going on in someone’s life that would make them want to leave. It’s easy to judge them & label them as a bad person, when you don’t know what that person is going through.
um when somone is in crisis or depressed etc , you don’t typically think about others and not even in a selfish way. Depression can change the chemicals in your brain. and guess what some people think others won’t miss them if they leave. I have thought about doing it many times esp when I feel my life keeps spiraling down and I have no support system.
Any way he could have got out on to the roof area? Via a hatch, perhaps?
Craig rundels???
My speculation: Brian started new life just like Maura Murray.
In this case, Clint helped Brian get a new identity which is why he is not saying anything. Brian was sick and tired of living a life his parents wanted him to.
He was probably killed outside when he was on his way home. His body was dismembered and disposed somewhere.
Okay -- so how did he get out of the bar -- and get past the security cameras?
He could have used the construction site exit where there was no security camera.
You all sound so different 4 years ago lol
The sheer statistical improbability of him disappearing randomly surely suggests that Brian had a cleverly worked out plan which involved evading CCTV which worked out perfectly. The fact that there are no clues is a big clue in itself. I reckon he's safe and sound elsewhere in the world, under an assumed name, living a new life.