The Disappearance of Brian Shaffer

On the night of March 31, 2006, Brian Shaffer, a medical student at Ohio state university, went out with some friends to celebrate a break from medical school and the beginning of spring break. 

Around 9 p.m., Shaffer met William “Clint” Florence at the Ugly Tuna Saloona, a bar on the South Campus Gateway complex on High Street in Columbus, OH. Shaffer and Florence would then go on to bar hop several other bars working their way around the Arena District s popular destination for young people to drink, but also dangerous. 

Sometime after midnight, Shaffer and Florence met Meredith Reed, a friend of Florence, at “the short north” bar and after some time, Reed gave them a ride back to the Ugly Tuna Saloona where the three would have more drinks. During this time, Shaffer separated from his companions and did not disclose where he was headed. Reed and Florence, after some time realized that they hadn’t seen Brian and began searching throughout the bar as well as attempting to call him. Finally, around 2 am, with the bar closing Reed and Florence left The Ugly Tuna Saloona believing Brian had gone back to his nearby apartment. 

The next morning Reed took to Clinton to pick up his car, which was parked at Brian’s apartment. Believing he must be inside and asleep, Reed and Clinton didn’t knock or call him. 

Alexis Waggoner, a medical student with Brian, and his serious girlfriend, along with Brian’s father attempted calling Brian multiple times Sat and Sun but could not reach him. The night Brian went missing, he had called Alexis around 10pm to confirm their plans for Next week. On Monday, Brian was scheduled to fly to Miami with Alexis, but sadly, on that Monday he would not show up for his flight. 

Brian Shaffer grew up in Pickerington, Ohio, outside of Columbus. He graduated from the local high school in 1997 and went to Ohio State University (OSU) for his undergraduate work. Six years later he graduated with a degree in microbiology. He was a hard worker with excellent grades and a bright future. Still, according to friends he really dreamed of living a laid-back lifestyle and starting a band. 

As Brian was nowhere to be found Monday, the police were called to begin investigating. 

Police began searching the Ugly Tuna Saloona bar as it was the last place Brian was seen. After some investigating , it was determined that there was no clear indication of where Brian had went after the bar, or how he left exactly. In 2006, this section of Columbus had many video cameras around the area due to the high crime rates. Still, the surrounding cameras around the bar didn’t show him walking by, nor did the bar cameras show him leaving. 

As the police examined the surveillance video, it showed Shaffer, Florence and Reed going up an escalator to the bar’s main entrance at 1:15 a.m. Later, Shaffer was seen outside of the bar around 1:55 a.m., talking briefly with two young women and saying goodbye. From there, he moved off-camera in the direction of the bar, appearing to re-enter. 

This was the last time that Brian was seen. 

Investigators would soon expand the search past the Ugly Tuna Saloona and begin searching the area . Viceo surveillance from nearby bars and businesses was checked, tracking dogs were brought in, dumpsters were searched. The police searched the sewer system and questioned many locals. 

It soon became apparent this was no ordinary case and would not be solved quickly. 

At Shaffer’s apartment on King Avenue, about six blocks from the bar, his car was still parked outside. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong around the car or anything missing. 

In 2005, Brian had some terrible news delivered as his mother, Renee, was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare type of blood cancer that interferes with the body’s ability to form healthy blood cells. 

Sadly, on March 6, 2006,  Brian’s mother passed away, just 25 days before his disappearance. The death left Brian shocked and deeply saddened. 

Renee’s final gift to her son would be a trip for two to Miami, Florida, for the upcoming spring break. He planned to go with Alexis.

In the weeks following his mother’s passing, Brian struggled to come to terms with the loss. One day he asked his girlfriend Alexis to run away with him, though it was unclear if he was joking or not. The matter was soon dropped but a week later, he told Alexis that she should move on and find someone else because he was in a dark place emotionally. She refused to leave him, and the relationship continued. 

As the case lingered on, media attention increased eventually pulling in the national media to see what exactly happened to Brian. Theories would arise as to what happened by law enforcement, online sleuths and private investigators. 

Many have speculated that after leaving the bar, Brian could have been abducted, possibly robbed, or murdered. He could have walked into a drug deal gone bad or witnessed something after he left the bar. Although it was first reported that there was only one exit to the bar, it was later discovered that there were more exits, including an emergency exit that led to a construction site at the time. It was said that the video footage was well reviewed and even the security guard by the emergency exit said no one opened the door those last few hours. However, According to Sergeant John Hurst, there was a point in the footage in which there appeared to be a jump cut, suggesting that possibly the camera had been overridden by someone, possibly an employee or a security guard.

To complicate matters, another exit in the back existed as well. This exit had no security cameras, and many believe that he exited through here. 

Many speculate that Brian could have been a victim of the Smiley Face Killers (Read about the Smiley Face Killers here). The Smiley Face Killers are believed to be a nationwide network of serial killers that drug young men at bars or parties and once they became dulled enough, they then abduct them, hold and torture them, before finally killing the men and dumping the bodies in water. Perhaps Brian was dumped but the body was never found. Skeptics of this theory point out a smiley face was never found. 

One theory presented was that he chose to leave and start a new life elsewhere. He clearly was going through a difficult time and friends of Brian recalled how he really wanted to live a simple life, to start a band. Still, to date, no evidence was found to support this idea.

Some have speculated that Clint, his drinking partner, knows more than he is saying. While Clint cooperated with law enforcement early in the investigation, he soon chose to stop speaking to the police after consulting with his lawyer. He also refused to testify to a grand jury. He has also refused to take a lie detector test, though it’s difficult to determine how much significance to attach to this decision given that lie detector tests are notoriously unreliable.

Still others remain doubtful. Derek Shaffer , Brians brother had this to say about clint:

“As soon as the detective started getting involved, that’s when he pretty much he had no contact with anybody. I’ve always thought he definitely knows something—just won’t come forward with it. If Brian did take off somewhere, if that is the case, we just always had a strong feeling that Clint would possibly know that.”

To date, no reliable leads have surfaced concerning Brian Shaffer. 

In 2020, a photo of a homeless man in Tijuana, Mexico, bearing a resemblance to Brian Shaffer went viral on social media. However, facial recognition analysis carried out by the FBI later determined that this man was not Brian.

Sadly, this family faced another tragedy in 2008 with the death of Brian’s father Randy. 

Randy, who worked tirelessly to find his son, passed away on September 14th, 2008, when a tree fell on him during a windstorm.

As the lead detective for the case retired, Detective Blanch Tucker took over and started the process of re-interviewing witnesses and people connected to Brian. Tucker said she believes someone involved with the disappearance withheld information during the original investigation.

It’s possible that we may never find out exactly what happened to Brian. But hopefully somewhere out there a person with a guilty conscience decides to come forward so that this mystery can be resolved.