Brian Shaffer /// 20 Years Missing /// Theories /// Part 6 | Forensic Files

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a limited time only while supplies last. Welcome to Off the Record. I'm your [music] host Nick Crime.
>> It's good to be seen and it's good to see you. Off the Record. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.
>> True Crime podcast. >> Be good. Be kind. And don't for >> gather around. Grab a chair. Grab
[music] a beer. Let's talk some ground. [music] >> New tonight, inside the investigation of
a possible [music] break in one of our area's biggest mysteries. What happened to Brian Schaefer? He was an OSU student
who disappeared back in 2006, never to be seen or heard from again. >> Now almost 14 years later, Crime Tracker
10 brought a potential clue to police. Angela Anne explains how the FBI [music] got involved, what they found out, and
what happens next. >> When it comes to missing persons in Ohio, there is [music] one name that
probably resonates more than any other. Brian Schaefer. His case has the makings
of a Hollywood movie. A young medical student [music] last seen going up this escalator to a popular campus area bar,
but video never showed him leaving. Or did he? Nearly 14 years after Brian disappeared, this photo recently started
circulating of a man supposedly [music] homeless and American in Tijana, Mexico.
It said, "Help locate." [music] Facebook groups dedicated to finding Brian swore it was him. The theories
grew rampant. Brian was alive. So, we brought the photo to the attention of Columbus police and Detective Blanch
Tucker. >> When you first saw this, what did you think? I was like, "Wow, it could be."
Could it be? It's a possibility >> because it does look a little >> like him. It does.
>> It was the first big break for the Brian Schaefer case. Crime Tracker 10 got unprecedented access to the files
showing the endless interviews and the leads police exhausted year after year. >> We still get calls and we still receive
tips. Despite those tips [music] and the neighborhood searches, plus please for information, answers [music] never came
until this photo. >> It appeared that it could be Brian Schaefer. Um, but to see if it was him,
um, I contact, you know, the FBI who assist us in a lot of our cases, um, to see if they can do a facial recognition.
So, the FBI [music] compared the Tijana man photo with the others they already had in a file of Brian. [music]
It took four weeks, but finally, Detective Tucker had her answer. >> That it wasn't him.
>> It was not him. >> Him. Correct. >> Was that a letown? >> It was. Um, my hopes were high that it
could be him. >> Foul [music] play has never been ruled out, nor has the fact that Brian maybe
just took off. the stresses of life, med school, and losing a mother to cancer. [music]
>> Do you feel that somebody that has been interviewed in the past maybe withheld
information? >> I do. >> You do? >> Mhm. >> But you can't say who yet. >> Can't say who.
>> Under CPD's [music] new cold case initiative, Detective Tucker is now reviewing every binder once again.
[music] And while this photo is now a dead end, it is at least for her progress in [music] a case that
continues to haunt. It would mean closure. Not just closure for us, but closure for the family and the friends.
>> For Crime Tracker 10, Angela Anne, 10TV News. >> There is still a reward for any
information that could help solve this case. You can leave your tip anonymously with Crimestoppers [music] of Central
Ohio. And there's the number 614461 tips. [music] >> [music] >> So, back to the night in question.
I think it's reasonable to question Clint. He was there when Brian [music] went missing, quote unquote. Meredith
was there. these two random girls that weren't so random that he was talking to, Amber and Brighton, they were there.
Who was this third girl that they were with? Did she have any involvement? Why were they going to the bar? These four
other guys, what what are their relationships? Did they have motivation to get rid of
Bryant? But also, I think you could go even further back and go, well, he he had contact with his dad that night. He
also wanted his brother to come out and he and his brother declined that. But what was going on in the background? His
mother passed away and there was some insurance money. Now, so a lot of people go follow the money. Who if Brian
disappears or Brian dies, who benefits? Well, his brother would benefit financially and so would his father. A
lot of people have speculated those two theories. So, let's uh just look into the the speculation against the brother.
>> So, I did have a tip that Derek killed Brian for insurance money. And at first,
you know, I thought it was a little crazy, but the person that was telling me was Kevin Miles. And I mentioned him
before. He's the former president of Central Ohio Crimestoppers. And while I do appreciate Kevin's opinion and his
time, this is a theory that I have been able to eliminate. Derek definitely had an alibi with multiple people. And there
is absolutely no evidence that Derek harmed Brian. >> And has Brian even been declared legally
dead? >> He has in uh in 2013. >> Waiting seven years for that would be would be something to to consider. You
got to weigh that factor in. >> And also, they were all getting money. Randy, the father, was getting money.
Brian was getting money. Brian didn't, as far as we know, didn't have that money in his possession at the time.
Derek was going to get money. So, they were all getting money. I don't want to say that somebody wouldn't kill somebody
for not much money because there's times in your life that a hundred bucks is a lot of money and then
there's times in your life where you're like 100 bucks wouldn't change much. So I think one of the issues with this is
like you said Kelly he had he's on the other side of town. He has many people that see him there. Obviously, the bar
closes, so at some point he could have left, but it just there there doesn't it doesn't
make a lot of sense. And then it's like, yeah, they had a confrontation at the mother's funeral, but it seemed from
everybody I talked to that that was kind of worked out already. >> Yeah, it was definitely worked out. And
I haven't found any one that has told me that there were any issues between Derek
and Brian. It seemed just to be between Randy and Brian and Derek. >> And we don't know where this tip was
coming from into Crimestoppers, >> right? And I think that's the the tough thing too is like did this tip come in
and then did Crimes Stoppers go, "Hey, we think there's a lot of weight to this, but
in the last 20 years, they're not beating a drum, like a very loud drum that this is what what happened to Brian
Schaefer." >> And you know, based on the way Kevin told it to me, too, I'm not actually
sure that this was a tip that came in to Crimestoppers or if this was his own personal opinion. My problem with a lot
of these theories in the these cases are people come up with the theory and then they try to find evidence of
the theory instead of looking for answers and having those answers and evidence lead them to a theory. I can't
remember the venue that we have discussed this theory before, Captain. I think it was on off the record. We've
talked about the Derek theory. We've talked about the Randy theory and in both of those conversations, maybe it
was the same conversation that we covered both of those bases. I got pretty worked up, very defensive of
Randy, very defensive of Derek and the family. And so, I'm not going to repeat that here today. I just don't I don't I
don't like either one of these theories, but that's just my humble garage opinion. And then the elephant in the
room as far as theories go is when you talk about this case. Again, I think because only certain individuals
are talked about, we're not talking about the four guys that they go to meet. We're not talking about the two
random girls as much. We're not talking about the mystery girls so much. But who
does Brian go to the bar with? He goes with Clint and Meredith. And I think because Meredith talked with police and
because she took a polygraph that the police have come out and said, "Hey, we believe what she's saying and we don't
view her as a suspect." She doesn't become a suspect online. But the person that was cooperative for a time period
and then gets a lawyer and then refuses to take a polygraph and then his lawyer makes the statement of, "Well, if you
want to know why Brian went missing, you should ask Brian." That has led to a lot
of online speculation that either Clint is involved in Brian's disappearance and
that could go multiple ways. That Clint is responsible for his death or that Clint knows more about what happened and
that could be a nefarious thing or that Clint knows that Brian went to start a new life and why is he being secretive
about this information? The other thing that people say looks strange about Clint is he moved away, which I should
remind people, I think he moved away because of schooling, but he also changed his name. And so those add up to
a lot of people have the theory that that Clint knows more. >> Yeah. Actually, when I first began my
deep dive into Brian's disappearance, I 100% thought Clint was guilty. But the more I researched, I kept noticing that
there just wasn't really anything there about Clint at all. He showed up to every flyer distribution.
He made all the phone calls to the hospitals and jails looking for Brian. He was calling friends. It it seemed
that he was very involved in everything after Brian's disappearance. But they were basically portrayed like they were
best friends when in all my research, I just don't see that. I see them more as drinking buddies. They had a little bit
of communication, but their communication would pick up right around any drinking holiday such as St.
Patrick's Day or New Year's Eve. So, I I don't really think they were as close as
everyone thought they were. One reason that a lot of people think that Clint is suspicious or guilty is because of the
dine episode that he did. And in that episode, it kind of appears that he's talking bad about Brian.
But based on everything I've heard, everything Clint said in that dine episode was true. Brian would get drunk
and start bar fights or just instigate things. Um, he would get drunk and go flirt with girls and talk to girls. So,
while it may have seemed a little harsh without all of those details, everything
he said was true. >> Yeah. And I think that's one of just something that I think is
maybe a little bizarre in the true crime world is that Brian went missing. Oh, Brian was a guy that
lit up the room. Brian was an angel. Well, if that's the narrative that you're going to get, that's not going to
help us in the investigation. You just want to know the truth. And so, you can have a guy, everybody said he's
a sociable guy. A lot of people said he was nice guy, but then I think there's different versions of Brian. I think
there's the version of Brian when he's sober, and I I think there's a version of Brian when he's intoxicated. I mean,
I think there's evidence on the surveillance footage and evidence of other people that were there at the bars
that night and then also like financial records of how much this guy was drinking. And then you have his father
coming out and going, "Well, he wasn't intoxicated. He didn't drink that much." And then, but then then knowing what we
then learn about Randy, well, Randy drank often, so maybe he just thought, "Well, yeah, my son drinks, but it's not
that much, you know." Yeah, like in comparison >> you're you also mentioned different
versions of oneself. I have witnessed and I think most of us will agree with this statement. There are versions of
ourselves too that when we are in the company of our parents and he may not have drank a lot in the company of his
father. That could be very true to Randy. But again, we we I don't know how much Brian had to drink that night, but
I am on record multiple times, having described Brian as visually what I'm seeing there with Brian on the camera,
he appears to be intoxicated to me. >> Yeah. And I think it's not that far-fetched to think that's a
possibility. He went to several bars that night. >> They're celebrating. He There's nothing
wrong with being [laughter] It's legal to drink. I mean, so there's nothing wrong with that. They're out
having a good time. Does that factor into why he is not here today? I think it absolutely does. And then as far as
Clint goes, I won't I don't want to speak to him specifically, but I do think that I've always said that I
believe Brian was met with foul play, and I put that at the top of the list as as far as theories go. For me, I think
he was met with foul play that that morning between the bar and his home or somewhere, you know, between that bar
and wherever he his destination would have been for that night. And I think that it was somebody out that night that
was responsible for why he is not here today. Now, that doesn't have to be somebody in his direct party, but
somebody that was out that night is responsible for why we are having this conversation. And this Brian Schaefer
thing is become such a big mystery. Like you said, they're celebrating the night.
Unless you live by a college campus, you wouldn't have a lot of understanding of
this, but they're celebrating, hey, spring break time. So, guess what happens on that night? More kids are
they're they're going out to celebrate. They might just be going home for the week. They might just be staying on
campus for the week, but it's hey, less celebrate. So, there's more kids out at the bar that night. And then they're at
a complex that has multiple bars, so there's more people in that area. And then the fascinating thing to me
with these college campuses is I didn't go to that college, but I went to those college bars often. You might be at a
college bar with a hundred people and 60 of those people don't even go to that college. And I could see a confident in
shaped guy rubbing somebody the wrong way. And again, we have evidence of it. I think Clint trying to be as open and
honest about his friend and about his former roommate is important to the case. Hey, well, yeah, most people we
wouldn't leave behind, but Brian was flirting with these girls and he would we had other friends there, so after we
tried to hunt him down, we couldn't find him, so we left. But also, we walked to
the bar. So, we figured, again, a lot of times people treat their male friends different than their female friends.
Well, maybe I want to leave my female friend there to walk home alone because she's a female. But, oh, my male friend
walked to the bar, so he'll be fine. He'll walk back. And then also if there's evidence that he gets out of the
bar, we have a lot of surveillance footage that we see a lot of the people that he
was supposed to be there with left. So if he is walking home, again, not that far of a distance, but not safe,
not a safe area to walk home by yourself. And as far as Clint goes, it's important to know that, you know, he did
have an alibi for Friday night going into Saturday morning in Meredith. She was also his alibi for Saturday evening.
And all day on Sunday, his alibi was basically Alexis and the Schaefer family. >> Well, to back that up, Meredith takes a
polygraph test. And don't you think detectives are going to say, "Do you have any more knowledge of where Brian's
at? Did were you involved in any action that would have harmed Brian? Did you kill Bri? These are questions that they
would be asking her during the polygraph test. So, if she's answering them correctly, the polygraph test she
passed, she's not showing deception, and the cops believe her, then you go, "Well, chances are, again, unless
they're this murderous duo, they don't have any more knowledge, or at least Meredith doesn't have any more knowledge
than she's sharing." >> Yeah. A lot of people speculate that when Clint picked up his car Saturday
morning, that that is when something happened to Brian and that is when he killed Brian. But CPD did loom in all
Brian's apartment and they they definitely went through his apartment with a fine tooth comb and there were no
signs of a struggle or anything like that in Brian's apartment. >> Well, I I like to compare cases and in
the Adnan Siad case they go Heyman Lee goes missing. Her ex-boyfriend Adnan does not call her ever again. Doesn't
call to check in on her. So people point that as evidence that he might might be
guilty of the crime. Then people look at her current boyfriend at the time that she was supposed to meet up with and he
doesn't call her either once she goes missing. So then people point that as to possible evidence that he's guilty of
the crime. And so in the Schaefer case, if you go, well Clint, it maybe is possible that he had some involvement in
Brian going missing. Well, Clint calls him after he sees him last. Well, actually, he doesn't call him. He gives
the phone to Meredith and she calls, but it comes from his phone. And then later
the next day, he calls to say, "Hey, yeah, I know we got we lost you the other night at the bar, but hey, I'm
just calling check in on you." So, again, I don't to me that's not much of a that's not much evidence to anything,
but but there it is. He called him tw at least twice after they lost contact. >> A lot of people think it's strange as
well that, you know, he got the attorney and everything so soon after, but so did
Meredith. She got an attorney as well. And a lot of people say, "Well, Clint stopped all communication." Well, he
didn't. He stopped all communication with Columbus Police Department unless his attorney was present, which is
normal and what a lot of people would do in that situation. But I actually have letters of communication up until like I
think it's like a month before Randy passes away where Clint was still talking to Randy Schaeer.
>> Again, I think this is where the devil's in the details and people go, "Oh, well,
he lawyers up." Well, he didn't lawyer up and stop talking. And how many cases have we seen people get alone in the
room with detectives and they feel uncomfortable and feel like the detectives are pushing him in a certain
direction to confess to something that's not true. And if Clint felt any of that
and again how close is he with his parents or his friends or whoever? He goes back and says, "I I was in this
room and they were they were just being mean." And it could have just been his parents going, "You know what? You're
going to get a lawyer and you can communicate with them, but we're going to make sure that lawyer is present."
And then once you get a lawyer, news flash, listen to that lawyer. So once he gets a lawyer, then then some of those
actions you those aren't actions from Clint. you whatever actions are happening from the lawyer, you have to
go, well, those those are actions coming from his uh his his advisor. It's his his lawyer at that point is his advisor.
>> And you know, I actually had detective Hurst tell me if I was ever in a situation where someone wanted to give
me a polygraph, not to take it. So, I asked him then why he was so suspicious of Clint, and he said it was just
because he said no. Well, and me and Nick have talked about this multiple times. There there's no win.
If I pass it, and if I pass the polygraph test, people go, "Oh, well, it's polygraph test." And they're not
fully accurate. But if I fail, then I look bad. And then if it's inconclusive, I look bad. So, I don't think there's
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trending on NBC4i.com tonight. The Ohio Attorney General's Office along with the
Columbus Division of Police, they have released an age progression photo of Brian Schaefer. He's the young man who
was last seen at an Ohio State bar almost exactly 15 years ago. digital anchor Christine Barone joining us now
from the NBC4I streaming center with uh more on this picture and what's being done about this cold case. Now Christine
Brad and Darlene I spoke to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yos this afternoon about the case. He said that he actually
hates the term cold case but quote if there is such a thing this is probably it. Schaefer has been missing since
April 1st 2006. Video has him entering the ugly tuna saloona but never coming out. police actively investigated for
years, but no solid leads as to where the then 27year-old medical student could be appeared. Why do you think this
case continues to captivate the public and continues to draw even national attention, you know, through True Crime
podcast and blogs and different things like that after all of these years? >> Well, look, you've got a college kid,
bright future in front of him. Uh we see people go missing on purpose sometimes,
but there's usually some kind of a backstory. Uh and we kind of don't see that here. It's just like that TV show
vanished almost. And uh so I I think it's something that at the core of our being bothers us because
these kind of things are inexplicable. >> Anyone with information about the case
is asked to call Columbus police. We have their number listed on NBC4I.com as well as at the bottom of your screen.
So, we come to our last theory, [music] and this is not one that's talked about often, but
and Kelly, let let me know if you agree with me on this. This theory is not one that I that ever really crossed my mind
until talking to individuals that have worked on this case. >> Yeah, I was the same way.
>> You know what I mean? Like this is one that comes up. This is one that has been
I won't even say comes up. This theory has been pushed on to me by several individuals and several individuals that
I don't find to be like dumb asses. Right? So when they talk about this theory, uh they'll talk about it
obviously more passionately, but it's definitely one that has been coming up for the last 10 years. Yeah,
it's actually a theory that when I was talking to Don Corbett and he told me, I I thought he was a little crazy, but I
kept listening and he told me that he actually had suspicions that Randy Schaefer could have harmed Brian.
So, of course, me being me, I was like, "Okay, well, I'm going to dig into this and try to prove Dawn wrong." I haven't
actually been able to. So, it's not a theory that I have eliminated and it is something that I continue to
investigate. Randy had he had the motive to do it with the infighting over the life
insurance and Brian had told Renee about the affair that Randy was having. Randy was
controlling the narrative to the media. He was cut off from CPD and then in return they had the tip that Randy had
killed Brian and buried him in his backyard. So they took cadaavver dogs through his house and through the
property looking into it. Um I can't prove Randy ever left Brian's apartment that night.
>> What you're saying is one he has two points of motivation. the insurance money and fighting over
that. And then also Brian's the one that told his wife that he was cheating on him, right? So those are two
motivations. And then we go, well, Randy doesn't have an alibi that night. >> Randy doesn't have an alibi until
Sunday. >> So that's weird. And then I also think the other thing that's weird is Brian
was supposed to show up to his house the next day and he doesn't. and Randy doesn't seem that concerned. Randy
doesn't seem to be that concerned until maybe Monday. And then again, so you when you talk to
Don Corbett, you're like, Don, you you must have lost your mind. But remember, who is Don Corbett? Don Corbett is a a
private investigator that's working with Randy Schaefer. So, the guy he's working
with now he's getting suspicious of and one of the reasons uh don't take take this as a direct quote, but I want to
say that Don was saying, "Hey, I kept telling Randy, you know, we got to look into a different direction other than
Clint." And he kept doubling down. Randy kept on going, "No, we got to look into
Clint. Clint is involved. He knows something." So, no alibi, multiple motives. doesn't seem that concerned for a time
period. And then the thing that has always bothered me is he pushes a narrative and pushes
who Brian was and what he was doing with his life. And pretty quickly when you start looking into Brian's story, you go
that is not a true version. But like Nick just said earlier, you do act differently around
your your parents or you can act differently around your >> and it doesn't hurt your missing
person's case or to to have the public identify and symp and sympathize with your victim,
>> right? It doesn't hurt it doesn't hurt the the case. I mean, what what hurts the case, and we've even had push back
on some cases where the victim is somebody who's addicted to drugs or the the victim is not a saint, uh, let's
say, uh, for for one reason or another, and we'll get an email from somebody like, you know, why did you feature this
case? out of all the cases uh you know this this guy uh that you were talking about who who really cares he was up to
no good or or he was drug addicted or whatever. So there is a different level there are varying degrees of of victim
as far as the general public is concerned. That's not our thoughts here in the garage. But again, it does not
hurt your case to not only get the information out there, to get the people talking, to get
people to to identify with your case, but also identify with your victim and even
sympathize with your victim. >> Yeah, Randy also portrayed himself in a different light. And I think that is the
one thing that keeps this theory hanging in there for me is because you know Randy
he was Brian's I mean without Randy Brian's case would not be where it is today and have all of the
media coverage that it has. So I totally credit him for all of that. However, Randy wasn't as good of a person as he
put it out there to be. Um, a lot of people have no problem that know R or knew Randy believing that
Randy could be responsible for Brian's death. When Brian and Derek would have girlfriends in high school, they would
not even come over until they made sure Randy was passed out because he would make perverse comments. It It just seems
I didn't know Randy very well. And when I thought Dawn was crazy, it was because my opinion was based off
what I saw on the news coverage that Randy did. >> Yeah. Wasn't there some rumor that when
they're searching Brian's place that Randy smacked a girl's bottom? >> Yes. Alexis's.
>> Yeah. So, and there was all these other rumors that I heard too that people [clears throat] that were in
communication with Randy about the case that they basically had to tell Randy multiple times, like, you know, you
can't talk to me a certain way or in one case the the the lady wouldn't talk to him unless he was
on speaker phone with her husband in the room. >> Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot of stuff like that. But
again, being a pervert doesn't make you responsible for killing your son. And >> no,
>> and then I would also I I guess you could play it two ways. If you seem disinterested, then maybe you
become more of a suspect, but uh also people have talked about this the searches that Randy did on his own.
And so it's kind of like, it reminds me again, I like to compare cases. The Mara
Murray case, there was a lot of speculation that maybe Mara's dad was somehow involved. And
then you find out that he was going up almost every weekend and spending hours and days and doing his own search
parties for years. And it's like you you might play that card one time to go, "Hey, look, I'm out
here searching for my daughter. I'm not involved." You want to play that card for years.
You You see what I'm saying? >> Mhm. >> So, and one of the issues here, and again, I think when we first covered
this case, I didn't have much of an understanding of Derek. I I didn't get it. If my brother went missing, then I'd
be shouting from the rooftops. The more I've looked into this, the more I can understand that
Derek's relationship with this case is going to be different than anybody's, and we shouldn't force our ideas on what
we think we would do uh with what he should do. And and so at the end of the day, Derek lost his mom, then lost his
brother, lost his father. And so this could be a very difficult thing to talk about. And so if
there was an And then could you imagine somebody like Derek talking to other investigators,
other people, and if they start speculating your dad and you don't think that there's any
truth to that, I mean, that would be a difficult thing to deal with. Also, >> it would be difficult if you thought
there could be some truth to it as well. >> Yeah. >> And you know, while Randy didn't seem
very concerned when Brian first went missing and Alexis was calling around, to be fair, not a [clears throat] lot of
people seemed very concerned at first. And actually, a lot of people seemed to think that Brian was going to show up at
the airport on Monday, but Randy was the only one that was adamant that Brian was
not going to show up. Now, of course, that doesn't mean he's guilty, but it makes me question why he was not
concerned initially, but very adamant that he was not going to show up at the airport when no one else seemed to be.
>> Yeah. And sometimes people get like a parental feeling. It's difficult, too. And it's also difficult to judge
somebody like Randy because everybody that we've talked to, friends and family members, they go,
"Yeah, well, Randy drank often and he drank a lot." And I guarantee you that probably
ramped up more once his wife passes away. And I guarantee you that probably ramped up a
little bit more when his son goes missing. So, some of these weird actions or some of these weird
moments, you you again, I don't want to give him a pass, but you just wonder, was he more intoxicated? You know, cuz
from what I've heard, like it he didn't just have to be intoxicated at night. He
could have been intoxicated during the day. And so, again, that doesn't give anybody a pass, but that gives us a
better understanding of where he was at. But he's a tough one. And then anybody that's listening to this and goes, "You
guys are crazy to think that it's possible that that Brian's dad was involved." Well, it's not that crazy
when Columbus PD brings cadaavver dogs out to the property twice. They wouldn't waste their time or waste their resource
resources. I could see them doing it once to go, "Hey, we got a couple leads." Uh, the dad said a couple weird
things. Hey, let's just do this so we can check that box, but I I don't see them doing it twice unless they had some
some solid reason to do it. >> And they cut him off as well, like completely from knowing any information.
And they used the excuse that it was because he would go to the media and tell the media everything. But that
doesn't seem to be the case based on my communication with Hurst. So, I've been on record as saying I think that Brian
was met with foul play that morning. And I still think that theory is to me anyway,
I think it's one of the better theories. It's the theory I like the most is that
somewhere between him leaving the bar and walking home that he was he encountered the wrong group of guys. And
I I still believe that I I I know that we've had some discussion about conveyor belts and things of that nature, but I
still think unfortunately I hope I'm wrong. I still think unfortunately that he's in the the landfill.
>> Yeah. I think all these theories, again, they're not my theory or Kelly's theory.
They're just theories that have been put out there from people that we've talked
to about this case that have been looking into this case for a long time. To reiterate the point of this whole
conversation is to get this information out there, the best way we can so other people that
are looking into this case have this information. You can have the band name Rockhouse. You can have the information
that we've talked to them. You can have the information that these two random girls Brian was talking to, there was
another girl. Was she in involved somehow? We don't know. But it's just a question that we have. Who was she? Why
hasn't she been named? Why wasn't she talked to? Why wasn't these two girls, Amber and Brighton, why weren't they
talked to more in depth from the detectives? Why didn't the detectives look more into the four guys that Brian,
Clint, Meredith were meeting that night at Ugly Tuna? Why wasn't certain things done? And then I think there's other
things that have been done that just haven't been reported on as much. So, we want to get that out there so if
somebody's going down this rabbit hole, they know that scent dogs were brought in, that they know that Columbus PD
believes that Brian Schaefer got out of the bar and got out of the complex. So, it's just to put this information
out there to continue the conversation to shine a light on this situation. It's almost 20 years
And it doesn't seem like we're that much closer to the truth than the day he went
missing. [music] [music] Want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage each and every week.
Thanks for telling your mother. Thanks for telling your brother. A big shout out to Kelly Bruce. She has been working
on this case for many years. And like I've said many times on this podcast, we've been in conversation basically
weekly for the last year on how do we get this information out there? What do we do with it? And also trying to track
down new leads and new individuals to talk to. If you're not following Kelly on Facebook, she has a Facebook page,
Brian Schaefer, Dead or Alive. She's already posting a lot of stuff, a lot of updates, a lot of new information that
she is getting because a lot of people are reaching out to her. So, one of the things that we talked about in these
episodes was this party picture, four individuals. Some of those individuals being guys that Brian was hanging out
with at the ugly tuna. and one of those guys we thought possibly could be Brian Schaefer. We're pretty sure, I'd say
99.9% sure based off people reaching out to us that the guy that we thought on the far right of that photo, which we
thought could be Brian Schaefer, the individuals that have reached out to us say, "Hey, that's not Brian Schaefer.
It's actually this other guy." And they've been able to help us identify the individuals in that photo. And yes,
some of the individuals in that photo were guys that were hanging out with Brian, but we don't now believe that the
guy on the far right is Brian. And that's the whole point of having these conversations. You don't always have
answers, but there's information and it's important to get those out. So, follow Kelly Brian Schaefer dead or
alive on Facebook. Like I said, a lot of updates already happening. And it's also
exciting cuz many people of different law enforcement departments have reached out to Kelly. So now they're already
setting up interviews and conversations. So maybe she can learn more from those individuals that have worked on Brian's
case or feel like they have some expertise to lend to the conversation. And the conversation is going to
continue. I'm happy to announce that me and Kelly have already talked about gathering up information and trying to
do some kind of off thereord special episode on any of the Brian Schaefer updates as as we get them. But me, Nick,
and Kelly will be back for a conversation April 18th with not just us, but many others. It's a live panel
discussion about the Brian Shaver case. April 18th at Brew Dog in Columbus, Ohio. The tickets are on sale now. They
are going quickly and all the money is going to be raised for Porch Light Project. It's something that's near and
dear to Nick's heart. And if you haven't been following the Porch Light Project,
they've been doing great work and getting answers, solving cases. And so, we're hoping that we can raise this
money that will go to DNA testing on other cases. And we hope that this conversation about a cold case can bring
closure and answers to other cases out there. And we couldn't do this without you guys. You guys are simply amazing.
And I'll be forever grateful that you have changed my life. So please join us. Free hugs and free drugs. Scratch that.
Free free hugs. April 18th at Brew Dog in Columbus, Ohio. Tickets are on sale now and they're going fast at true
crimegar.com. If you have any tips or information about Brian Schaefer, no matter how big
or small, please contact the Columbus Police at 6146452358. And thank you so much for sharing all
these cases on social media. It means the world. Until next week, be good, be kind, and don't litter.
Welcome to Off the Record. I'm your host Nick Crime. >> It's good to be seen and it's good to
[music] see you. Off the record. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.
>> True Crime Podcast. >> Be good, be kind, and don't crime. >> Gather around, [music] grab a chair,
grab a beer. Let's talk some True Crime. >> [music] [music] >> Hey, this is Jeff Lewis from Radio Andy.
Live and uncensored. Catch me talking with my friends about my latest obsessions, relationship issues, and
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Brian Shaffer /// 20 Years Missing /// Theories /// Part 6

Part 6 of 6

Episode:908

www.TrueCrimeGarage.com (http://www.truecrimegarage.com/)

Ohio State Medical Student, Brian Randall Shaffer disappeared without an apparent reason on April 1, 2006. His last known whereabouts was a second-floor campus area bar where he was having drinks with friends. Near the entrance of the Ugly Tuna Saloona just before 2 a.m. Brian is seen on security footage talking briefly with two women. Brian later became separated from his friends who have stated that they assumed that Brian had left and gone home. At the time of his disappearance Brian Shaffer was 6’2” tall and approximately 160 to 165 lbs. He’s a caucasian male with brown hair and hazel eyes. Brian had a Pearl Jam tattoo on his upper right arm and he plays guitar. If you have any information regarding Brian’s disappearance or his whereabouts please contact Columbus Police Missing Person Unit at 614-645-2358

Brian Shaffer - National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) - MP#1709

ViCAP Alert# 2006-06-01 - vicap@leo.gov

Please join us at BrewDog in Canal Winchester Saturday, April 18th, 2026 for a fundraising event for Ohio cases like Brian’s. Tickets are available on our website www.TrueCrimeGarage.com (http://www.truecrimegarage.com/)

Proceeds go to The Porchlight Project, supporting Law Enforcement and Families of Cold Cases here in Ohio.

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Brief Summary

The episode covers the ongoing investigation into Brian Schaefer's 2006 disappearance, including new evidence and theories about his fate.

Key points

The Mystery of Brian Schaefer. Brian Schaefer, an OSU student, disappeared in 2006. Nearly 14 years later, a photo emerges that reignites hope.
Detective's Hopeful Break. Detective Tucker discusses a potential clue in the case, raising hopes for closure.
The Letdown of a New Lead. The FBI's facial recognition results bring disappointment as the photo is not Brian.
Detectives Pressure Clint. Clint feels uncomfortable under the detectives' scrutiny, suggesting coercion to confess.
Polygraph Test Dilemma. A discussion reveals the futility of polygraph tests and their implications.
Cold Case Update. An age progression photo of Brian Schaefer is released, reigniting interest in his case.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It was a letdown.

Detective Tucker on the FBI's conclusion about the photo

3:51WatchFeb 18, 2026

Tension

65/ 100Some tension

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