The Inexplicable Disappearance Of Brian Shaffer
The component pieces of the story of Brian Shaffer all point to a caper out of Roger Rabbit. It took place in the early hours of April 1st. The last place he was seen was a joint called the Ugly Tuna Saloona. The events, as pointed out by MEL Magazine, came to pass when a man walked into a bar.
In truth, however, is as grim as it is perplexing. Brian Shaffer was a medical student studying at Ohio State University, a school he'd attended since 1999. On the last day of March, 2006, the 27-year-old doctor-to-be went out on a bar crawl with his friends. It was likely a bittersweet occasion — they were celebrating the beginning of Spring Break, and Brian was about to embark on a trip to Miami with his girlfriend Alexis, a journey which she suspected would culminate in his proposing to her. Simultaneously, Shaffer was dealing with the loss of his mother three weeks prior. She had passed away after a violent and brief fight with cancer.
The evening was marked by a series of shots, one at every bar that the group visited. It started at the Ugly Tuna, then eventually brought them back there. By closing time, Brian was nowhere to be found.
Have you seen this man?
Brian's friends called him. There was no answer. They assumed that he'd gone home without telling them. When he didn't show up for his planned flight to Florida, his girlfriend reported him missing.
On the upside, Shaffer went missing in Columbus, Ohio. Security cameras were everywhere. It would've been nearly impossible for him to vanish without leaving some sign of where he went, which makes it that much more perplexing that nobody has a clue what happened. Security footage, according to the Charley Project, shows Shaffer talking to a pair of women, walking back into the bar, and then, just, nothing.
The theories as to Shaffer's fate are legion. It's been reported that authorities do not believe that he would have left of his own volition. Still, no sign of a body has ever been discovered. It's been pointed out that Brian was a man under significant stress, who used to talk about giving it all up and starting a Buffett-esque band somewhere tropical. Maybe he picked up and left.
Weird that he managed to avoid every single security camera while doing it, though.