Case snapshot
On April 1, 2006, medical student Brian Shaffer entered the Ugly Tuna Saloona bar in Columbus, Ohio, captured on security camera at 1:15 a.m. He never appeared on camera leaving. Despite extensive searches, interviews, and surveillance review, no one has determined how he vanished from a building with limited exits, all monitored.
The last night anyone saw him
Brian Shaffer was 27, a second-year medical student at Ohio State University with a bright future ahead. The night of March 31, 2006, he went out with his friend William “Clint” Florence to celebrate spring break. They bar-hopped around Columbus’s Arena District before arriving at the Ugly Tuna Saloona, a bar on the second floor of a gateway shopping center near campus.
Security cameras captured Brian entering at 1:15 a.m. on April 1. The footage shows him talking briefly with two women near the entrance before heading inside. That grainy image would become the last confirmed sighting of him alive.
The bar was packed with college students that night. Brian and Clint drank, talked, moved through the crowd. Clint later said they separated at some point. He assumed Brian had gone home or left with someone. When the bar closed at 2 a.m., Clint couldn’t find him. He tried calling. No answer. He went home, figuring they’d connect the next day.
Brian never made it home.
The building with no exit
The Ugly Tuna Saloona sat on the second floor of a converted gateway structure. There were two main exits: the front entrance, covered by security cameras, and a back service entrance accessible through the bar, also monitored. Police reviewed both extensively after Brian’s disappearance was reported.
He appeared on camera entering. He never appeared leaving.
Investigators examined every frame from that night. They saw other patrons come and go. They saw the bar empty out after closing. Brian Shaffer was not among them. Police theorized he might have slipped out during a camera malfunction, but no gap was found. They considered whether he left through a construction area connected to the building. Crews had been working on an adjacent site, and access points might have allowed someone to exit unseen. But there was no evidence Brian knew about these routes or had reason to use them.
A service corridor remained a possibility, but it required passing through employee areas and navigating barriers. No witnesses reported seeing him in those spaces.
The search begins
When Brian failed to show up for a planned trip to Miami with his girlfriend, Alexis Waggoner, his family knew something was wrong. Brian’s father, Randy Shaffer, contacted police on April 3. The Columbus Police Department opened a missing persons case.
Searches began immediately. Police brought in cadaver dogs to sweep the bar, the building, and surrounding areas. They found nothing. Divers searched the Olentangy River. Nothing. Investigators canvassed the area, interviewed bar staff and patrons, reviewed receipts and transactions. Brian’s bank accounts and credit cards showed no activity after that night. His cell phone went dead.
One lead seemed promising. A construction worker reported seeing a man matching Brian’s description near the bar on the morning of April 1, disoriented and possibly injured. Police investigated but could not confirm the sighting.
Another tip came from a caller who claimed to have seen Brian weeks later, alive and in another state. The lead went nowhere.
Clint Florence and the polygraph
Clint Florence, the last person known to see Brian, became a focus of police scrutiny. He cooperated initially, providing statements and timelines. But when investigators asked him to take a polygraph test, he refused on advice of his attorney, Neil Rosenberg.
The refusal fueled speculation. Was he hiding something? Did he know more than he was saying? To this day, he has never publicly explained in detail what happened during those final hours. He has maintained he does not know what happened to Brian, and he has never been named a suspect or charged with any crime.
Detective Andre Edwards, who led the investigation for years, stated publicly that Clint was not considered a suspect, but the refusal to take a polygraph left questions unanswered. The relationship between the two men appeared normal. Nothing suggested a motive.
Still, the refusal remains one of the case’s lingering mysteries.
A family in limbo
Brian’s disappearance devastated his family. His mother, Renee, had died of cancer just weeks before he vanished. Brian had been struggling with the loss, but those close to him said he was coping, making plans, moving forward. His father, Randy, became the public face of the search, appearing in media interviews, organizing efforts, pleading for information.
In 2008, Randy Shaffer died. He never learned what happened to his son. Before his death, he continued to push for answers, working with investigators and keeping Brian’s case in the public eye. His death added another layer of tragedy to an already heartbreaking story.
Brian’s girlfriend, Alexis, also searched for answers. The two had been dating seriously, and she was the person he was supposed to meet for their Miami trip. She has spoken about the pain of not knowing, the inability to grieve or move forward without closure.
Theories and dead ends
Over the years, investigators and amateur sleuths have proposed numerous theories.
One suggests Brian left voluntarily, overwhelmed by grief and stress, and started a new life elsewhere. But he had no history of mental health crises that would suggest such a drastic decision. He was weeks away from finishing his second year of medical school. His belongings, his life, everything remained untouched. If he planned to disappear, he left no trace of preparation.
Another theory involves foul play. Perhaps Brian was killed inside or near the bar, and his body was hidden or disposed of in a way that has eluded discovery. But no evidence of violence, no blood, no signs of struggle have ever been found. The bar and surrounding areas were searched thoroughly.
A third possibility is accidental death. Brian could have fallen, become trapped, or suffered an injury in an area not immediately visible or accessible. But searches turned up nothing. Cadaver dogs found no scent. Divers found no body.
The construction site remains a point of focus for some. If Brian wandered into an area under renovation, disoriented or intoxicated, he might have fallen or become trapped. Some portions of the site were later sealed or built over. But no evidence has emerged to support this.
A case still open
Brian Shaffer’s case remains open and unsolved. The Columbus Police Department continues to receive tips, though none have led to a breakthrough. In 2020, Detective Edwards, who had worked the case for years, retired. New detectives have since taken over, but the trail remains cold.
In 2021, America’s Most Wanted featured Brian’s case, hoping renewed attention might generate new leads. It did not.
Brian’s case is unusual because of how confined the location was and how thoroughly it was documented. He walked into a bar on camera and never walked out. In most disappearances, there are gaps, moments where the person could have gone anywhere. Here, the location was limited, the timeline compressed. And still, no answers.
Somewhere, someone may know what happened during those missing minutes. Until that person speaks, or new evidence surfaces, the Brian Shaffer disappearance remains one of the most baffling missing persons cases in modern history.
Where to dive deeper
- Documentary: “Brian Shaffer: What Happened?” (Investigation Discovery)
- Podcast: “The Vanishing at the Ugly Tuna” (“True Crime Garage”, Wondery)
- Podcast: “Missing: Brian Shaffer” (“Disappeared”, Investigation Discovery)
