Missing

Brian Shaffer

Columbus, Ohio · Missing since April 1, 2006

Brian Shaffer
Photograph released by the FBI (ViCAP alert).

Quick facts

Full nameBrian Randall Shaffer
Age at disappearance27
OccupationOhio State University medical student
Height / weight6′2″ / 160–165 lbs
Hair / eyesBrown hair, hazel eyes
Identifying marksA Pearl Jam tattoo on his upper right arm; a dot on the iris of his left eye
Last contact1:55 a.m., April 1, 2006, at a crowded second-floor bar near Ohio State
Investigating agencyColumbus Police Department / FBI ViCAP
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What happened

Brian Shaffer, a 27-year-old Ohio State medical student, walked into a crowded second-floor Columbus bar with friends on the night of April 1, 2006. Cameras caught him going in, and caught him again at 1:55 a.m. — but no camera anywhere has ever shown him leaving. He has not been seen or heard from since.

The FBI’s ViCAP alert describes Brian as 6 feet 2 inches tall, 160 to 165 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes, a Pearl Jam tattoo on his upper right arm and a dot on the iris of his left eye. Twenty years on, his brother is still searching, and the Columbus Police Department’s case remains open.

Brian Shaffer
Photograph released by the FBI (ViCAP alert).
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Have information?

Contact Columbus Police Department (Det. Edwards) / FBI ViCAP:

614-645-4624  ·  (800) 634-4097

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Case Files #55

This case is featured in the Case Files series by Autopsyfiles.org — on TikTok and on the Case Files podcast on Spotify.