The disappearance of Brian Shaffer began in the early hours of April 1, 2006, when the 27-year-old Ohio State medical student walked into the Ugly Tuna Saloona on North High Street in Columbus and was never recorded leaving. Twenty years on, there have been no confirmed sightings, no activity on his bank accounts, and no physical evidence pointing to what happened to him. The Columbus Division of Police still carries the case as open, and the retired detective who led it for years now believes Shaffer was killed by someone he knew.
The Last Night Anyone Saw Him
Shaffer went out on the evening of March 31, 2006, with his best friend, Clint Florence, and another friend, Meredith Reed. Reed drove them to the Ugly Tuna Saloona, a bar on the second floor of the South Campus Gateway complex near the Ohio State campus. The bar had two ways in or out: the main entrance reached by escalator, and a rear service door restricted to employees.1Solve the Case. Brian Shaffer
A security camera captured Shaffer riding the escalator up toward the entrance at about 1:15 a.m. on April 1. At roughly 1:50 a.m., the same camera recorded him near the escalators speaking with two women before he turned and walked back inside the bar.2The Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Missing Ohio State Student That was the last confirmed image of him. The cameras covering the entrance never recorded him coming back out.
When the bar closed around 2 a.m., Florence and Reed waited outside for him. He never appeared, and they assumed he had walked home on his own.1Solve the Case. Brian Shaffer Earlier that night Shaffer had spoken by phone with his girlfriend, fellow medical student Alexis Waggoner. She later told E! News his last words to her were: “This is my chance to talk about you with the guys and I love you and I will see you in just a couple days.”3People. Brian Shaffer Disappearance: What to Know
Waggoner contacted Shaffer’s father, Randy, on April 2 when she hadn’t heard from him. He was formally reported missing on April 3 after he failed to board their flight to Miami for a spring break trip the two had planned together.2The Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Missing Ohio State Student Shaffer’s mother, Renee, had died of myelodysplasia just three weeks earlier, and he had been finishing medical school exams while grieving her.3People. Brian Shaffer Disappearance: What to Know
What the Investigation Found, and Didn’t
The Columbus Division of Police investigation was led by Sergeant John Hurst Jr. Detectives pulled footage from the Ugly Tuna Saloona and surrounding businesses, but the images were grainy, and Hurst said each lead ended at what he called a “dead end.”4The Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Columbus Ohio Missing Person
Because he had never been seen leaving, investigators initially considered whether Shaffer could still be somewhere inside the building. Maintenance crews searched crawl spaces and walls inside the bar and the surrounding Gateway complex and found no trace of him.4The Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Columbus Ohio Missing Person
Six months after Shaffer vanished, Waggoner called his cell phone and it rang. Investigators traced the call to a cell tower in the Columbus suburb of Hilliard but concluded it was most likely a technical glitch rather than a sign the phone was in use.3People. Brian Shaffer Disappearance: What to Know In the two decades since, police have reported no confirmed sightings, no financial transactions, and no other activity tied to him.5KRCR TV. Brian Shaffer – Criminally Obsessed
A reward for information eventually grew to $100,000.6ABC6 On Your Side. Cold Case: Missing Ohio State Medical Student Brian Shaffer The case was entered into the FBI’s ViCAP database under Alert #2006-06-01 and into NamUs under case number MP#1709, but the primary investigation has remained with Columbus police.7FBI. Brian Shaffer – Missing Persons A missing persons advocate, Lori Davis, has said that in the years after Shaffer vanished, investigators failed to collect DNA from him or his relatives for the NamUs database.4The Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Columbus Ohio Missing Person
Clint Florence and the Grand Jury
Florence, one of the last people to see Shaffer, sat for an initial police interview and spoke to the press in the days after the disappearance. Columbus police forensically examined his vehicle and a home he was house-sitting at the time; no issues were reported. He is the only person associated with the night who refused to take a polygraph, declining requests from police on at least two occasions through September 2008. His attorney, Neil Rosenberg, said the refusal was based on legal advice and that Florence had been “totally up front and honest” with authorities.8The Lantern. Is Brian Shaffer Alive?
Florence later appeared before a grand jury with his attorney. According to reports, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked questions that included “Do you know where Brian Shaffer is?” and “Did you kill or harm Brian Shaffer?”9Websleuths. Brian Shaffer Discussion Thread By 2009, Florence was working as a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical School and had routed inquiries to his attorney.8The Lantern. Is Brian Shaffer Alive? Shaffer’s father and brother both passed polygraph exams during the investigation, according to Hurst, who noted such tests are not admissible in court.4The Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Columbus Ohio Missing Person No one has been charged in the case.
A Family Marked by Loss
Waggoner searched for Shaffer in the months after he vanished. She made missing posters, searched campus dumpsters, and walked the shores of the Olentangy River. “I was very brokenhearted and just very scared,” she told the Columbus Dispatch. She waited alone in his apartment for two days after he disappeared and wore a pin with his photograph through the rest of medical school.3People. Brian Shaffer Disappearance: What to Know
Shaffer’s father, Randy, became the public face of the search. On September 14, 2008, he was killed at age 55 when a tree limb fell on him behind his home in Baltimore, Ohio, during a windstorm. Neighbors discovered his body the next morning after he failed to arrive at work. Waggoner later said of him: “Certainly he was a tragic figure with everything that happened.”10The Columbus Dispatch. Missing OSU Student’s Dad Dies Brian’s brother, Derek Shaffer, is now the only surviving member of his immediate family and has continued to press for answers.
Where the Case Stands Now
The Columbus Division of Police considers the case active and part of its cold case unit, with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation also involved. Officers say they continue to receive tips, follow leads, and conduct interviews.2The Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Missing Ohio State Student The department has declined to release case files to the public, citing the ongoing investigation and the risk of complicating any eventual prosecution.4The Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Columbus Ohio Missing Person
On March 29, 2021, the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Columbus Police released an age-progression image showing what Shaffer might look like at 42. “Take a close look at this image: a single tip can reignite a cold case and bring a family closer to reunification with a loved one. Hope doesn’t have an expiration date,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said.11Ohio Attorney General. Age-Progression Image Released in Brian Shaffer Case
Hurst retired from the Columbus Police in 2019 and has said the case should now be treated as a homicide. “At this point, we just need to start looking at it more as a murder,” he told the Columbus Dispatch, describing the investigation as “missing that one piece of the puzzle.”4The Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Columbus Ohio Missing Person He has also said he believes the people of interest are individuals who knew Shaffer.5KRCR TV. Brian Shaffer – Criminally Obsessed He is writing a book about the investigation.
Derek Shaffer marked the 20th anniversary of his brother’s disappearance with a brief statement: “Every day we think about Brian and can’t believe it’s been 20 years. We still continue to hope and pray to have answers some day.”2The Columbus Dispatch. Brian Shaffer Missing Ohio State Student Anyone with information is asked to contact the Columbus Division of Police at 614-645-4545 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.