Brian Shaffer ////// 925 | Forensic Files

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GEICO presents a 30-second podcast between your podcast. Today's story is shared by one of our listeners. It's
called Betrayed by Bill. It was in that moment I caught who was staring back at me in betrayal, or more
like what? My insurance bill. With trembling hands, I grabbed my phone and switched to GEICO, saving about $900
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>> Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, thanks
for listening. I'm your host Nick, and with me as always is a man [music] whose singing puts the harm in harmony. Here
is the captain. >> Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's good to be seeing and good to see you.
Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend. Today, of course, we are drinking
BrewDog IPA. It's a light, crushable brew that pays tribute to BrewDog's favorite hop, that is Chinook. This beer
is dry-hopped to perfection. It delivers a balanced melody of tropical, pine, and
citrus notes, all wrapped in a crisp, clean bitterness. Garage Grade three and three quarter bottle caps out of five.
Let's give some thanks and praise to some of our favorite garage friends. First up, we have a cheers to Alyssa
Vogel in Woodlands, Texas. >> And a big we like your jib goes out to Brian C from Chicago.
>> Next up, here's a cheers to Annabelle from New Jersey. And last, but certainly
not least, we have a double-fisted cheers to Bethany and Ryan, also in the Woodlands, Texas. Everyone
we just mentioned went to truecrimegarage.com and helped us out with this week's beer
run, and for that, we thank you. Yeah, b w w r u n beer run. >> [music] >> If you need more True Crime Garage for
your your balls, if you're nasty, then hop into the garage off the record [music]
on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscription, and it's the best way to support the garage [music] flying ship,
and that's enough of the BS ness. All right, everybody, gather around, grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true
crime. >> [music] >> I had a tip come in through Messenger, and they listed a name of someone that
they believe could be involved in Brian's disappearance, and I decided that it was so so specific that I would
turn it in to the Columbus Police Department. And when I was talking to a detective, and I said the person's name
that was given to me, the detective was very shocked that I even knew that name,
and he had been on Columbus Police Department's radar since 2006. Kelly then shared on her social media that
someone with Columbus police allegedly provided her with more information, including that police dug up a basement
in a house near Lane Avenue in relation to Brian's case. In 2020, when Brian got
a new detective, this person's name came up again. I'm not sure how, but um they decided that they were going to go
to the location where this person lived in 2006, and when they walked in the house, um
they noticed that a portion of the concrete in the basement looked different than the rest of the concrete.
So, they left, and they went to a judge, and they got a warrant to go and dig up
the basement. And when they did, all of they found was an old fuel oil tank that
had been capped off and then recovered. Columbus police declined to confirm this
information with NBC4, or share any further details about Brian's disappearance, stating, "We will not go
into specific case information, but I can tell you this is still an active and ongoing investigation.
Investigators continue to receive tips regarding this case and are following up on all tips received, which includes
conducting interviews." However, Corbet also shared that he was separately given the same information by
someone close to the case. There was a dig not too far from the Ugly Tuna Saloona in the basement of a place that
is believed was resided in by an individual that was with Brian on occasion. Now, that night, can I confirm
it? No. The police do know who he is. They have interviewed him at least once, I believe twice. The dig did not really
come out with anything. While the tip did not result in an arrest in Brian's case, the podcast hosts believe it could
be significant. It just breeds more questions because when an individual says, "Yeah, well, we we searched that
house." Well, what was the information that got them to get the search warrant? Like, you can't just willy-nilly go dig
up somebody's basement. >> And regarding this tip specifically, Columbus Police Department, they decided
that the tip was worth its weight, and they investigated it. Patrick, Nick, and Kelly hope that their coverage and
sharing the information about the basement dig can lead to answers in Brian's case. We're lucky enough to have
a very big, very broad audience. The internet is a powerful place, and people will dig into these leads that maybe
we've not been able to find much more out about. Somebody else might be able to uh do that. But if you've only heard
10% of the true story, well, then how much can you actually look into? >> [music]
>> Well, [music] we did it, Captain. We were successful once again. That's right. Crowd goes wild. Actually, you
know, to peel back the curtain here a bit, we set out to do this event, which was
held in Canal Winchester, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, at our one of our favorite
places in Central Ohio, BrewDog, which where they brew all the beer, and they have the dog house where you can stay
overnight, and they let us host our event in the beer museum there at the front of the building, and it was a
sold-out crowd. We had hoped when we put this thing together back in February of
this year that the turnout would be great, and that we would be able to donate $10,000 was our goal to
>> Yeah. the Porchlight Project because our audience, our beautiful, beautiful listeners, sexy.
Sexy. Sexy nasty. >> Some of them nasty, too. [laughter] You know who I'm talking to, subscribers.
You nasty. But Real nasty. [laughter] Real nasty. But I don't know if this is a a great thing to say to our beautiful
listeners. >> That's right. But because they're so awesome, and they care, and they are
loyal, uh and we are very thankful, we had a great crowd this last weekend here, and we're able to double up on
what we raised for Porchlight, sending $20,000 to Porchlight for Ohio cold cases, and
we are going to be using that for some missing persons cases, which is so very fitting because the theme of the night
was Brian Shaffer's been missing for 20 years. April 1st, Yeah. >> in fact, marked 20 years since Brian
Shaffer, a 27-year-old Ohio State medical student, went missing from the OSU campus. As said, we did our
six-part series back in February. So, if you've not listened to that, that is the
that is what you want to go back and listen to here because it I did not realize when we put that out what the
aftermath of those podcasts would be. We were hoping to stir the pot, and boy, did we ever because
>> some [ __ ] That's right. Columbus went crazy with the amount of Brian Shaffer news
coverage from the big news outlets here after our February episodes. Well, part of that was the episodes, and part of
that was the anniversary of him going missing. But also, I've been talking with Kelly
for over a year now. It's probably been hundreds of hours that we've talked about things. So, it was it was always
interesting to me cuz I kept on saying that we got to get Kelly on. We're going to talk about the Shafer case and she's
going to give so many more details and so many more updates of what's been happening
for the last 10 years. And we thought maybe one or two episodes turns out to be six. And again, the news
coverage and I have to applaud Kelly for that as well because we have to go on to the next case. We
have to start researching and and preparing everything for the next week. So, she was just a champion at getting a
hold of all those individuals and getting the word out about the the podcast and the updates in the case.
Yes, and Kelly was one of the persons that was on our panel at our event. What we have here, Captain, is a lot of
people reached out to us because this event was a one-time-only deal and it was in Central Ohio. Not
everybody can just put down and stop what they're doing and travel all the way to Ohio to go to this event on a
Saturday evening. So, we had a lot of folks reach out to us on social, a lot of emails, and a lot of uh people
communicating to us that I can't be there. I can't travel to get out there, but I want to witness it or I want to
experience it. Can you will it be recorded in some form or fashion? And if so, will you be
releasing it on the podcast? Well, the recording portion of that would be quite difficult. There was a lot of moving
parts and pieces and we would probably have to hire Steven Spielberg to direct the whole thing to deliver it in a way
and package it in a way that would make sense that it would not would not hurt your beautiful ear balls. Well, but and
to be honest, his work has been kind of shotty lately. Well, but we promised those folks that
reached out to us that we would not shy away from it and we would at least report on
what the takeaways were from the event because we had people there. It was really amazing to me. First off,
again, shout out to the beautiful listeners because they we held a Q&A. Yeah. And the questions were great. So,
to kick things off, first of all, we had four people in the audience of 200 that
had never heard of the case. They didn't they were kind of tag-alongs. They've listened to the show a few times, but
they were spouse with the person who was there in attendance. And so, we had to bring them up to speed a little bit. And
then we went into a little bit more of the finer points, a lot that we talked about in our February coverage. And then
Kelly and her friend Meredith, who together they run the Brian Shafer Dead or Alive Facebook page, they
brought the audience up to speed on things that have transpired >> since our episodes came out in February
because they've had a lot of people reach out to them. There's been a tip that came in that
made its way to police and to the news via Kelly. So, that's something we should update folks about. Yeah, so
let's start with the tip. So, it's not a new tip, but we talked about this tip in
the six-part series. There was a lady in 2006 that worked with this individual at a landscaping company. They were at a
little gathering. The topic of the Brian Shafer case came up. It was on everybody's mind, especially people in
the campus area. He made a weird comment like, "Well, he's never going to be found." He takes a sip of his beer and
he gives her a odd look. There's other things about him that kind of creeped her out a little bit.
And eventually, they bring this individual in for questioning and I think because of that and because of her
reaching out to law enforcement cuz she reaches out to law enforcement and says,
"Hey, this happened. I don't know if it's anything, but there you go." So, once they bring him
in for questioning, I think that kind of creeped her out even more. So, she ends
up leaving that job. That's to me a significant deal because you're going to have to get a new job just because
you're creeped out by this individual. Now, there's more to that story. So, Kelly
was on the phone with Detective Edwards, which was one of the initial detectives
on this case. He was saying that when they were giving the polygraph test to Meredith that they believed everything
that she said, but in this one moment when they asked her, "Is there anybody that you think could
be responsible for this crime?" She said, "No." And they felt like that was the only answer that she gave that she
wasn't being completely truthful. So, like what when we talked to the polygraph expert, you have the
interview, then you have the polygraph test, and then you have another interview. Well, that either becomes an
interview or it becomes an interrogation. And so, they didn't want to press her because again, they believed everything
she was saying except for this one answer. Now, all the detectives and everybody working this case
when she said that she didn't believe when Meredith said that she didn't know who could be responsible and they they
again, they indicated this that she was being deceptive there. They thought that she was going to then name
Clint as somebody being possibly involved. But, she didn't say Clint's name. She said this other individual's
name. That individual is the same individual that the other tipster gave. And so, when we're talking about this
tip in the six-part series, I thought it was a nothing burger. But, when the detective that worked this case is
telling and and basically, what happened was he said the guy's first name and then Kelly said his last name and the
and I'm paraphrasing here, but the detectives basically said like, "Holy [ __ ] How do you know that name?"
And then she explained this other tip. So, I don't know if Edwards was privy to this and and I don't want to go down a
crazy conspiracy rabbit hole, but Detective Edwards seemed to be interested in talking and sharing
information. Even said he was going to try to get the transcripts from the polygraph test and then he just
kind of disappeared. Now, people are busy. People have a lot on their plate. He worked this case a long time ago.
He's not currently working the case. He has no obligation to follow up on this stuff. But, he may have also run into
trouble actually procuring those transcripts. Uh it's you know, >> Very possible.
>> not always entirely up to one individual if something can be one obtained and then two shared. Right.
And I know that Detective Edwards is retiring soon. So, a lot of these detectives
will get uh I think they have to apply for it, but they can apply to get case files or copies of case files to
possibly work on something in retirement and I think that's something that Detective Edwards is
looking forward to doing to be able to get the case files and and to continue work on this as well as John Hersh,
the lead detective on this case, I'm assuming has got more information or has got case
files because he's currently working on a a book about the Brian Shafer case. So, one thing that surprised me and and
please, if this wasn't if you don't share the same takeaway Uh-huh. from our event, but one thing that surprised me
was I was getting the vibe from the room that the majority of the people there Look, we all agreed, right? The room
This was This was a beautiful moment for the case because I don't think that there's ever been a moment like this
before in 20 years of Brian Shafer having been missing. Right. >> That we had a whole room of people that
collectively we agreed we don't know, right? It's everybody has a theory or a thought or suspicions in this case, but
we agreed collectively as a room that there isn't enough to for anybody to find a hill that they're willing to die
on and that it is a mystery for many, many reasons. We simply don't know. But, the vibe I got, Captain, was that maybe
a large portion of that room, more people in that room than I had anticipated, seemed to lean toward the
idea that he's walked away. Yeah, and just to stay on that tip for a little bit,
to me, all it does is bring up more questions. Mhm. How does Meredith know this individual?
Was this individual out at the bar that night? If so, I haven't been able to find this individual on surveillance,
but it's it's it's grainy surveillance at best. And there there's also multiple exits. So, did they possibly leave at a
out of a different exit? Also, there's a there's a age gap, only only by a handful of years, but how did this
individual know Brian? And did he know anybody else that was supposed to be there that night?
And then the first tip that came in about the weird comment at a party, does this individual know Meredith?
And so, there's all these questions. I have the name. I did a extensive background check on
him. I've talked to several private investigators about him. He's not, I would say, readily available
online. There's not a lot of information about him. And I had his number, so I called his
number and left three messages. And that that Look, that's my rule. After three times of him not responding
at all, like, at some point it becomes harassment, right? And I'm not in the business of that.
And I I'm just curious cuz this information could be a big deal, or it could just be a lead that they followed
that led to nowhere. >> Yeah, I absolutely agree with that. And um this is So, there was another tip
that came in. And again, with some of these tips, we have to point out that while
they're worth reporting here because they are new to the public, but they're not necessarily new to law enforcement
in a lot of these cases. And there was the tip about the the uneven basement, the odd-looking basement, a tip that led
to police wanting to dig Yeah, that tip is connected to this tip. So, when they they eventually brought this individual
in for questioning, then they did a search of the property that he lived at at the time of the
disappearance. 2006, yep. And there's some speculation that maybe there's some cell phone pings that line up with that
location, so they end up doing a search of the house. When they go to the basement, they see some discoloration
and maybe some unevenness in the basement, so they end up getting a dig. To me, that seems like a a very hard
thing to get, but the the thing I question, too, is the homeowner might not have fought that
too much. No, for Actually, from my understanding of this, when they were approached,
that they agreed that if if you think it's necessary, law enforcement, we are willing to allow you to to search and
and dig and uh just hey, make it make it like you found it when you leave. Uh as
you know, and And but the other the other problem >> what? Like a fuel can. It It turns out
that it was We can say it was completely nothing, which it absolutely was, but we
weren't the ones digging in the basement. It was Columbus PD. So, they must Whatever that information was that
came into them and then later makes its way to Kelly and the Brian Shaffer Dead or Alive Facebook page, it was worthy
enough in law enforcement's mind to pursue and to talk to the current homeowners and then to actively dig.
>> Yeah, and this brings up a lot of questions in my mind of of did they do any other searches on the property
because digging up a basement and burying somebody and then laying down concrete would not be
the easiest of things. This individual had some knowledge as far as landscaping goes, so did they do any search in the
backyard? Did they bring in any special equipment or cadaver dogs or anything of that nature cuz that that would be
interesting to me. Well, it'd be easier to dig in the backyard than it would be in the basement. Now, I'm sure I have
the feeling that you are aware of the address of that home. We don't need to say that here. I don't know the the
address, but I do know this. That part of town, that part of Columbus, near the campus area, a lot of those homes are
Some of them are very old and were built many, many decades ago. And I do know with several cases that
we've covered that when you find a case where someone might be buried in the basement or suspicion
of somebody being buried in the basement, I actually think of a case that that there was somebody located.
Right. >> Back then, with these older homes, you did have portions of the basement that
were not poured concrete, that might be crawl space-like spaces or that they might be even ground.
>> Well, and that's again information I don't know. Is this a full basement or is this a half basement with a crawl
space area? It's weird to me, and again, I don't I don't want to sound like I'm going down this crazy
rabbit hole conspiracy theory, but it feels very much by design that somebody quickly reached out after those six-part
series to give this information to Kelly. And this leads to other questions. Did they Did they reach out
to Kelly to try to get this information out to the public? And were they hopeful
that she actually shared this individual's name? Well, that's interesting because what we do know is
Columbus PD already had a portion of or all of this information. Yes, they did. And so, that goes to your question there
of what is the motive of the person delivering this information? Is it the same person that delivered this
information to police um and never received any type of follow-up? Or did they think more could
be done with this? Did they just wanted to get it out there in the public? The other thing though, back to, you know,
you had said that individual's never seen on surveillance footage and it's grainy footage. Brian Shaffer also not
seen on that same footage. And one thing that I can say is it looks like every officer with intimate knowledge of this
case and this investigation and the search of the Ugly Tuna and the surrounding area,
they've all said the same thing. They believe he made it out of there that night.
And yet there's no there's no one ever telling us that they have conclusively spotted him on on not just the Ugly Tuna
or the Gateway Campus building surveillance footage, but on any of the surrounding businesses' surveillance
footage as well. There's no business of Brian Shaffer on the business surveillance, right? But but it's a
weird comment by Detective John Hurst to say his analogy or his explanation of it
was, "We know that a 101 people came into the bar and we can account for 100 of them." And I just don't think that's
a true statement because if you watch the the surveillance footage, people go down the escalator, people go down the
steps, but there's also another exit to the right, and whoever went down that way, nobody would have been seen on
surveillance. We also know that there's multiple employees that weren't seen on surveillance. And that would be easy to
detect because of their uniforms and their their Ugly Tuna Saloon uh t-shirts, collector's item. And then
also we have band members. You would think that we'd see individuals carrying equipment. We don't see that on
surveillance as well. This is the part And I was saying this at the event. I feel like there's a little bit of egg on
my face because we've talked about this case several times. When I've talked to John Hurst and even
in interviews now, he kind of implies that there's reason to believe or some kind of evidence that points to the to
that Brian would have turned right and went out that exit, and that's what I call the elevator exit. But there's
another emergency exit right by the bar. Where does that exit go out of? It goes
out a emergency door Mhm. or maybe a service a service door right out the front, right to the courtyard of the
Gateway. So, if you're looking at the Ugly Tuna, you're outside the Ugly Tuna, and you're looking, there's four glass
doors. And I don't think they're marked like entrance or exit, but people just normally enter the two right glass doors
and leave out of the two left glass doors. If you're looking at the front of the
building, you see those four glass doors, but to the right, you'll see these service doors or these emergency
exit doors. And so, it's a very good possibility if he went to the restroom or he went to talk to the band
and the bouncers and security are And we've all been there. It's closing time. They got to herd these individuals like
cats out the front exit. Is it possible that he was talking to the band or talking to somebody, he gets past that
herd of people and decides instead of trying to go through a herd of of this small crowd, that he's just
going to take the emergency exit and walk out the front door. So, that is a possibility, but
time and time again, the police make assumptions or again, I don't know what evidence
they have that points them into that direction that he left out of that elevator exit. [music]
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You not nasty people. Talk hands in the air. Yeah, I shouldn't assume that everybody wants to be called
nasty. I mean, I prefer it. This is where it gets difficult for me to throw up a talk hand with excitement
because I really sit here 20 years later with the belief that I think that alcohol's clouded a lot of the events of
that night that would be Maybe this wouldn't be such a big mystery or maybe we would have some answers if people had
answers to give early on and maybe they didn't because they're out partying that
night. They're The bar is the centerpiece of this mystery. But back to what you were saying before we took our
quick beer break there, I think that Okay, so one thing we have here is it seems like it and I I don't want to say
a unified front because that makes it sound like they had some kind of secret meeting and all agreed that this is what
we're going to agree upon that he made it out that night. But every law enforcement member that I've talked to
or every law enforcement individual that has given an interview that I have reviewed as well as private
investigators that have given interviews that I've seen, all of them say the same
thing that they are very much strongly of the belief that he Brian Shaffer did in fact make it out of the bar, make it
out of the building that night. Yeah. And I Look, I said this when we covered it in
February, the first part of this anyway, that I I question if they if one of them
or all of them or some of them have something that is an indicator that he made it out. Something that is telling
them that yes, in fact he did make it out. Now, circle back to that idea of saying that
that your maybe your clue, maybe your evidence I guess that he did make it out is that you found no evidence that he
that he's still there or that he or that he was killed inside of that building. Absolutely. And I think the other thing,
too, and they haven't came out and said this, but with the scent dogs, I think it's my personal opinion that these
scent dogs did pick up on a scent and they did follow that scent out of the building and uh possibly across the
street. So, again, the lack of evidence of him being there and maybe possible scent dog evidence that lead them out of
the building. And again, if he was in drywall or he was in a drop down ceiling at some
point, we're going to smell you. Smell you later, right? And I did say this for the first time
cuz me and you were interviewed for a a possible documentary. I don't know how much we can say about that, but we were
interviewed for this documentary and it was one of those times where you say something, it just slips out. Mhm. But I
said he has every right to go missing. He has every right to go start a new life if he
chooses to. But at this point with all the resources and the time spent, he would kind of be a [ __ ] Oh, you
think? for not you know, and I made the joke, well well, maybe he'll show up at the event.
But again, he has every right to, but especially with people passing away in his family,
he could simply make contact with law enforcement, they could close the case, stop the resources that they're using
and and stop wasting people's time. And also, we have individuals in this case that people are very suspicious of
like Clint and I've heard second hand that he has almost every time the Shaffer story pops
up in the news, he he's getting threats by people through the internet and he's not the
easiest person to find. If he's out there, kind of kind of a kind of a douche canoe if you don't make contact
and say stop looking for me. >> is, yeah. Right, right. And I I actually said that opening up the event was that
you know, I I had one of the Pearl Jam Alive t-shirts. >> Yeah, very cool. And And for two
reasons. One, the the stick man drawing on the on the front of that t-shirt is from one of their concert tours from one
of their tours. And that's the same image, the same drawing that is the tattoo on Brian's arm. So, it was cool
to show the audience that and this wasn't anything new that the audience didn't already know with the exception
of those four people that I already mentioned, but it also says alive, Pearl Jam Alive. I had mentioned, you know, I
There is a big part of me that hopes that he that he is alive. I don't The part that the small part of me that
crushes that hope is the logical side of me that says it seems to be nearly impossible that he is still
alive. But I said if he is still alive, then then maybe he's just played some really Turns
out that he just played some really sick He's playing a bad, terrible, horrible joke on all of us. If he was trying to
leave to get away from his father or from life in general, who's to say? His father passed away 2 years after Brian
left. And he's still got a brother here, Derek, who I'm sure would love to have some answers. Love to see his brother
again. Well, that's interesting though because so many people in this case have stopped talking and and I get it. I
mean, some of these individuals, they've told their story to law enforcement, they've told their story to news
outlets, they've told their story to podcasters, they've told their story to dateliner or whoever's making
content about Brian Shaffer's case. At some point, you just feel like you're regurgitating the same information. I
know a lot of individuals I think it was Meredith, remember the night that they go to the
Ugly Tuna, it's Brian Shaffer, Clint and Meredith. Mhm. >> Meredith has written statements or given
statements that she gave to the police. She has copied those statements and gave
to private investigators. So, it's no shade if they're not interested in continuing the conversation or
regurgitating the same conversation, but so many individuals just have stopped talking
with people and and it's nice to have those outlets to reach out to cuz you can go, well, I got this little tiny
piece of information. For example, John Hurst states that there's no history of drug abuse
or drug addiction. And that's that's true, but I'd argue that his mother passed away a few weeks before he
goes missing. Is there any There doesn't have to be a history of it. It could just be a lost weekend. And so, does
drug use have any anything to do with this? We do have to watch our words though because you said that that
he has said that there was no history of drug abuse and no history of drug addiction. Right. I
when if he is choosing his words as carefully as I hope you are, drug use is very much different than abuse and
addiction. You see what I mean? Like you you could someone could recreationally use a substance or even alcohol or
something of that nature without it without it morphing into abuse or addiction. Yeah,
and and several individuals that knew Brian would and were friends with Brian, when we've
asked them, they go, well, Brian was very careful of what he was putting into his body.
And then my response has always been, but not with alcohol. Every time they go, well, that's a good point. Mhm.
Multiple bars that he went to that night, we have got information from those bars and employees of those bars
that there was employees of the bar selling drugs. And then in the Joey LaPute case,
which was not in the same area, but within miles of the same area, we have sources that say that these
bartenders were drugging customers. Like all these customers kind of being a jerk, we're going to drug them. So it
>> About about 9 10 years difference though too on those cases. I'd have to look
Joey's case up, but >> Yeah, absolutely, but it's is it a part of the equation? The other thing about
Brian that's I think it's really fascinating because there's moments. I made a weird bucket list like years
and years ago in my 20s, I believe, but it was just simple stuff like go to a movie by yourself, go out to eat by
yourself. And especially when I was traveling a bunch, you might be in a city and you have your other bandmates there,
but if they don't want to do something, I was the type of person that would just
well, I'm hungry, but nobody else wants to go eat, so I'm just going to stay in the hotel. Brian was an individual that
hey, I need to get away. I'm going to go away, whether it's for the the weekend,
I'm going to go visit some people at a different college. I'm going to reconnect with some friends or I'm just
going to go on a little vacation by myself. So what I've been pondering lately, is it possible
because he didn't take his guitars, he didn't take certain items that were precious to him.
So what I wonder is it is there a possibility that he's like, I'm going to go away on this trip on
Monday with my girlfriend, but that's not a solo trip. So is it possible that on Saturday he woke up and he's like,
I'm going to go visit somebody or I'm I'm going to go somewhere clear my head, get away before I go on this trip with
my girlfriend. And is it possible that during that time >> You could even give yourself right like
a full 24 36 hours before you have to be back and start prepping for your spring
break trip with your girlfriend. >> It's not that hard for a guy to pack for a vacation, right?
You're especially you're going to Miami, you're going to be hitting the beaches,
you're going to be going to the hotel pool probably, so most of the time you're going to spend half naked drunk
and hopefully wearing your bathing suit. But so is it possible that he left and went somewhere and then
heard about him missing and decided to stay gone or did he go somewhere to clear his head
and then that's where something bad happened because there's several people that have told us, hey, Brian was
somebody that would kind of disappear when we go out. Uh Brian was somebody that would also
get in confrontations. I mean, you know this more than others and and this is not a this is not a
criticism on you at all cuz I've been at the bars with you when there's a confrontation that happened that was no
fault to you, but we all know individuals that for whatever reason confrontation
just follows them. So Brian, I think sometimes was aggressive or just having a good time and sometimes that rubs
people the wrong way. So again, if he goes out and he's just going to clear his head, I'm going to be gone for 48
hours and he goes to a bar and gets in a confrontation and and then something happens to him
and it happens somewhere else, so now we we don't know where that crime scene is.
>> Yeah, I You have told me plenty of times and I I look for the humor in it, but I also
never push back because I've I've had experiences that tell me you are right. You've told me
several times that I have a very punchable face. Yes. >> And I've actually told a few people like
when invited somewhere, I'll go, nah, I don't want to go there. That sounds too risky, which
I'm the person that I love going to the dive bar out in the middle of nowhere. I
love going to weird strange places with other people or completely by myself. That that to I like adventure. I seek
out adventure and and for me adventure is not horseback riding through the wild west. It it's it's going to strange
places and hoping to meet interesting and unique people. But there's places that I just know I can't go or I don't
want to go because I've lived long enough and had experiences that tell me I'm walking
around with a target on my back. Yeah. I've I've had people that for whatever reason and it's only it's only men that
will will see me from across the room and decide to engage me in and wrap me up in a confrontation for
for no reason at all other than they spotted me across the room or spotted me and decided, I don't like that guy.
Yeah. Um And then and then there was several times when we were kids that that would happen or it would be they
thought I had a punchable face and you'd be in the the protective older brother said, nah,
you want to punch somebody, you're going to punch me. Uh but I look and I don't know if you still got it.
You look like you still got it. But I used to tell people all the time, he might be wiry, but he punches like a
goddamn mule. So good luck. >> [laughter] >> Well, to just expand on that cuz it
sounds like a dumb statement and some of the times I understand, look, I'm an outgoing person and sometimes I wake up
feeling very happy-go-lucky and so I can be boisterous or whatever and maybe that
that can rub people the wrong way. However, I've had at least two occasions in my life where I was just accosted for
no reason at all just because I happened to be One time I was in line at the bank
and another person in a male in the line just comes up and starts yelling at me and I I didn't even I didn't look at the
guy. I didn't even know that he was there until he was in my face and yelling at me. One time I was at a
stoplight and a car pulls up next to me and the passenger gets out of the vehicle and starts pounding on my window
to my to my car telling me to get out of the car. I've never seen this person before in my
life. So look, I don't know that that that's what happened to to Brian here, but so well,
let's circle back to some of the things that that were discussed at the event because one thing I found fascinating
here, Captain, was there were two people that I was able to confirm Yes. were present at the either at the
Campus Gateway building that night or in the actual Ugly Tuna Saloona that night that were that were at our
event. Yes, I I do want to give a quick shout out because like I said, so many people in this case
just stopped talking and that's their right, so I don't want to throw shade on them. But the two girls
that were talking with Brian and I'd argue there's three girls talking to Brian.
I would argue that you're right. But there's Amber and Brighton and they've been brought up often. They were
not questioned enough, I believe by law enforcement. I think you To me, I'd be going, why did he go to the bar? Who was
he with? Who did he talk to? Brian was supposed to walk these girls out to their car and didn't. So why weren't
they questioned more? But one of the individuals that I've been able to go back to time and time again and she's so
generous of her time is Brighton. It was so great to meet her. It was so I'm so glad that she came to the event. It's
something that has really bothered her because one, she was drinking pretty heavily that night. She's having a good
time. There's nothing wrong with that. And I think there's parts of that night that she can't fully remember the
details. So a lot of the stuff that she's relaying is just what has been relayed to her. And I think that bothers
her cuz I think she feels maybe there's some information inside her that she she
doesn't she's not able to unlock and that would be something tough to struggle with and she's struggled with
anxiety and other things and and for her to put all that aside and to come to the
event and help support this great cause, I mean, just amazing and and every time
I've reached out to her and I've texted her or called her, she's so giving of her time and and it
has at least furthered my my quote unquote investigation into this case. >> Yes, and when you say a couple things
with her when you say that she hasn't been talked to enough, that's not implying that she did something wrong or
that she knows of wrongdoing, Right. but it's more of well, what if if they were
able to interview her and others, if they could and did, what could they uncover? What could they cross-reference
with something one person says with another and then it may lead them in some direction. Now,
Brian's still missing. A case that we have coming up that we we're in the process of putting together
for the show that'll be out in days if not weeks. It is a story where we absolutely know
that a homicide occurred. There were multiple witnesses and we're told not to not to the news outlets, to us, to True
Crime Garage by the people that were there, I was interviewed three times. And it's a case now that one could argue
might be cold, a cold case homicide and we're we're told by several people that were there, I was interviewed three
times. I I interviewed at the scene, then I was interviewed at the police department later that evening, and then
all they circled back around one more time about two or three weeks later and it's been x amount of years. I don't
want to give too much away. X amount of years and I've never been talked to again. And I don't know why that is and
we're talking about a place in a an area that has the fortunate scenario of not having a long list of cold cases in
their jurisdiction. When you only got a handful, why not go back and review review review review talk to these
people time and time and time again. And what what I was going to say regarding the two individuals that were
there that night in the vicinity of where Brian Shaffer was, what I found to be really interesting about our event.
While we were talking about a lot of things that did happen that night, and while we were fielding a lot of
questions from the audience of what could be, do you know this, what was ever came of that,
while we were doing our best with our panel to field those questions and some of it led down the road of speculation,
but at no time did any of those two nor anyone else in the room go, well, that thing that that person said on the panel
didn't happen. Right. Or that thing that the person said in the audience, that's
not true. That never occurred during this event which was really truly very interesting to me and I would have loved
to have an event not don't hear what I'm not saying cuz we're never we're never going to do this, but
it I mean for every person in that room to voice all of their questions, their suspicions, their theories
would have taken an entire day if not longer. I would have loved to have heard every person in that room. We did get to
hear from a lot of them and it was questions and I thought the panel did a really good job of answering those to
the best of our abilities. Now, keep Yeah. in mind we didn't we did not have anybody while there were persons invited
there that were were from law enforcement that did work the case that are currently working the case. They
were invited by us. They chose not to be there for any number of reasons, but so
we didn't have any law enforcement on the panel, but we had some people that I would regard as experts or having a lot
of knowledge in in these and the and these areas, especially with Brian Shaffer's case. Now,
James Renner and myself might have been a little less up to speed on the Shaffer
case when compared to the the wonderful ladies from Dead Dead or Alive and and you as well, but um Yeah,
but what's interesting is is with the rocker picture Yeah. that has kind of gone viral,
the more I look at that and the more I look at the hands of the individual, the more I feel like the hands look very
similar to Brian's and so that weirdly gives me hope. The individual that has that picture cropped it out so you can't
see the location. I don't I don't know what to to make of that. There's there's parts of me that
understand why why that individual do that. There's then parts of me of why are you holding information back, but
back to the that suspect that they had with the basement dig. In one of the interviews and I've wrestled with this,
but in one of the interviews I did I I did say the individual's name and then I said to the person, I'm going
to give you the person's name. It's now in your hands whether you release that or not.
Again, I I think there's part of me that believes that Columbus PD released that
information to us or confirmed that information so so we would release it and it's something I struggle with
because I'm not a detective, but the other thing that I was harping on at the event is there's a
a sexuality and possibly identity issue with Brian and I think that could play a
major factor. If he was struggling with his sexual identity, is is there is that a motive for
starting a new life? And and then also we have confirmed by law enforcement that there was well, it's confirmed that
he was having gay relations with friends of his and some of these individuals now or even
back then lived as a as a gay man and continued to live their life as a gay man. And and I apologize if I'm
not speaking correctly on all these terms, but there's also individuals that with confirmation we know that he had
sexual relationships with that are now married and possibly married with children and so could this
been a motive? Were they afraid that this information was going to come out? And so would that be a possible motive
for making him disappear? I think people shy away from talking about it cuz I think they are
you you have one, I'm want to be sensitive people. I don't want to piss anybody off, but I think that's one
of the reasons why some of the people aren't talking about this. I mean, like you said, we put out these
six-part episodes and then all of a sudden John Hurst and all these other individuals are doing interviews with
news outlets and never once do they bring up his sexuality. Never once do they bring up a
possibly struggling with his identity and it's weird to me. It's almost like these interviews were just the same song
and dance from 20 years ago. And I I don't know why people are not just more open and honest
about the information in this case. We also can't say 100% what their findings were. I'm not saying that to dispute
what you had just said. I'm just simply saying that in any of these cases, they may not have that same information
or No, but I I got the gay relations with friends information from law enforcement.
And this was confirmed by Brian's high school girlfriend. I guess they were on again, off again and at some point he
confided in her that he was unfaithful. Mhm. But he wasn't unfaithful with a woman. He was unfaithful with a man.
Then there's a lot of speculation from people. I think that's also why some of these individuals are not talking
anymore because they don't want even if Brian didn't have a relationship with them, there's a speculation that he had
relationships with with friends of his and so I think they're they're afraid to get wrapped up into that rumor if that
makes any sense. Well, absolutely. And look, Hurst may feel that he still has strong loyalties to the investigation
that he was involved in with Columbus Police Department. Don Corbett may feel that he has strong loyalties to his
investigation that he conducted and a big part of that with Brian's father, Randy. It's and we do know that some of
those interviews were conducted by persons that also interviewed us. Right. >> Right? And that was local news here and
I from my recall, I don't remember ever being asked those questions. They didn't
go down those roads with us that being the people that interviewed us. So, they may just not have brought that
up with either them and the two of them may have loyalties to those investigations. I that's one thing that
gets a little difficult with what we do here as well is there's times that we are privy to information that's not been
released to the public or times that we're even told do not say this and if you do, we'll say that you made it up.
But it it's it does get a little dicey and one thing I always tell family members of victims, friends of victims
that I'm interviewing and especially law enforcement, the last thing I want to do
with putting out a show is muck up somebody's investigation because we hope we sit here and we don't do the show to
throw out some juicy story, some salacious Yeah. juicy story that that maybe better served up on TV or on the
internet somewhere. We do this to tell the story, to tell these true crime cases, especially the unsolved ones in
hopes that maybe they will be solved someday. And so when we are giving out information, we have to decide if I say
this now into the microphone and I let it be released to the world later, I still have to sleep at night. I still
have to feel good about what we did and what we put out to the world. Yeah. >> And we can't feel that we can't feel
that way if it's complete nonsense, if it's stuff that's just not true and or if it's stuff that could
potentially mess up an investigation or ruin someone's reputation that that had no wrongdoing in a situation. Yeah, it's
very difficult. It's something that when you see law enforcement do an interview
and they kind of um they kind of talk trash about podcasters or people with YouTube
channels or whatever and yeah, I could see from the outside looking in that you go well, they're just podcasters but
the amount of law enforcement that we've talked to the amount of private detectives that work directly
with families that we've talked to the family members the friends the witnesses like I said I
have spoke with Bryden so much and and to see how much that has affected her life and and I would say in a
negative way um this stuff weighs on you and all I can do going forward is try to be
as truthful and authentic with myself and I and I do think his sexuality plays a component in this and
and so Well, we're talking about while we're on the subject. I'll throw in my two cents
on it. Because you brought this up and then I I brought up the idea well, maybe those
folks just weren't asked this in their interviews that they've recently done or maybe the interviewer never went down
this road with Hurst or Corbett or any number of people that they spoke to. When
we recently did some interviews for what could end up being a documentary that's
put what we can say is there is a production team out there there is um a content team out there that is
assembling and putting together and interviewing people in regard to missing persons cases potentially really honing
in on the Brian Shaffer case but one of the questions I was asked by that interviewer
was on the same lines right what what do we know about Brian's sexuality what and how could that affect the case does
it have any bearing on the case and I was a little more hesitant to talk about what do we know about his sexuality cuz
this is not stuff that I claim to know I know what has been said Right. Um I I know what's been I hate to use the word
reported cuz it sounds like it's been you know it's in print somewhere by a by a credible outfit but I know what has
been said I don't I don't have any reason to dispute anything that's been said is what I told
the interviewer but what I did say is it has everything to do with the case why because it could be suggestive that
there's a whole big batch of other group of people to talk to that there and and
those people have not been talked to or have not been interviewed or have not been reached out to because
they simply didn't know to do that at the time so it has a lot it carries a lot of weight on this case
Yeah and like you said it's it's stuff that people have said or have have implied
or people say and that they thought Brian was too touchy-feely with certain roommates some people thinking that him
and Clint were too touchy-feely with each other but I didn't sleep with him so I can't confirm if he's
gay or not right so and I didn't see anything with my own eyes I didn't know him so I can I 100% confirm that but I'd
also to further touch upon that of the touchy-feely stuff a lot of people said well
Brian when he'd get drunk he would get a little aggressive with people he would be a little too touchy-feely
with people he was we all know those individuals you go out to a bar you have a couple drinks and
your buddy has his arm around you all night that doesn't mean your buddy's gay he's just having a good time
>> reel you can't reel any fish in without some bait Well but the >> [laughter] >> but the other thing though too is I
think and when he was drinking he would disappear so all these things I think play into this
I know that there's more information coming in I know Kelly is working on trying to get more details of the
information she already has I can't give details to this but she has told me that she
is signing up to work with a company to do a a documentary that's kind of been her goal
I don't think it was her goal initially but with the Amy Bradley case getting a documentary and the amount of
information that has came to the family and to the private investigator that's working that case I think when she saw
that I think she was like you know what if if Brian could get a documentary because we can see the analytics I mean
these these episodes we did on Brian Shaffer were downloaded well right but but there's a lot of people within Ohio
that are listening to these episodes and if you get a documentary on Netflix or peacock or
something else then it it could be something that goes worldwide and and maybe he is playing in
some rock cover band down in Key Largo right Mhm. and and maybe somebody goes hey
I [laughter] know that guy I go watch him sing Bon Jovi Well and that's what's crazy is the that that
okay so for the people that listen to the garage every week they're going absolutely everybody's heard of this
case that's just the way they feel because it's been part of them for so long >> Yeah. and
that may be true with a lot of cases out there I can tell this may sound like a completely strange statement trust me I
thought I somebody was playing a joke on me when it I was in the moment because it seemed so far-fetched to me I was at
a CrimeCon within the past two years where a very smart man who had served in the military served this great country
thank you for your service engages me in a conversation and says hey have you ever heard of the murder of that kid of
JonBenét Ramsey I said yeah everybody knows that case and he goes well I just learned about it last night Right. This
guy was was smart up to speed person person that followed the news he for whatever reason that case had never
reached him never reached his >> [laughter] >> his conversations that he's had with
anybody and he was so blown away by what he was learning from talking to other people at CrimeCon and some of the
things that were presented at the time that he was not a regular listener of our show
he's not really dialed into true crime he was there as a tag-along with somebody he was I believe there possibly
with his wife and he was having a great time being there and he he and I got to talking about other stuff and he brought
that up and I thought I thought oh my God I've met somebody born and raised in this country still
living here that's just heard about this case for the first time this weekend so
it it it still means something it's still true and look we've said this before here too
we live in Columbus I've gone to bars and overheard people at another table or nearby talking about
Brian's case and I have to go over and walk it walk over and talk to him because I'm just I
want to I want to hear what that conversation I mean do you mind if I listen in or do you mind if I
join in on your conversation >> you in the face. >> Because I've had people go oh yeah you
remember that guy that was missing from the bar yeah they found that guy I remember when they found him
and you go no didn't happen and and that's that's just how it is and it's it is important to keep these stories going
and and it documentary would be great because what would be cool is you know when I wrote the Delphi book I
wrote it for the sole purpose of I didn't think the case would ever be solved I had kind of reserved myself to
feeling that way and and and the way that I was going to deal with my disappointment
in that case was I thought you know what I've seen so much incorrect stuff about this case
said online and on social media in the past x amount of years I said 40 years from now when this is still
unsolved there may be some one like me who gets intrigued by these old cold cases and starts diving in
to Libby and Abby's case and if they only go with what they can find on the internet they're going to
have the whole the whole story's going to be wrong I just felt that somebody needed to chronicle what happened and
and and state when they're chronicling what happened or the investigation or their
speculation of the investigation here's the truth here's the speculation and here's the investigation and just it
so that somebody someday if they find the case and choose to pick it up and choose to get obsessed with it then they
at least can sort through the muck and the mire and figure out what was real and what was speculation
at the time and so a documentary could be a very powerful thing >> [music] >> not just in Brian's case but in
many many cases >> [music] >> Want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage and a special shout
out to everybody that joined us at the live event. It was very humbling. It was such an honor to be a part of it. It
might sound a little sappy, but it's to me one of the best things we've ever done to be able to say
that we raised $20,000 for the Porchlight Project. And if you want to donate to the Porchlight Project, then
you can check out their website Here? It is porchlightonline.org. And so, part of that event, we did talk
about some of the cases that Porchlight has taken on over the years, some of the
successes that Porchlight has had over the years. You can go to porchlightonline.org
and there are press releases on there spanning since the genesis of that nonprofit that talk about what cases we
took on and why and then the result if we got to a result with it. Some of them are still open and pending, but if you
want to know about the cases that we worked and some of the cases that we've talked about at the event, go to the
website and as the captain said, there is a portion of the website that you can access to make a donation if you choose
to and just know that with this type of event, we had to do it live. Why? Because we wanted to sell tickets. We
needed to sell tickets and why? Because we wanted to raise this money to try to make some positive impact on folks that
are experiencing what Brian's family, friends and loved ones are experiencing with the loss without
having answers of someone being gone. And so, we're going to use that money and use it to look at some Ohio missing
persons cases. We have a few that we're we already have pushed to the front of the line that we're going to be reaching
out to their family members and the law enforcement agencies, the investigating agencies there next week and we should
have an update very quickly on what will be the first case first missing persons
case that Porchlight will be working with law enforcement in honor of Brian Shaffer. And for everything True Crime,
check out truecrimegarage.com and until next week. Be good. Be kind. Don't litter.
>> [music] [music] [music] >> Geico presents a 30-second podcast between your podcast. Today's story is
shared by one of our listeners. It's called Betrayed by Bill. It was in that moment I caught who was
staring back at me in betrayal or more like what? My insurance bill. With trembling hands, I grabbed my phone
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Brian Shaffer ////// 925

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

A week after hosting our “Brian Shaffer” event at BrewDog we sit down and discuss the event, some of the Brian Shaffer theories and questions discussed at the event, our panelists, and of course all of the amazing folks who attended the event to help an Ohio charity - The Porchlight Project.

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

We recommend that you check out our episodes - Brian Shaffer /// 20 Years Missing parts 1 through 6 from February 2026.

For more information about The Porchlight Project go to www.porchlightonline.org (http://www.porchlightonline.org/)

Beer of the Week - BrewDog IPA

Garage Grade - 3 and 3 quarter bottle caps

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Brief Summary

True Crime Garage discusses Brian Shaffer's disappearance, recent tips, and a significant fundraising event for cold cases.

Key points

Adobe Firefly: The All-in-One Creative Studio. Adobe Firefly offers AI-powered tools for creators to generate and edit content efficiently.
Betrayed by Bill: A Listener's Story. A listener shares a moment of betrayal over an insurance bill and their switch to GEICO.
20 Years of Brian Shaffer's Disappearance. The podcast reflects on the anniversary of Brian Shaffer's disappearance and ongoing investigations.
The Mystery of Brian Shaffer. Exploring the circumstances surrounding Brian Shaffer's disappearance from a bar.
Witnesses and Missing Information. The panel discusses the lack of questioning of key witnesses in Brian's case.
Unresolved Tensions. The conversation highlights unresolved tensions and unanswered questions surrounding Brian's case.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

We will not go into specific case information.

Columbus Police Department on Brian's case.

5:07WatchApr 29, 2026

Tension

60/ 100Some tension

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