Brian Shaffer /// 20 Years Missing /// Timeline /// Part 1 | Forensic Files

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>> Gather around. [music] Grab a chair. Grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime.
In 2006, a young medical student stepped into a crowded bar and seemingly vanished without a trace. Brian Schaefer
was 27 years old. By all accounts, he was charismatic, intelligent, and standing at the
threshold of a promising future. A second-year medical student at Ohio State University, Brian had plans,
ambitions, and a spring break trip to Miami, waiting just days ahead. But those plans
would never happen. On March 31st, 2006, Brian joined friends in Columbus, Ohio to celebrate the beginning of spring
break. The night unfolded like countless others with laughter, drinks, and bar hopping
through the lively campus district. Eventually, the group arrived at a popular student hot spot known as the
Ugly Tuna Saloona. Security cameras captured Brian entering the bar shortly before closing time. At
approximately 1:55 a.m., surveillance footage recorded what would become the final confirmed sighting of him. Brian
was seen casually speaking with two women near the entrance of the bar. [music] He appeared relaxed, calm,
ordinary. Moments later, he stepped out of the camera's view and then he was [music] gone. Despite extensive
review of surveillance footage covering the bar's main entrance and surrounding areas, investigators never found a
single image of Brian leaving the building. Friends who had been with him eventually
exited without him, assuming he had left on his own, but Brian never returned home. He never contacted family or
friends. He never boarded his scheduled flight to Miami. It was as if he had simply vanished into thin air.
Authorities launched an extensive search. The bar was combed from top to bottom. Nearby construction zones, sewer
systems, rooftops, and surrounding buildings were searched. Detectives examined Brian's apartment,
his car, his phone records, and financial activity. Everything remained untouched.
No signs of a struggle, no indication he had planned to disappear, no confirmed sightings ever surfaced.
In the weeks leading up to his disappearance, Brian had endured personal tragedy.
His mother had recently died after a long battle with cancer, a loss that deeply affected him.
While friends describe him as resilient and forwardlooking, investigators question whether hidden
emotional turmoil could have played a role. Still, those closest to him insist Brian
was making plans for the future, not preparing to abandon it. Over the years, theories have multiplied.
Did Brian slip out through an unseen exit only to fall victim to foul play? Did he wander into a dangerous
construction area and suffer a fatal accident? Could he have deliberately walked away from his life, leaving
behind everyone who knew him? Some even speculated about connections to other unsolved disappearances across the
Midwest. Though investigators have found no evidence supporting a serial predator.
Nearly two decades later, the mystery remains. Some remember his name, others simply
recall the haunting story. A man walks into a bar. Security cameras watch him enter. [music] Crowds surround him.
Music plays. Life continues all around him. But somehow he is never seen leaving. To this day, no one knows what
truly happened to Brian Schaefer. and his disappearance remains one of the most baffling missing person's cases in
modern American history. Over the last 10 years since True Crime Garage discussed Schaefer's case, we have
collected more information. We are now sharing that information in hopes that someone knows something more and that
this information might finally lead to some answers. This is true crime garage. [music]
[music] Welcome to True Crime [music] Garage. In the next handful of episodes, we're
going to be talking about everything Brian Schaefer. April 1st, 2026 [music] will mark 20 years missing. Since we
covered this case 10 years ago, we've been learning a lot of new information and trying to sort through some new
leads and rumors. We're going to be joined by Kelly from the Comeback podcast, which is about Brian Schaefer's
case, and also she runs the Brian Schaefer dead or alive Facebook page. And for the last year, we've been
talking weekly, exchanging notes, theories, rumors, and to mark the 20th anniversary of Brian going missing, we
wanted to put out the information that we have found, put out the questions that we have and some of the speculation
that we have to maybe help shine some light again on this case, and maybe get the case moving in the right direction.
I used to think I knew a lot about the Brian Schaefer case. I've learned so much. So, if you think you've heard it
all about this case, I think you'll be surprised on what we have found. Kelly, could you tell us how you got involved
in looking into the disappearance of Brian Schaefer? >> So, I have followed Brian's
disappearance pretty much since the very beginning, but around 2018, it seemed that I had come to the end of
information on the internet about Brian. So, I reached out to Lorie Davis, who is
the Schaefer family advocate. And shortly after we decided that we were going to plan a an event for Brian
and we decided on the March for the Missing. It was an event where we would have different families with missing
loved ones in Ohio come and set up >> [clears throat] >> uh pass out flyers for their loved ones,
wear t-shirts, just basically raise awareness. After talking to Lori, she introduced me to Nicholas West, who was
creating a podcast for Brian called Comeback. After talking to Nick for, I would say maybe about a week, he told me
that he needed a co-host. I actually didn't even know what a podcast was at that time. And Nick sent me a True Crime
Garage episode of Your Coverage on Brian's case. And after that, I decided that I could help him. I guess the rest
is kind of history. Like we started doing the episodes and interviewing Don Corbett, um, Detective John Hurst,
Kevin Miles from Central Ohio Crimestoppers, the Schaefer family. Like, we just kind of got into it and
began investigating Brian's disappearance. >> Yeah. Cuz most of the people that I've
talked to about the Schaefer case, they only have information that's coming from
the internet. And one of the things that I really respect about what you and also
what Nicholas has done is that you guys actually talked to people that were involved in the case. So I think
probably the best spot to start instead of trying to retell the story that's been told for 20 years, let's tell it as
if nobody's ever heard of this story before. >> Okay. So, I'm going to start at the
summer of 2005, and that is when Brian went with his medical school class to Puerto Rico. It was a learning trip, but
also a vacation for the students. They volunteered in a lot of different medical facilities, and um even worked
in a couple soup kitchens while they were there. And it actually became a pretty important place to Brian. And he
went back and forth to Puerto Rico a whole lot. He was there um most of the summer of 2005 and then when he came
home from Puerto Rico, that is actually when he met Alexis Wagner and they began
dating. The winter of 2005 was very difficult for the Schaefer family because Renee was nearing the end
of her battle with cancer and she was in the hospital and actually um that Christmas they actually spent in the
hospital with her. So in the Brian Schaefer family, we have Brian, then we have his brother Derek, we have his
mother Renee, and we have his dad Randy. >> Correct. So that Christmas was actually
real special to Brian because not only was it his last Christmas with his mom, but his mom had gifted him a trip to
Miami, Florida, which he was to take uh spring break 2006. She also gifted the same trip to Alexis. So, it was going to
be like a couple's trip that they took a >> a trip for Brian Schaefer plus one. >> And then for New Year's, Brian and his
friend Clint Florence, who we're going to talk about a lot today, [clears throat] and his friend Matt all
went to New to New York and celebrated New Year's Eve. January of 2006, Brian was pretty much just attending classes
and spending as much time as he could with his mom. Brian actually even discussed the possibility of getting
engaged to Alexis with his mom. And Renee went as far as asking a doctor friend of hers to refer a jeweler to
Brian. With Brian and Alexis both going to be doctors, she knew that it needed to be a nice ring from a reputable
jeweler. So Renee did get that referral and she did give that referral to Brian.
In January of 2006, Brian actually also broke the news to his mom that Randy, his father, was
having an affair, causing her to change her life insurance, leaving Randy only 50% and the other 50% was divided
equally between Derek and Brian. >> Yeah. So, just so people are clear, Renee is undergoing treatment. They're
not very hopeful that she's going to recover. And in this process, Brian's father, Randy, is having an affair, and
that would be a pretty difficult thing. Weigh in on you. Do you do you tell your
mom about this or do you or do you just not say anything knowing that she's not going to be around much longer?
>> I I actually struggle with that as well. Like, I'm sure it was very difficult for
Brian to take that news to his mom. This is uh such a weird spot in the timeline
for me because it while it's pretty factual that this activity was going on. It's to me unclear what level of
suspicion Renee may have had at the time. Was this what I love seeing here is look you good mothers what they
always do they're always trying to help their kids no matter their situation. And so putting Brian in touch with the
reputable jeweler trying to help out and and work on his future even though hers
seems so bleak is just such typical good mother action there. And so while that really
>> yeah while that grabs my heart then my my suspicious mind goes to did she have
any kind of idea that something might have been going on and this is now son returning the favor of you know I could
sit here on the fence and say nothing and let her go out on top or I could break the bad news to her and let her
choose how we deal with this and what the next action is for her. >> Yeah. Yeah, I agree. Actually, I would
like to know that, too. Every part of my information told me that Brian broke the
news to Renee, but I don't know if she was actually having any assumptions before that.
>> They had a a a strange relationship. Anyways, it seems like both Brian's parents were heavily into drinking and
to the point of excess. >> Yes, I've heard that a lot that [clears throat] they definitely like to
have their scotch. Where does this lead to us next in the timeline? >> On January 29th, Brian paid $455 to
schedule an upcoming test. And it was like a board exam. And when you're in medical school, you have to pass, I
believe it's two or three parts of it. And this was the big one. This was if you don't pass, you don't go forward.
So, it was a very big stressor in Brian's life. >> Yeah. No soup for you. In February of
2006, Randy Schaefer gave Brian a check in the amount of $4,500. And the check was made out to the Ohio
State University, and that was to pay for some expenses for Brian's next term. >> Right. So, Brian Schaefer, a medical
student at Ohio State, the Ohio State University, and it seems like his parents were paying for maybe not all of
it, but they were definitely his financial backers as far as it comes to college tuition and college life.
>> Is what's the paper trail on this check here? Because this is something that's
occurring shortly after Brian has ratted out his father to his mother. father has
been cut out of that uh inheritance or or insurance. >> It's lessened. So instead of getting
100%, he's going to get 50%. But I don't think Randy Schaefer is aware of this at
the time. >> Okay. >> No, actually, so he wrote the check to Brian in February, but Randy actually
didn't find out about the change in the life insurance until after Renee had passed away. So, he gave him the $4,500
check and it was never turned in to Ohio State. After Brian went missing, Randy had told a relative that he had wrote
the check and then checked his account and saw that it had never been cash. So, the relative suggested to Randy that he
put a stop payment on it. So, Randy did do that. But, I will also say this check
has never been found. On February 8th, Brian paid a minimum payment of $135 on his credit card, his Discover card,
leaving a balance of $6,746.94. The $135 payment to Discover was paid from Brian's checking account. On the
same day, Brian paid the balance in full of his Amazon Visa card, which was $7,387.15.
That payment did not come from Brian's checking account or any other account that I have information on of Brian's.
>> Really, we have no way of knowing where that came from? >> No, none at all. So, the next day on
February 9th, after Brian had just made that minimum payment of $135 the day before on his Discover card, he paid off
the entire balance of the Discover card, which was $6,746.94. That money did not come from Brian's
accounts either. >> So, we have an influx of money coming into Brian Schaefer's bank accounts.
>> Yes. And paying off all of his debt within a little over a month before he went
missing. On February 11th, Brian turned 27 years old. And on February 27th was actually the deadline for Brian to turn
in that tuition check to Ohio State, meaning that he would not have been enrolled for the next term. But again,
that check that was given to him by his father, that's never been found and we have no record of it being cashed.
>> Correct. And as far as I know, there was never an attempt to cash it because it
was flagged through Ry's bank that if an attempt was made to contact and let him
know. So March 6th was probably the hardest day of Brian's life, and that is when Renee lost her battle with cancer.
On the 10th was the funeral for Renee and they had a lot of guests there and Randy was playing the saxophone and
while playing the saxophone, he was stalling time because Brian had actually not made it to the funeral yet and he
was close to 90 minutes late before he actually did show up. And when he did show up, tensions were running very high
and there was a shoving match between Derek and Brian Schaefer. And Brian's excuse was that he had
overslept, >> right? So you have the mother passing away, losing the battle to cancer, and
then you have which Brian the speculation has been Brian Schaefer was a mama's boy. So it's odd that he would
show up late. And I've seen some speculations on possibly why he showed [snorts] up late. Do you have any
thoughts on why Brian showed up late to his mother's funeral? I don't have any real reasons why he showed up late, but
my guess is Brian was struggling a lot with the passing and I kind of think it was maybe he got a little too
intoxicated the night before and maybe actually did just oversleep. It >> doesn't seem like Brian Schaefer was
maybe like a daily drinker, but he definitely seems to have a pattern of when he drinks or when he parties, he
parties. >> He does. Actually, I have spoke to a few of his friends and they nicknamed him
the instigator because he always liked to just tease people, joke around, prank.
Like, so they always referred to him as the instigator. >> And then obviously this puts his brother
Derek in a difficult position cuz he's like he knows Brian. So it's like, why are you showing up basically with a
hangover to your mother's funeral? I mean, that's disrespectful to her and disrespectful disrespectful to the
family. But at this time in his life, he has conflict. Brian Schaefer has conflict with his father, Randy
Schaefer. >> And we all very I mean, this is a cliche, but it's it is so true. We all
grieve very very differently, and we all have different relationships with people
who pass away. It's fair to speculate on this point in the timeline, but it's also I feel like it's a bit of a fool's
errand, I think, because of we we can't crawl inside his mind. We we know he's going to be emotional about the
situation. It's one of the most difficult things any one of us could face. So, it's of course tensions are
going to be high because again, everybody's grieving differently and everybody's having different feelings in
that moment. Nobody wanted to be at that funeral. Nobody wanted to be at that funeral. Everybody wanted to be
>> at the hospital the day that she stands up, walks out of the hospital room, and
rings the bell and says, "I'm cancerree." That's where they wanted to be, >> right?
>> Absolutely. >> So, after this shoving match, what happens? There were really no more
details given to me about the funeral or anything else that happened, but I do know that, you know, tensions continued
to be there between Randy and Brian, but I do know that Randy or I'm sorry, that
Brian and Derek were talking and were trying to get closer after their mom's passing. So then on March 12th, Brian
updated his MySpace page and he stated that his mom is his hero and that that he was doing things to make her proud.
But he also wrote that this doctor thing was only temporary until he got his band
going and was living on an island with his senorita. Then on St. Patrick's Day 2006, Brian spent St. Patrick's Day with
Clint Florence and Meredith Reed. While they were out drinking, Brian and Clint actually got into a little bit of an
argument. I don't know the details of that argument, but Meredith had reported it to Columbus Police Department, but it
resulted in Brian leaving whatever party they were at and walking to his apartment and Meredith followed Brian to
his apartment and then Clint followed Meredith. Around this time as well, Brian actually asked his [clears throat]
girlfriend Alexis to run away with him. And about a week later, when after she had said no, he actually told her that
she should move on with her life and find someone new because he was struggling with uh his mom's passing.
>> Do you know any details about did he have a plan or was it just simply, hey, we should run away together?
>> I don't think that he had a plan. At least if he did, it was never told to me. It seemed more like a fishing
expedition to see if she would actually run away with him. >> Right. >> So March 27th through March 31st was
finals week. So he was very busy throwing himself into that. And of course the last day of testing was March
31st, 2006. >> This brings us to the most significant point in our timeline here.
the night and morning early morning in question. This is when Brian Schaefer will be last seen or his last known
whereabouts. >> So, while the time that Brian was out that night is very important, I took the
timeline back just a bit further. And I actually start at 1:20 p.m. on March 31st.
And I used Brian's cell phone records and credit card statements and actually Merida's statement to put this all
together. So at 1:20 p.m. Brian called Alexis while she was driving to her parents
house in Toledo. At 1:47 p.m. Alexis returns Brian's call. At 6:45 p.m. Brian called Derek to
invite him out to dinner. At 6:57 p.m., Derek returns Brian's call and declines the invite. At 700 p.m., Brian called
Clint, but he did not answer and immediately called Brian back. From 7 to 8:00 p.m., Brian had dinner with Randy
Schaefer at Outback Steakhouse in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Now, a lot of people think that this is
significant in the case because Brian is going on a holiday trip to Miami with his girlfriend. And so, a lot of people
just view this, like we said, there's some tension in the family because the mother of the family passed away. And
so, and like Nick said, everybody's grieving in their own ways. But the way this is initially reported to people is
this is just a hey, let's catch up before I go on vacation, but it seems like there might be more to the story
than that. >> Yeah, it's always been reported, you know, that Brian was worried about
Randy, which I'm sure he was, but it there was actually some tension that night. Now, while it isn't actually
known and it is assumed based on my conversation with Sergeant John Hurst, Brian and Randy actually had an argument
that night. Randy was very upset about the life insurance money and he had had a conversation with Derek a day or so
prior and told him, "Your mom didn't mean to leave you that money. You keep $1,000. You give me the other $19,000."
So, it is assumed that that same conversation happened between Randy and Brian that evening. And there had
already been a couple other arguments, including Randy threatening to cut Brian off from paying for his education.
>> Yeah. And I think this gets a little deeper, too, because he's inviting his brother out. Brian is saying, "Hey,
Derek, why don't you come with me? You had this confrontation with our dad. I don't want to face him alone, really."
And that's possibly why Derek declined to go to dinner with them. It >> it's absolutely why he declined.
Actually, it was reported in the early days of Brian's disappearance that Brian had invited Derek out with him that
night to go to the bars and stuff, but that wasn't the case. He invited him to dinner because he didn't want to have
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[music] So, do we know how he [music] got to the dinner and how Brian got home? I have
been told that Randy picked Brian up at his apartment, drove him to Outback in Reynoldsburg, and then drove him back to
his apartment. Now, I haven't been able to confirm that, but that's what I've been told.
>> Yeah. And Randy was living in what general area of the greater Columbus? >> Uh, like Pickerington, Baltimore area.
>> Okay. So, he's going to go way into central Ohio, central Columbus, pick up Brian, and then take him back out east
to Reynoldsburg, and then need to bring him back again to central Columbus, >> right?
>> Which makes some sense if you have stuff that you need to talk about. I mean, it
is his son and there's a lot going on with their family at this time. You know, myself, I've actually kind of
speculated that maybe he didn't know if Brian would show up because of the tension, so he offered to pick him up.
>> Also, just a a pretty normal dad move, I think. Hey, you want to grab some dinner? What time? Sure, I'll pick you
up. >> Yeah, I agree. >> At 8:41 p.m., Brian called Randy. It is unknown what they spoke about. At 9:00
p.m., Alexis called Brian. At 9:06 p.m., Brian called fellow co-ed Brandon Chatuni. Sometime between 9 and 9:15
p.m. Clint Florence arrived via car at Brian's apartment on King Avenue. >> Who's at Brian's apartment at this time?
>> So, I have been told that when Clint arrived at Brian's apartment that Brian and Randy were there and that Clint,
Randy, and Brian all had a beer together before Brian and Clint walked to the bars. At 9:51 p.m., Brian and Clint are
seen arriving at Ugly Tuna Saloona via surveillance footage. This is not the famous surveillance footage that is all
over the internet. This is actually before that time. >> Yes, this is the very first time they
were there. At 10:03 p.m., Brian calls fellow Coet Graham Davis. At 10:26 p.m., Amber Ruick and a mystery
woman are seen arriving at Ugly Tuna Saloona. And Kelly, from my understanding, Amber is friends with
Clint and Brian. Is that correct? >> Amber was a student of Clint's. He was a TA in one of her classes.
>> And Amber's important to this case because on the surveillance footage that everybody has seen, Brian is
[clears throat] talking to two ladies outside of the bar before he goes missing. Those two ladies are Amber and
Brighton. So, what we're establishing here is when Amber arrives to the Ugly Tuna Saloona,
>> and we'll go into detail as to what the surveillance footage is showing us as to
important persons arriving to the bar that night and then when they are later seen leaving the bar that night. And
this surveillance footage, for those of you not familiar with this case, is a camera that is positioned at the top of
of a set of stairs and escalators. So, the Ugly Tuna Saloona is a bar that is on the one of the upper floors of a
downtown campus uh building. And there are two escalators to the left. So when you walk into the building, they would
be to your right. But from the top of the stairs, this is your left. And that's where the camera is positioned
just above those escalators and then the set of stairs to the right of those escalators.
>> At 10:40 p.m., Brian and Clint are seen leaving Ugly Tuna, and Brian actually
does like a little surf down the escalator with the arms out. At 10:43 p.m., Brian called Matt Ryan
and made plans to meet the next day. At 10:59 p.m., Brian called Graham Davis for the second time.
At 11 p.m., Brian and Clint arrive at the Short North Tavern. At 11:20 p.m., Brian checked his voicemail even though
he had no missed calls. At 11:21 p.m., Jeremy Douglas called Brian. At 11:23 p.m., Brighton is seen arriving at the
Ugly Tuna Saloona. And like we said, Brighton is one of the ladies that was talking to Brian later in the night on
surveillance camera. >> At 11:45 p.m., Brian and Clint arrive at Brother's Bar. >> So, this is the third bar that they've
been to that night. >> At 11:57 p.m., Jason Fistic called Brian. At 12:00 a.m., Clint called
Meredith and invited her out. At 12:30 a.m., Meredith meets Brian and Clint. At 12:48 a.m., the mystery woman
is seen leaving Ugly Tuna Saloona. At 1:15 a.m., Brian, Clint, and Meredith are seen arriving back to the Ugly Tuna
Saloona. >> So, this would be the footage that has been all over the internet and news
reports. You see to the left is the escalators and to the right are the stairs. And you see Brian, Clint, and
Meredith all coming back to the Ugly Tuna, which again, they were there before earlier in the evening.
>> According to Meredith's statement, right after arriving at the Ugly Tuna Saloona,
Brian basically just kind of disappeared and then he reappeared a short time later and he was coming back into the
bar from out by like the escalator area that we mentioned where the camera is. Around 1:30, Brian walked away from
Clint and Meredith and goes in the opposite corner from the bar's entrance. Again, that's from Meredith's statement.
At 1:55 a.m., Brian is last seen on surveillance in front of the ugly tuna saloona. At 1:58 a.m., Brighton returns
to the restroom and join and then joins the group. At 1:59 a.m., Amber Brighton and the mystery woman are seen leaving
Ugly Tuna Saloona. Closer to 2 a.m. after closer to 2:00 a.m. after talking to Clint while sitting at the bar, Clint
and Meredith realize that they don't see Brian. They proceeded to walk around the
bar several times, even checking both restrooms. At 2:01 a.m., Meredith calls Brian's phone from Clint's phone and
leaves a voicemail asking where he is and to call her if he needs a ride. At 2:09 a.m., Clint and Meredith are seen
leaving Ugly Tuna Saloona. >> So, their statements were always, "Hey, he he either said he's going to the
bathroom or he's going to talk to the band. They can't get a hold of him, but they but they know he's a sociable
person. He's been talking to people all night. He doesn't live that far from the
bar. It's possible that he's leaving with somebody, whether that's male or female, and so they just decide, hey,
we're going to we're going to hit the road, and I'm sure he'll be fine. Well, and and we know they walked there, so
it's not out of the realm of possibility if you're there with him or even concerned about his whereabouts that you
might jump to the idea of, oh, well, for one reason or another, maybe he just started to walk home. The other thing,
too, is bars at 2:00 a.m., 2:30 a.m. are weird, right? None of them seem to operate exactly the same. I I'm a a bit
of a frequenter of many bars and have been in several of the bars that we've been discussing here so far. And from my
younger days when I was out that late, there was a a few different scenarios you could run into where they were
diehard about getting everybody out exactly at closing time or just before closing time. And then there's other
situations where they may not force you out the door right away, but if you get outside of those doors, even though
there's people still in there finishing their drinks and conversation, we're not
letting you back in. >> Right. And to actually add to it, Nick, of what you said, Brian, according to
all of his friends and some family members, he had a habit of wandering off towards the end of the night and they
would see him a day or two later. So, this was something that he did. So, it wasn't out of the norm. And I imagine it
wasn't the first time that Brian had done this to Clint. >> He goes to the bar with his buddy Clint
and Meredith. So, can you explain the dynamic of that trio's relationship? >> I can. So, from what I have been told,
Meredith um was attracted to Brian and Clint was attracted to Meredith. Well, Meredith and Clint actually began
dating, and that night was actually the first night that they were going to spend together.
>> Through our conversations throughout this last year or so, one of the things I always wondered was,
why would Brian and Clint go back to a bar that they already were at earlier in the night?
So, I always kind of assume that maybe Brian maybe he left a debit card or maybe he left a hat or maybe he left a
jacket. Maybe he left something. And if he left a hat or jacket, then that that would make sense why we don't see him on
surveillance footage leaving because he's now wearing a different outfit. But you have reason to believe that you know
why Clint and Brian went back to the ugly tuna. >> I do. As I've been going through this
timeline, I've mentioned a few names that several people probably have never heard of before. Um, from Brian's cell
phone records, the reason why Brian and Clint went back to the Ugly Tuna the second time that night is actually the
reason they had went to every bar they had went to that night. They were trying to meet up with four of Brian's other
friends. One being a fellow medical school student and a couple others just being Ohio State regular undergrads.
>> So Brian is a medical student, Clint's a medical student. They're also trying to
meet up with this other four individuals. And like you said, they're almost chasing them throughout the night
to meet up with them. >> Correct. And it seemed they were playing phone tag a little bit, too. At 2:09
a.m., Clint and Meredith are seen leaving Ugly Tuna. 2:10 a.m. was last call for alcohol. At 2:14 a.m., Clint
and Meredith are seen leaving the Ugly Tuna Saloona parking garage. At 2:30 a.m., the Ugly Tuna closes for the
night. And at 10:00 a.m., Meredith drops Clint off at Brian's apartment to pick up his car. So, one of the speculations
online has always been that maybe there was a confrontation and that somehow the
band that was playing at the Ugly Tuna is somehow involved in Brian's disappearance.
You uh along with Nicholas West were able to figure out who that band was because for years we knew that there was
a band. We knew that Brian told people he wanted to talk with talk with them, but we never knew the name of this band.
>> Right. After talking to Sergeant John Hurse, we were able to find out that the
name of the band is Rock House. >> And when you guys were doing the Comeback podcast, at that point I was in
conversations with Nicholas West. So when he told me, "Hey, I know the band's name." I I was very interested because
I've obviously played in bands and worked in studios in Columbus, so I figured I'd know these individuals. When
he said Rockhouse, I was actually blown away because I've played with all three of the members uh either in bands or on
records with them. And so I was able to talk to every single member in the band.
They were surprised to know that there's speculation online that they possibly uh
that the speculation was that they murdered some guy that they didn't even know and took his body out in in drum
cases. So first of all, I know all three of these band members and they're good guys. upstanding guys. It was just
another gig to them. They obviously heard, oh yeah, the night that we were playing at the Ugly Tuna, this guy went
missing. But none of them were really into true crime, so they just didn't follow the story. They also weren't
interviewed or heavily questioned by police, and they all thought that was odd. But where I believe their story,
because the the bar is like a almost like a little square, so you can almost see everybody no matter where you're at
in the bar. There's not like these hidden corners or all these uh things that would obstruct your your vision.
And so what these individuals told me is, you know, they packed up their stuff like normal, but they had a small crowd
of friends there. And so when they left the bar that night, they weren't just leaving with the band. They weren't the
last people in the bar. They're leaving with their friends. They're leaving with
other patrons of the bar. They're leaving with staff members. And none of these individuals were ever seen on
surveillance footage because they took a backway exit. >> Yeah, actually that backway exit they
took was actually on camera as well. We just have never seen that footage because it has not been released.
>> Right. Yeah. And so, just to be clear, not only was I able to speak with the band members, but I was able to speak
with other individuals that were there to see that band that night, cuz like I said, I have several common friends of
these individuals. And so, it's not just the band telling me this story and going, "Well, I'm just going to take
them at at their word." I'm It's a bunch of other individuals that were there that night. And one of the things that
was interesting is one of the friends there that night was a guy I played in a band with, his name is Quinn, and he's
great songwriter for the band X-rated Cowboys. And he did tell me that there was a confrontation between a female
friend of his and some guy they didn't know, but it he said it wasn't that big of a deal. Quinn also own owns a a bar,
so he kind of knows when something's a big deal and not a big deal. But he did say there was a confrontation and and
then that was um quickly dispersed and then they left and they all left out that back exit instead of going down the
escalators. And just because this was such a popular theory 15 years ago, I just want to point out Brian Schaefer
was 6'2 in tall. >> Right. >> I Right. I mean, I don't know exactly what equipment they were playing with,
but even to try to stuff a male body 6'2 in tall into a bass drum case seems very
difficult to me. I'm not saying it's it's not possible, but it would seem to be very difficult to me. And then if you
were not able to find something large enough to sneak this person's body or unconscious person out of the bar via
service entrance or exit or or what have you. Now you're talking about dismemberment and there obviously no
signs of any of that occurring in this situation. >> Yeah. And I was able to interview the
singer and the bass player of the band. His name is Mark with uh Quinn as well. I interviewed them
with Maggie Freeline a couple years back and Mark didn't even really understand like why are you
talking to me anyways and I was like look one of the number one theories is that you guys have a conf you guys had a
confrontation with Brian and then put him in instrument cases and took him out of the bar. Well, he stops to look this
up online just to see if I'm telling the truth. And like you said, one of the first things that comes up is there's a
confrontation and they dismember him. These are guys that obviously can hold their own cuz they played in bars. So
that they've probably been in some tough situations before. But none of these guys are violent individuals. None of
these I've played in bands with them, been on recordings with them, never had any conflict with them, never seen them
in conflict with anybody else. So you're making the the internet with this theory
is making these giant leaps. It takes a special piece of [ __ ] individual to have
a confrontation with somebody and dismember them. So but because of Kelly's excellent work and Nicholas West
excellent work, we're able to know who this band was. We're able to question them. were able to talk to other
individuals there and I kind of think we can stomp out that theory that the band
had something to do with his disappearance that night. >> Captain, didn't you tell me that it took
almost 2 years for CPD to interview the band? >> Yes. And it was almost by random
accident chance. the some of the members that were in Rock House became another band called
the Filthy Habits and they were playing back at the Ugly Tuna playing cover songs and a group of detectives walk in
as they're setting up and the detectives ask them some questions just about, you
know, the bar playing at the venue, you know, how do you enter, how do you leave? And then it comes to the
detectives attention that hey well we were actually in another band and we were actually there that night that
Brian went missing. These detectives for whatever reason were at the ugly tuna to
and my guess is that maybe it was like turning over the case to somebody and so hey let me take you down to the ugly
tuna and let's go over some of the stuff that I feel like I've already learned. So they were never properly questioned.
And one of the things you see in a lot of the news reports back in 2006 was that the police question every
individual that was working that night. Well, I don't believe that's true. If the band is saying, well, we were never
questioned. We were never asked to give polygraph test. We were never brought in
for questioning even afterwards. The only contact that they had afterwards with detectives was two two and a half,
you know, was two to two and a half years later when they're just back at the bar and this group of detectives
randomly shows up. >> I'd like to point out too with the timeline, it really doesn't allow for
the ban theory to even be possible. We knew where Brian was standing up until 1:59 a.m. and Clinton Meredith began
looking for him at 2:01 a.m. So, I don't really think that the band theory could
be possible with the timeline. >> Well, and just going from a security standpoint here, we got to keep in mind
one thing that is visible in the surveillance footage is two CPD, two Columbus police officers standing at the
top of the stairs. They are h they're not there because the city of Columbus is like, "Go stand in this building
because there's a bar." No, they're hired. Okay? So, they're contracted workers by the businesses with inside of
this building. They're not leaving when the patrons leave the bar. They're leaving after the bar has closed, all
operations has ceased, and the they are dismissed. And guess what? I can tell you that I know for sure they're not
leaving until they're dismissed because CPD back then, and I know that it doesn't seem like such great pay today
because we're we're now talking 20 years later, but in 2006, they were probably collecting
$ 38 to $40 an hour stig. So it they're considered fairly easy gigs and easy money. And so those
officers that were there, they were there until operations and and management and everybody was ready to
lock the doors for the night. Yeah. So, to believe the ban theory, you'd have to
believe that a bunch of individuals of the band are in on it, that employees of the ugly tuna are in on it, and also
security guards that saw other surveillance footage are in on it. You'd have to believe that those police
officers that we see on surveillance footage are in on it. And I don't know what the protocol would have been for
this particular location, but typically when we were running security in sim similar situations, the great reason for
having two officers, especially so close to closing time, if you wanted to do things on the up and up, but you wanted
to you were working within a budget, the confines of a strict budget, you would have a police officer there for the
majority of of the evening with an additional officer arriving closer to closing time. This gives you the ability
to keep an officer inside the building and have one officer escorting workers and management out either to their
vehicles to the parking garage or a a certain distance from the building when they are leaving and exiting for the
night. At this point, we have nobody that has made contact with Brian through his his phone. We we have no clue where
his whereabouts. The last thing other than people saying that they saw him after the surveillance footage. The only
thing that we have as the public is that surveillance footage. And this is kind of how the legend is born. Brian, Clint,
Meredith are seen on surveillance going up the escalator. He's seen on surveillance footage throughout the
night talking to two ladies and then he just disappears. A man walks into a bar and is never seen leaving that bar.
So, True Crime Garage and Brian Schaefer, Dead or Alive, is excited to announce we're doing an event at Brew
Dog in Canal, Winchester, April 18th, 2026. Schaefer, 20 years missing. We'll be
doing a panel where we discuss things that we've been talking about on this podcast and other information that we
gather until the event. It's going to happen April 18th, 2026. Brewog canal Winchester tickets will be available
tonight. The money is going to go to a great cause. We're going to be raising money for the porch light project. And
so we hope that you can join us. It will, well, we believe it will sell out fast.
>> Yeah. A limited number of tickets. Uh, anybody that's been to a previous Brew
Dog event, you know that there is limited space. So, tickets go on sale tonight. Where do you go to get those
tickets? You go to our website, true crimegar.com. >> So, come join us and let's raise some
money for a good cause in Brian Schaefer's name. >> Again, that's in Canal Winchester.
That's just outside of Columbus, Ohio. Get your tickets at trueg.com. Stick around for more Brian Schaffer 20
years missing. [music] [music] Hi, I'm Gabby Wendy with Long Winded and I'm not going to lie, I'm desperate. I'm
desperate for your attention in any way possible. So listen to my podcast, won't
you? It has great insights, exceptional humor, and plenty of pop culture to fill
your dark souls. And some even say it's a great way to fall asleep due to my soothing voice. And I don't take that
personally. Fall asleep. A listen is a listen even when you're sleeping. And a view is a view even with your eyes
closed. If you dare, and it doesn't take much gumption. Enjoy. Listen to long- winded wherever you get your podcasts.

Brian Shaffer /// 20 Years Missing /// Timeline /// Part 1

Part 1 of 6

Episode:903

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 Detective Edwards with the Columbus Police Department @ 614-645-4624 or aedwards@columbuspolice.org

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

Brian Schaefer vanished in 2006 after a night out, with new insights shared as the 20th anniversary approaches.

Key points

The Disappearance of Brian Schaefer. In 2006, medical student Brian Schaefer vanished from a bar without a trace, leaving behind a baffling mystery.
20 Years Missing. April 1st, 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of Brian's disappearance, prompting renewed investigation and discussion.
Brian's Last Known Whereabouts. The timeline leads to the night Brian Schaefer was last seen, marking a significant point in the case.
Tension in the Family. Brian's dinner with Randy is overshadowed by family tension and unresolved arguments.
The Mystery of the Band. Speculation arises about the band Rock House and their potential involvement in Brian's disappearance.
The Missing Footage. Discussion about the surveillance footage that hasn't been released, raising questions about the investigation.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

To this day, no one knows what truly happened to Brian Schaefer.

Reflecting on the ongoing mystery of Brian's disappearance.

5:33WatchFeb 11, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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