Unsolved Ohio Mystery: Ohio State Student Disappears at Bar, Leaving Questions 18 Years Later

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Eighteen years ago, an Ohio State University student disappeared after being caught on camera entering a pub but never leaving. Despite extensive media coverage, one of the state’s most well-known disappearances remains unsolved.

Brian Shaffer, 27, was a second-year medical student at OSU when he was last seen. Lori Davis, a missing persons advocate, has been working with Brian’s family since his disappearance. “He had already gone through the White Coat Ceremony and he was on his way to becoming a doctor,” Davis informed the crowd. “They’ve described Brian’s personality as highly amusing, charismatic, and outgoing. And I’ve heard that he may be stubborn at times.”

On March 31, 2006, a Friday and the start of spring break for students, Brian called his brother and asked him to join him for dinner. Brian’s brother had already made plans with his fiancée, so he ended up eating supper with his father, Randy, Davis said. Brian’s mother died just a few weeks ago, on March 6.

“They had a good time,” Davis explained. “There has been some conjecture that there was an argument over the same supper over Brian’s mother, Renee’s life insurance policy. [Randy] never told me that, so I don’t know if it’s true or false.”

Randy told Davis that he and Brian left the restaurant on good terms. Later that night, at about 9 p.m., Brian and his friend William “Clint” Florence went barhopping. According to NBC News, the two took shots throughout the night. Brian’s girlfriend, Alexis Waggoner, had to leave town abruptly that weekend due to medical difficulties with a family pet, according to Davis.

“He ended up calling that girlfriend,” Davis explained. “I guess it was around 10 or 10:30 p.m. that night; I left a voicemail, and everything was good within it. He sounded okay.”

Another friend, Meredith Reed, happened to meet the couple that evening. According to NBC News, the trio arrived at the Ugly Tuna Saloona at 1:15 a.m. after having been there earlier that night. Brian was seen on one of the establishment’s several surveillance cameras as he entered.

“Over time, it has come out that there were other medical students that were there that night at the bar,” Davis told the reporter. “Normally, they only talk about Brian and his two buddies, Clint and Meredith. Many facts have emerged since then, indicating that they were joined by roughly four to five other individuals.

Brian parted ways with Florence and Reed after they entered the bar. Just after 1 a.m., Brian stated he was going upstairs to see the band that was playing that night and went away. While Brian’s friends claimed he went to chat to the band, Davis does not believe Brian knew the band, despite having a remote connection (friend of a friend) with one of the members.

Brian was last seen on video strolling outside at 1:55 a.m., interacting with two young women before re-entering the bar. Police and Brian’s father had questioned the two ladies; Randy “wholeheartedly” felt they had nothing to do with his abduction, according to Davis.

Florence and Reed were ready to leave at 2 a.m., when the bar closed and began looking for Brian, but they couldn’t find him. They called him and left a voicemail before leaving a short time later, according to Davis. Cameras filmed the couple leaving the bar; in one of the most perplexing parts of the case, Brian was never seen on camera leaving through any entrance or exit. Both bar exits were monitored by cameras, as was the escalator leading to the street.

Davis discussed the matter with a detective who had thoroughly examined the footage. That investigator told her that the film disturbs him because he is certain that everyone who entered the pub, save Brian, can be seen on video exiting.

The only route out without being caught on camera would have been via a service exit that went to a building site with doors to the street. A Columbus police sergeant told NBC News in 2006 that the area was “heavily” under construction and would have been tough to leave, even sober. According to Davis, at least one of the cameras was not stable and rotated, thus Brian may have departed without being filmed during those brief moments.

Brian did not return Waggoner and Randy’s calls the next day. When Monday arrived, she became concerned since Brian and Waggoner were due to travel to Florida for spring break, but she had not heard from Brian.

Brian’s disappearance attracted national media attention in the 2000s and is still widely debated online today. Davis claimed she has “heard it all” about the matter. Theories include Brian being slain at the bar and transported out with band equipment, being tossed down a garbage chute, or leaving in disguise.

Randy even traveled out of state in response to “sightings” of Brian. Davis stated that a prevalent story was that Brian was a homeless man in Mexico, which was disproven. Police and his family got numerous tips, none of which resulted in an answer.

Randy died in September 2008, never knowing what had happened to his kid. During a storm, severe winds swept across the state, and a tree toppled, killing him.

“There has been tons of speculation of what happened to Brian Shaffer that day, and sadly, 18 years later, I don’t feel like we’re any closer to knowing truly what had happened to Brian,” Davis said the audience.

Police appear to be no closer to determining what happened to Brian than they were in 2006. Columbus police stated the case is “periodically” examined, but there are no fresh updates at this time FOX8 stated.

Brian was 6 feet 2, 165 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes when he went missing. He has a Pearl Jam tattoo on his upper right bicep and a dot in the iris of his left eye. He was last seen in pants, a blue or green striped shirt, and tennis shoes.