MovieChat Forums > Disappeared (2009) Discussion > The disappearance that still haunts me.....

The disappearance that still haunts me....

posted 13 years ago by Jane2005
39 replies | jump to latest

I'm not sure why, but the disappearance of Ohio State University med student, Brian Shaffer, in 2006 still haunts me.....

Brian Shaffer was a twenty-seven-year-old medical student at the Ohio State University when he disappeared during Spring Break. On April 1, 2006, Brian and his friends went out drinking near campus. They wound up in a bar called the Ugly Tuna Saloona. There were cameras at the entrance and exit of the bar, but oddly, Brian was only seen entering; he was never seen leaving. Police estimate that he disappeared between 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. All of his belongings were still in his apartment with his car parked nearby. The credit cards that he had on his person and his cell phone have not been seen or used since that night. There is no evidence that he would have just run off and his loved ones didn’t seem to think it likely that he would have committed suicide. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Brian Shaffer, please contact the Columbus Police Department at 1-877-645-8477.

Unfortunately, I've just read his father died in a September 2008 wind storm (talk about a family with bad luck). Brian's mother had just passed away of cancer when he disappeared. I believe he even had a fiance when he disappeared. How sad for her not knowing whether to move on or keep looking for him.

I hope someday they find him.

Is there a disappearance that has stayed with you, and if so, why?

-Jane

[–] TheFunspongeLIVES 13 years ago

A lot of these have kinda stayed with me, but the strangest by far that I've been following is Maura Murray's case. What a bizarre situation, even though the likely conclusions make a lot of sense.

Additionally, Brittanee Drexel's disappearance really hit for a reason. Maybe because of what likely happened to her?

I'm not crazy. My mother had me tested

[–] Twilight33 13 years ago

Yes, Brittanee Drexel's haunts me too, because (even though people always insinuate she somehow deserved her fate), she really wasn't doing anything that unsafe. She was just walking back to her hotel on a very busy, crowded avenue with lots of other people walking around. She was probably just naive, and what happened to her could have happened to TONS of other teens as well.

The Jamison Family case haunts me too, because it's so baffling as to what happened to them, plus they seemed to be having some troubles before their disappearance, making the whole thing even darker.

[–] zoomp81 13 years ago

"Yes, Brittanee Drexel's haunts me too, because (even though people always insinuate she somehow deserved her fate), she really wasn't doing anything that unsafe."

Why would someone insinuate that she deserved her fate? No one deserves bad things to happen to them because they happened to make mistakes. She was a teenager! They don't always make the best decisions because they are still so young.

[–] Pikabo 13 years ago

The Patti Adkins case still bothers me a great deal.
The lady that hid in the bed of her married lover/co-workers truck for a trip to Canada.

I believe he killed her without a doubt, I also believe he had 2 motives;
1. He conned her out of a lot of money $90,000. that he couldn't pay back nor did he ever intend to.
2. Although he denied it, he did have an affair with her & didn't want his wife to find out.
The fact they couldn't figure out what he did with the money doesn't surprise me. The guy wasn't dumb enough to deposit it in his account- that's the only way they could link it to him. He was sick & twisted but not stupid. He obviously picked out a vulerable, gullible woman, that had saved her money.

Many people think he killed her & dumped the body within the 2 1/2 hour window from leaving work to home, however, I don't think that's what happened.

My theory; He killed her and had her body in the back of his pick-up under the tonto cover until he could dispose of her. She was back there alive & his passenger never knew so hiding her back there dead- not a big stretch.
He went on a fishing trip with a buddy during that holiday from the plant and & I believe he used the concrete to make weights & dumped her either in the lake/river they fished in or in one along the way there.

He poured the leftover concrete into his back yard. It wouldn't be that tough to dump her when his buddy was using the restroom, taking a snooze, whatever.
I think the investigators should question the fishing buddy; was the guy ever left alone with the opportunity to dump a body & where exactly did they go fishing, what stops did they make on the trip etc..
I'm nearly positive she's in water- why else would he need the concrete?

I'm convinced he did it- I hope they nail him eventually.

People in life that are the happiest don't have the most, they make the most of what they have...

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] candyrosepetals 12 years ago

Thank God for "Dexter"!!!! Let's hope there are some real-life vigilante serial killers just like him, who are out there "taking out the trash"!!! Love that guy.

[–] Ginger42256 12 years ago

" Brian was only seen entering; he was never seen leaving." so how does a person enter a building but never leave? did they flush him down the urinal or something? is he buried somewhere in the building?
by solesister "get thee to a nunnery!"

[–] Jane2005 12 years ago

Brian was only seen entering; he was never seen leaving - so how does a person enter a building but never leave? did they flush him down the urinal or something? is he buried somewhere in the building?

That's the problem. Clearly he is either buried in the bar area somewhere, or his murderer got him out of the bar somehow (where there aren't surveillance cameras). It just doesn't make sense.

-Jane

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] ThatsWayHarsh-Tai 12 years ago

There are alot of strange disappearances of college age guys in the mid-west. I, too thought this case was extra strange and when I started looking into it, found literally dozens of similar cases - mostly in OH,MI,MN and WI. Very strange stuff.

[–] Jane2005 12 years ago

I get that many college guys drink WAY too much, start to head home, and through their stupidity cause their own demise by falling into rivers, driving off cliffs, or die of exposure while taking that rarely used "short cut through the woods" back to the dorms (but passing out before they get there). I noticed most of the states you mention have really cold winters. Falling through the ice could be a factor. College-aged kids think they're immortal.

Some in college can't take the pressure of family expectations and the loss of their highschool support group, so they wander off to commit suicide, or check out of life for a while.

I get that college is when the rubber meets the road for many students. Brink of adulthood. Lots of pressure. Makes sense that many disappear for whatever reason.

This is also the time when mental illness can develop, or worsen.

I'm just amazed that with all the security cameras in place these days, it's possible for someone to just disappear without a trace.

-Jane

[–] himynameisamanda 12 years ago

I hadn't heard of that story... I'm an OSU student and I know exactly where that bar is. That hits home...

[–] Sethslvr 12 years ago

There is a website that has compiled many of these cases..it is an amazing site and whoever runs it is pretty dedicated..its called Footprints at the Rivers Edge..I do not know how to make it clickable..http://footprintsattheriversedge.blogspot.com/

You get what you put in, and people get what they deserve...KR

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] libby2130 9 years ago

http://footprintsattheriversedge.blogspot.com/

made it clickable...when you post a message with a link, click on the word link that is underlined above and then copy and paste your link in between the two bracketed urls

[url ] your link [/url ] take out the space between the two l's and the two right ]'s

[–] Jane2005 12 years ago

>>I hadn't heard of that story... I'm an OSU student and I know exactly where that bar is. That hits home... <<

The sad thing is, Himynameisamanda, is that Brian's mother had recently passed away when he disappeared, and since then - his father has died due to a tree hitting his home during a storm. I'm not sure there is anyone left in the family.

I know this must haunt his former girlfriend (not sure if she was Brian's fiance yet). I don't think anyone is left to look for Brian. I bet the police have a strong idea of what happened, but simply can't prove it.

-Jane

[–] !!!deleted!!! (30831097) 12 years ago

I know exactly how you feel!! Some of them do stay with you and it's really scary that it can apparently happen to anyone! One that has stayed with me is Bradyn Fuksa. Was it suicide, foul play, or does he just not want to be found? Nobody knows. Another one is the McStay family. How does an entire family just drop off the face of the earth? How does that happen? That has to be so horrible for the loved ones left behind. It's one thing to know that somebody is no longer with us. It's another to have no clue where they are. There is no closure. But I like shows like these because many cases have been solved by viewers.

"If you can't fix it, you gotta stand it."--Ennis Del Mar

[–] Jane2005 12 years ago

TXLady - the McStay family has remained with me as well! That's the family that "may have" disappeared from southern California nad they think they have video of them crossing the border into Mexico?

So odd, right?

-Jane

[–] Jane2005 11 years ago

>>Another one is the McStay family. How does an entire family just drop off the face of the earth? How does that happen? That has to be so horrible for the loved ones left behind.<<

TXLady - did you read the McStay family's remains were just found and identified in shallow graves in the Mojave desert? Just this week. Sad ending.

-Jane

[–] dazeerae 11 years ago

The Jamison family is one that really stuck with me, & their bodies were recently found (pending tests). It's an amazing coincidence that two missing families' - Jamisons and McStays - remains were found within weeks of one another even though the cases are unrelated.

The disappearances of Maura Murray and Zebb Quinn stuck with me because of the unusual circumstances surrounding each of their cases. The Terrance Williams case stuck with me because there is a dirty cop on the loose who everyone knows committed the murder of Terrance & the missing Hispanic man yet the former-deputy Calkins is walking around free. I hope that his victims' bodies will one day be found & linked to him through DNA or trace evidence.

[–] pd3145 9 years ago

Bradyn's body was found last year in Casper, WY of a self inflicted gunshot wound.

[–] beckiebeck 12 years ago

The one I can't stop thinking about every time I see it is the disappearance of April Pitzer, the young mother who disappeared in CA and may, or may not be dead in the mine pits in the dessert. There's just so much that doesn't add up with this case.

I definitely think she's dead. But it's possible that she's not. I guess it's possible that any of them aren't until they are found.