Brian Shaffer Disappearance: Surveillance, Suspects, and False Claims

Brian Shaffer, a 27-year-old second-year medical student at Ohio State University, disappeared in the early morning hours of April 1, 2006, after a night out at the Ugly Tuna Saloona, a bar in the South Campus Gateway complex on North High Street in Columbus, Ohio. Security cameras captured him entering the bar but never recorded him leaving, and no trace of him has surfaced in the twenty years since. The Brian Shaffer disappearance remains an active investigation with the Columbus Division of Police and is listed in the FBI’s ViCAP missing persons database.¹

The Last Night He Was Seen

On the evening of March 31, 2006, Shaffer had dinner with his father, Randy, and then went out with his friend and former roommate William “Clint” Florence and another friend, Meredith Reed. The group arrived at the Ugly Tuna Saloona around 1:15 a.m. on April 1.²

At about 1:55 a.m., a security camera recorded Shaffer just outside the bar, still inside the Gateway building, talking with two women. He appeared to turn back toward the bar entrance. That was the last confirmed sighting. When Florence and Reed were ready to leave, they could not find him, and eventually left without him.³

Why the Cameras Didn’t Solve It

The Gateway complex had extensive surveillance coverage, and investigators reviewed hours of footage. Shaffer was clearly captured entering and was never captured exiting. That looked airtight, but it wasn’t. The building had roughly eight to ten exits, some near an adjacent construction area, and the specific spot where Shaffer turned back toward the bar sat outside the camera’s field of view.²

Camera positioning, mechanical issues, and dead zones create gaps in every surveillance system. The absence of exit footage became the defining puzzle of the case, but authorities have cautioned that it does not prove Shaffer never left the building.

What the Search Turned Up

When Shaffer failed to return home or show up for classes, police launched an intensive search. Officers combed the Ugly Tuna Saloona, including crawl spaces and the roof, and brought in cadaver dogs. The adjacent construction zone, which investigators described as a leftover dirt pile from the recently completed Gateway development rather than an active work site, was searched repeatedly. Nothing turned up.²

His cellphone went silent. His credit cards and bank accounts saw no activity after that night. A search of his apartment revealed nothing unusual, and over the course of the investigation authorities interviewed more than 100 people.³⁴ Bar maintenance staff later searched crawl spaces and walls on their own and also found nothing.⁵

The Life He Left Behind

Shaffer was under real strain that spring. His mother, Renee, had died of myelodysplasia, a rare cancer, just three weeks before he vanished. His father described him as “exhausted” from the combination of medical school and grief. At the same time, Shaffer had a serious girlfriend, fellow medical student Alexis Waggoner. The two were reportedly discussing marriage and planning a trip to Florida.⁴

Retired Columbus police sergeant John Hurst, the lead investigator, has said the pressures could in theory have prompted Shaffer to walk away from his life, but that Shaffer’s friends did not consider him depressed or suicidal. Hurst himself discounted suicide as a likely explanation, telling reporters that “most people who commit suicide want to be found.” Authorities have never endorsed a single official theory.⁴

Clint Florence and Persons of Interest

Much of the public scrutiny has centered on Clint Florence, the friend who was with Shaffer that night. According to Hurst, the two had a verbal argument inside the bar before Shaffer disappeared. Florence cooperated with investigators at first, then retained attorney Neil Rosenberg and stopped speaking to authorities. He is the only person associated with the case who refused to take a polygraph.⁴⁶

Rosenberg defended that silence in a 2008 statement, saying Florence had “nothing new to tell” and that the matter was “closed” from Florence’s side. He added: “If Brian is alive, which is what I’m led to believe after speaking with the detective involved, then it is Brian, and not Clint, who is causing his family pain and hardship.”⁶

Florence has never been named as a suspect. Shaffer’s brother Derek and his former girlfriend Alexis Waggoner have both said publicly that they believe Florence may know more than he has shared. Hurst confirmed that Florence was scrutinized early in the investigation but offered no further detail. Shaffer’s father and brother both passed polygraph examinations, according to Hurst, who noted that polygraph results are not admissible in court.⁵

What Happened to the Family

Brian’s father, Randy, led the search for his son for two years. On September 14, 2008, Randy was killed behind his home in Baltimore, Ohio, when a falling tree limb struck him during a windstorm. Neighbors found his body the next morning. He was 55.⁷

His death left Brian’s brother, Derek, as the last close surviving family member. Derek has stepped back from public advocacy in recent years but issued a statement around the 20th anniversary reiterating the family’s hope for answers.⁵ Alexis Waggoner searched actively in the months after Brian vanished, hanging posters and calling his phone repeatedly, but has not spoken publicly about the case in recent years.⁴

Names Falsely Linked Online

The case’s long tail on the internet has produced accusations against people with no known connection to it. In May 2024, Ohio brothers Matthew and Brian Osowski filed a defamation lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court against an anonymous Reddit user posting under the handle “QueeenBeeeee.” The user had repeatedly claimed the brothers were responsible for Shaffer’s disappearance, along with the 2005 murder of Julie Popovich and the disappearances of Tyler Davis and Joey LaBute. The posts also published the brothers’ physical descriptions, home addresses, and workplaces.⁸

The brothers sought monetary damages exceeding $25,000, a retraction, and a permanent injunction. Their attorneys stated that neither brother had any involvement with any of the crimes mentioned or any contact with the victims. The Reddit account was suspended and the posts deleted. There is no evidence connecting the Osowski brothers to Shaffer’s disappearance.⁹

Where the Case Stands Now

Twenty years after Shaffer walked into the Ugly Tuna Saloona, Columbus police say the case remains active. Tips still come in, and investigators say they continue to pursue leads and interview people. In 2021, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation released an age-progression image showing what Shaffer might look like at age 42, built by a BCI forensic artist.¹⁰

The Ugly Tuna Saloona itself closed on May 1, 2018, after its lease expired.¹¹ Hurst, who retired in 2019, has said he believes the investigation should now be treated as a murder case. He is writing a book about his time as lead investigator and has opposed opening the case files to the public, arguing that disclosure could create “legal problems down the road” if the case is ever prosecuted. Columbus police have likewise declined to release the investigative files. Missing-persons advocate Lori Davis and retired private investigator Don Corbett have argued the case may have been mishandled in its early stages.⁵

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Columbus Police Department at 614-645-4545 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.¹²

1
FBI. Brian Randall Shaffer – ViCAP Missing Persons
2
NBC4i. Unsolved Ohio: Investigators Still Searching for Answers 20 Years After Brian Shaffer Vanished
3
WSYX ABC6. Cold Case: Missing Ohio State Medical Student Brian Shaffer
4
People. Revisiting Brian Shaffer’s Bizarre Disappearance, 20 Years Later
5
Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Columbus Ohio Missing Person
6
The Lantern. Is Brian Shaffer Alive?
7
Columbus Dispatch. Missing OSU Student’s Dad
8
Columbus Dispatch. Ohio Brothers Sue Reddit User for Accusing Them of Murder
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The Independent. Brian Shaffer Missing Reddit Lawsuit
10
Ohio Attorney General. Age Progression Image Released in Brian Shaffer Case
11
Columbus Underground. Ugly Tuna Closing Doors at Gateway
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NewsNation. Brian Shaffer Disappearance Captures Attention 20 Years Later