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060286094Open caseMissing personLast verified

Into the Bar, Never Out

An open missing person case involving Brian Randall Shaffer from Columbus, Ohio, Apr 1, 2006. Columbus Division of Police is the investigating agency (case no. 060286094). Tips: Columbus Police Missing Persons Unit, 614-645-2358.

Who
Brian Randall Shaffer, 27
When
Where
Columbus, OhioFranklin County
Investigating
Columbus Division of Police

The case

Our summary of the public record. The small numbers show where each fact comes from.

Brian Shaffer was a 27-year-old second-year medical student at Ohio State University. On the night of March 31, 2006, he went out with friends near campus at the start of spring break, ending up at the Ugly Tuna Saloona, a second-floor bar in the South Campus Gateway complex on North High Street. Security cameras recorded him going up the escalator at about 1:15 a.m. At about 1:55 a.m. on April 1 he was recorded outside the bar's entrance, talking briefly with two women before walking out of frame.

No camera captured him leaving the building, and he has not been seen or heard from since. He was reported missing after he missed a planned spring-break flight. Police said in the weeks after that there was no activity on his credit cards or phone and no sign he had taken a bus or plane. Searches of the area and many tips over the years have not found him.

The Columbus Division of Police and the FBI's ViCAP unit still list him as missing. In March 2021 the Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation released an age-progressed image showing how he might look in his 40s. The case is often covered on its anniversaries, including the 20th in April 2026. He has a Pearl Jam tattoo on his upper right arm and a dot on the iris of his left eye.

Timeline

  1. Shaffer goes out with friends near the Ohio State campus at the start of spring break and arrives at the Ugly Tuna Saloona around 9 p.m.78

  2. About 1:15 a.m.: cameras record him going up the escalator to the bar. About 1:55 a.m.: he is recorded outside the bar entrance, talking briefly with two women, then walks out of frame. No camera records him leaving.168

  3. He is reported missing after failing to show up for a planned spring-break flight.68

  4. NBC's Dateline reports that police have found no credit card, phone or travel activity since he disappeared; a reward was being offered at the time.6

  5. The Ohio AG's Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Columbus police release an age-progressed image of Shaffer.5

  6. 20 years since he was last seen; local outlets mark the anniversary and the case is still open.9

Key facts

Each one checked against a source.

  • He was 6'2", about 160 to 165 lbs, with brown hair and hazel eyes.2
  • Identifying marks: a Pearl Jam tattoo on his upper right arm and a dot on the iris of his left eye. He played guitar.2
  • His last known contact was about 1:55 a.m. on April 1, 2006, at a bar near the OSU campus.12
  • Security footage shows him arriving at the bar but not leaving it.68
  • His case is listed in NamUs as MP1709 and in the Ohio Attorney General's missing persons database.34

Open questions

  1. How did he leave the South Campus Gateway building without being recorded by the cameras?
  2. Where did he go after about 1:55 a.m. on April 1, 2006?
  3. Did anyone see him in the area later that morning?

Photos and video

Official releases, public-domain and openly licensed files, credited. Tap a photo to see it larger.

Brian Shaffer, as pictured on the FBI ViCAP missing-person page
Brian Shaffer, as pictured on the FBI ViCAP missing-person pageFBI ViCAP · Public domain
Shaffer's Pearl Jam tattoo (upper right arm), an identifying mark released by the FBI
Shaffer's Pearl Jam tattoo (upper right arm), an identifying mark released by the FBIFBI ViCAP · Public domain
FBI ViCAP missing-person alert for Brian Shaffer (Alert 2006-06-01, revised September 7, 2018)
FBI ViCAP missing-person alert for Brian Shaffer (Alert 2006-06-01, revised September 7, 2018)FBI ViCAP · Public domain

Outside coverage and files

Linked, not copied. These open on the publisher's site.

Sources

Everything in this file comes from these. News coverage is linked, never copied.

Official records

  1. 1Brian Randall Shaffer - Columbus, Ohio (ViCAP Missing Persons)FBI, Sep 7, 2018
  2. 2ViCAP Alert: Missing Person - Brian Randall Shaffer (Alert 2006-06-01, revised 09/07/2018)FBI, Sep 7, 2018
  3. 3Brian Randal Shaffer - Ohio Missing PersonsOhio Attorney General

Databases

  1. 4Missing Person / NamUs #MP1709NamUs
  2. 8Disappearance of Brian ShafferWikipedia

News coverage

  1. 5Authorities release age progression image in Brian Shaffer caseWCBE 90.5, Mar 29, 2021
  2. 6Into thin airNBC News / Dateline, May 8, 2006
  3. 7April 1 marks 18 years since OSU med student Brian Shaffer last seenWSYX ABC 6, Apr 1, 2024
  4. 9Brian Shaffer: 20 Years Later | Unsolved Ohio (video)NBC4 Columbus (WCMH), Apr 1, 2026

Related files

Same county, same state or the same kind of case.

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