Columbus area Pearl Jam fan gone missing...

Lost In OhioLost In Ohio Posts: 6,746
edited October 2013 in The Porch
BACKGROUND
Brian Randal Shaffer is a resident of Columbus and a 10 Club member. He was last seen on April 1st, 2006, at bar on the OSU campus. Security cameras captured video of him entering, but not leaving. There were three possible exits and two of them have cameras. The third was under heavy construction and would have been very tricky for an intoxicated person to travel through.

A few days after he was last seen, a homeless person thought he saw Brian. The person was questioned, but didn't reveal much.

He was supposed to take a vacation with his girlfriend a few days after he disappeared. It was rumored that he was going to propose to her during this vacation.

If you know anything, or may think you've found something, etc., please call 614-461-8477. This number goes to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers. There is a reward, and you can remain anonymous. There are no charges to call this number other than what your provider would normally charge for a long distance call.


BRIAN AND PEARL JAM
As said above, Brian is a 10 Club member. He was planning on taking his girlfriend, Alexis, who he planned on marrying to the show in Detroit on 5/22/2006. Unfortunately, Brian disappeared before the show and Alexis ended up auctioning the seats off, with the money going to the reward fund. I don't know what the final bid was, but apparently they were pretty good seats.

His dad, Randy, was very impressed by the amount of help the 10 Club and the Pearl Jam community has given. Randy went to the Pearl Jam show in Cincinnati back in 2006, where Ed even mentioned the situation. Randy left shortly after Wishlist was played. Go here and beyond for various accounts of the show. You can click the thread title on the top right of the screen to jump to that part in the thread.

Along these lines, Ed once again mentioned Brian's case in Columbus in May of 2010 and dedicated "Come Back" to Brian.

Click the below link to watch Ed talk about Brian during the Cincinnati show.
YouTube - Ed talks about Brian.

Various YouTube links of "Come Back" in Columbus 2010:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-DFcp-jUqM (Way in the back, but not jerky)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqFw6KCBU1g (Up close, but jerky. You can really hear the bass...a bit too much.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKA6OpuYyOo (Up close, off to the side. Come Back only, with no intro.).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrVCm7A7CVE GREAT quality video of SOME of Come Back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMcRnqNQM7E Various parts of the show (a "not quite" DVD). Brian's stuff is around 42 minutes in.


HELPFUL LINKS
Find Brian Shaffer. This website has general information about his disappearance on it, as well as a picture of the tattoo.

Here's another "missing poster" in PDF format.

TinyUrl.com/BrianShaffer This link goes to this thread. Use it during discussion of the thread.

Brian's MySpace. This page is being monitored and updated by his family and girlfriend.

This is a Facebook page set up for public notification of Brian's situation.

Here is a link to the Archive.Org "Wayback Machine" since the http://medicine.osu.edu/brianshaffer link no longer works. They used to have a video PSA (Public Service Announcement) as well as text of the Dateline interview from 2006.

Columbus NBC affiliate. This news site is updated frequently throughout the day. Between the three local TV news sites, this is probably the most frequently updated.

Columbus CBS affiliate.

Columbus ABC affiliate.

Columbus newspaper

BRIAN'S FATHER, RANDY 9-14-2008
On Sunday, September 14th, 2008, the Central Ohio area (and much of the area between Texas and Michigan) experienced the remnants of Hurricane Ike. Central Ohio experienced extreme wind speeds, going up to (and possibly exceeding) 70 miles per hour. Randy was checking out possible property damage when a tree fell on him. He did not show up for work the next morning (Monday), and his body was discovered later that day.

To say "he will be missed" is an understatement. I only met the man once, but he was completely tireless in his search for his son.

US Virgin Islands (10-7-2008)
Very recently, someone claiming to be Brian left a message on an online obit for Randy with a location of the US Virgin Islands. This obiturary posting is a hoax. I don't know who posted it, but I believe it came from central Ohio.

Other people (4-2-2011)
I just thought i'd throw this section together as well. Who are these people we keep mentioning? Well, here are the answers:

Alexis - Brian's girlfriend at the time, who has since become engaged (and possibly married by now) to someone else. A few days after Brian disappeared, they were supposed to fly to Florida (I think) for Spring Break. It was assumed, that at this time, Brian was going to propose marriage to Alexis.

Randy - After reading all this, you should already know who Randy is. If not, Randy was Brian's father, until his untimely death on September 14th, 2008. (Read two sections up.)

Clint & Meredith - Clint and Meredith were two friends that Brian was with the night he disappeared. It was assumed that they might have known something about his disappearance. They were questioned and stories changed a few times, but as of right now, they are just "persons of interest" who "may or may not" know something.

Lori Davis - Lori is a semi-local woman who grew very interested in Brian's case. She runs the website http://www.findbrianshaffer.com She has devoted a lot of time to trying to find Brian.


FINALLY
If you have any questions, please post them here and we'll try to answer them to the best of our abilities.
Once again, the Central Ohio Crime Stoppers number is 614-461-8477.
Thanks, as always to the 10 Club for keeping this thread stuck to the top. If you don't agree with this, please save us all the trouble and move on.
Presidential Advice from President-Elect Mike McCready: "Are you getting something out of this all encompassing trip?"
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • not4unot4u Posts: 513
    hopefully he's ok..
    we don't want war, but we still want more?
  • Hope all is well. Last login was yesterday?
    Tell the captain 'This boats not safe and we're drowning.'
    Turns out he's the one making waves
  • other people are getting on his name(family)


    why won't the person talk?....strange..
    i gather speed...from u fucking with me

    "i am the first man to shit my pants ya whew!"

    its no crime to escape..theres still time to escape...theres still time so escape...

    "yellow ledbetter is like the smoke after a 3 hour fuckfest" - 62strat

    st.louis 04, chicago 06, and counting...
  • mousejammousejam Posts: 6
    I don't get it... do we really know this guy is missing?
    It looked to me like he got on the myspace site on the 12th...
    I need more of an explanation than that before I panic...!

    sorry, maybe not panic.. I don't even know the guy!
    hope he is really ok though..
    joke? hoax? what?
    ..."McCready played on, lending credence to the theory that he was actually built in Stone’s basement from spare truck parts and vinyl records."... - Glide Magazine review of MSG 7/8/03
  • prljamgirlprljamgirl Edmonton, AB Posts: 602
    mousejam wrote:
    I don't get it... do we really know this guy is missing?
    It looked to me like he got on the myspace site on the 12th...
    I need more of an explanation than that before I panic...!

    sorry, maybe not panic.. I don't even know the guy!
    hope he is really ok though..
    joke? hoax? what?

    If you read down, the girlfriend says that she and his family have been logging on...I'm not sure why though.
  • ya the family has been logging on. read the comments
    i gather speed...from u fucking with me

    "i am the first man to shit my pants ya whew!"

    its no crime to escape..theres still time to escape...theres still time so escape...

    "yellow ledbetter is like the smoke after a 3 hour fuckfest" - 62strat

    st.louis 04, chicago 06, and counting...
  • I don't know how many of you are from Columbus, but as soon as I saw this thread I knew what it was about. I've seen this story on the local news a lot recently, here's some info for those of you who don't know what we're talking about http://www.nbc4i.com/news/8445413/detail.html

    Anyways, hopefully he's still alive and will be found soon. It seems like the trend of college kids missing is becoming too popular recently.
  • haffajappahaffajappa British Columbia Posts: 5,955
    '"He means so much to me. I lost my wife. I don't want to lose my son, too. Please help me find him," said Randy Shaffer, the man's father.'

    :( thats so sad...
    heres to hoping that the guy is safe.
    live pearl jam is best pearl jam
  • JLukinJLukin Posts: 54
    I live in C-bus. I had not heard anything about this till now. Thanks for posting. I will keep my eyes peeled.
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  • Gary CarterGary Carter Shea Stadium Posts: 13,940
    i hope the fellow pj fan is okay
    Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
    Sammi: Wanna just break up?

  • juliaivjuliaiv Posts: 1
    i live in columbus and go to OSU, i've seen the fliers around campus/ my neighborhood. i had no idea he was a pj fan. :/
  • Lost In OhioLost In Ohio Posts: 6,746
    juliaiv wrote:
    i live in columbus and go to OSU, i've seen the fliers around campus/ my neighborhood. i had no idea he was a pj fan. :/

    Yeah, I saw a sign down in the Short North (south of 5th and High, north of downtown) that mentioned the stickman and had a professional scan of the drawing (not tattoo.)

    There was some talk about that he was supposed to go to Florida, I think with his girlfriend, but happened to disappear just before that.

    Hopefully he's ok!
    Presidential Advice from President-Elect Mike McCready: "Are you getting something out of this all encompassing trip?"
  • That sucks... seems to be a recurring trend around these parts though..especially with OSU students.

    Make your life a mission - not an intermission. - Arnold Gasglow
  • KatKat There's a lot to be said for nowhere. Posts: 4,768
    Do you know him or have any information to pass on?


    http://www.nbc4i.com/news/8699216/detail.html
    Falling down,...not staying down
  • That is scary. I hope he comes home safely. Prayers for a fellow jammer.
  • VEDHEAD27VEDHEAD27 Posts: 3,091
    :( This is horrible. My "heart & thoughts" are with him, his family & friends.
    I hope, hope, hope that he is found safely soon enough!!

    *puts a ton of good vibes out there*

    Thanks for this Kat.
    ¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤

    "Lo√e, you know the word
    ...YOU invented it!" ~ E√

    ¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
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  • coco buttercoco butter Posts: 1,434
    Wow hope they find him.
    Do you know what it's like to fall in the mud and get kicked... in the head... with an iron boot? Of course you don't, no one does. It never happens. Sorry, Ted, that's a dumb question... skip that.
  • drew0drew0 Posts: 943
    Nice to make this a sticky. Good job. Praying everything turns out alright.
    Pittsburgh 6/23/06
    Madison Square Garden 6/25/08
  • People go missing everyday. Some of those people probably like Pearl Jam. Let's make sticky about them too.
    Noblesville 6/03
    Toledo 10/04
    Grand Rapids 10/04
    Grand Rapids 5/06
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    *hopefully sometime before I die* Noblesville

    Songs I'm hoping to hear live: Nothingman, In My Tree, Indifference, and Animal
  • Mrs.Vedder78Mrs.Vedder78 Posts: 4,585
    I read through his myspace and his girlfriend's profile yesterday, his family is very worried...

    I really hope that he comes home safe and sound..
    "Without the album covers, where do you clean your pot?" - EV
  • People go missing everyday. Some of those people probably like Pearl Jam. Let's make sticky about them too.


    You know what...go to hell!! Kat is trying to do something GOOD. Who the hell are you to shit all over her for that???
    If you don't like it...don't read the damn post!
    "Rock and roll is something that can't be quantified, sometimes it's not even something you hear, but FEEL!" - Bob Lefsetz
  • You know what...go to hell!! Kat is trying to do something GOOD. Who the hell are you to shit all over her for that???
    If you don't like it...don't read the damn post!

    I'm just saying that people...children go missing everyday. Why don't they get special attention? Because they don't have a PJ tattoo?

    Oh and don't give me an attitude just because I don't agree with this. Yes it sucks he is missing, but good grief. Go into Wal*Mart and you see dozens of pictures of missing people. I just don't agree that this guy gets special treatment just because he has a PJ tattoo on his arm.
    Noblesville 6/03
    Toledo 10/04
    Grand Rapids 10/04
    Grand Rapids 5/06
    Cleveland 5/06
    Cincinnati 6/06
    *hopefully sometime before I die* Noblesville

    Songs I'm hoping to hear live: Nothingman, In My Tree, Indifference, and Animal
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Seattle, WA Posts: 12,223
    What's the deal on this lead? The homeless witness?

    http://www.nbc4i.com/news/8592335/detail.html

    COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Detectives said that they were investigating a tip that a missing Ohio State University medical student was seen at a north Columbus convenience store almost four days after he disappeared.

    Police said the tip came from a homeless man and they believe the tip could be credible, NBC 4's Duarte Geraldino reported.

    SLIDESHOW: Images Of Brian Shaffer/Case

    Brian Shaffer was last seen in front of the Ugly Tuna Saloona, on North High Street in the South Campus Gateway area early on April 2.

    According to police, the tipster said that Shaffer was behind a United Dairy Farmers store, located at High Street and 12th Avenue.

    "The individual indicated that the man that he had seen was eating a sandwich," said Columbus police detective John Hurst. "He believes it was bought from one of the local restaurants."

    Detectives said the homeless man attempted to talk with the man he believed was Shaffer, but the person walked off into the alley.

    "(The homeless man) said that he said, 'Hey, people are looking for you,' and the individual really didn't have much of a reaction," Hurst said.

    Shaffer's mother died shortly before he disappeared, Geraldino reported. His father, Randy Shaffer, believes that stress might have been too much for the second-year medical student.

    "It hasn't been totally checked out yet, but I am going with that positive thought," Randy Shaffer said. "It lifts me up a little bit."

    Detectives said that they were working to obtain surveillance footage from the UDF store. They hope that if a tipster saw Brian Shaffer that the cameras did, too.
  • cropdustresscropdustress Posts: 4,339
    Oh wow. :(
    Don't really know how to respond excepet, I hope
    he comes home safe and sound...soon :(
    "I surfaced and all of my being was enlightened"
  • I'm just saying that people...children go missing everyday. Why don't they get special attention? Because they don't have a PJ tattoo?

    I agree with you, and I wish they could all get a lot of press too, but that doesn't mean that finding THIS person isn't important...and posting your complaint here isn't going to get this guy home.

    Finsbury: Starting to sound like some kind of nervous breakdown (or other psychological break) to me IF the person seen at this store is the missing boy. If this is the case I really hope he is found soon so he can get the help he needs.
    "Rock and roll is something that can't be quantified, sometimes it's not even something you hear, but FEEL!" - Bob Lefsetz
  • Sharon_Hearts_PJSharon_Hearts_PJ Bristol, PA Posts: 1,383
    I'm just saying that people...children go missing everyday. Why don't they get special attention? Because they don't have a PJ tattoo?
    Perhaps they feel that someone on the board might know him or based on his tattoo see him somewhere.
    *Rock and/or Roll!*
  • I'm just saying that people...children go missing everyday. Why don't they get special attention? Because they don't have a PJ tattoo?

    I think perhaps Kat thinks it might have some relevance here as perhaps one PJ fan might know another. Or perhaps you might meet him and notice the tattoo or something.
    It is already a bad situation for this guy's friend and families so I don't think you need to add any more negativity to this. The old adage of 'if you don't have anything nice to say, than don't say anything at all' is still relative today especially in this case.
  • I think perhaps Kat thinks it might have some relevance here as perhaps one PJ fan might know another. Or perhaps you might meet him and notice the tattoo or something.
    It is already a bad situation for this guy's friend and families so I don't think you need to add any more negativity to this. The old adage of 'if you don't have anything nice to say, than don't say anything at all' is still relative today especially in this case.

    Woah. It's not like I'm saying "Good, I'm glad he's missing."

    I'm just saying...he's not the only missing person out there and he's probably not the only one who is a big fan.

    People here might know other missing people, but I don't see it being talked about.
    Noblesville 6/03
    Toledo 10/04
    Grand Rapids 10/04
    Grand Rapids 5/06
    Cleveland 5/06
    Cincinnati 6/06
    *hopefully sometime before I die* Noblesville

    Songs I'm hoping to hear live: Nothingman, In My Tree, Indifference, and Animal
  • Thoughts and prayers with the man's family and friends.

    Hope he returns home safely as soon as possible.
    2006 - Astoria, Dublin, Leeds
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    2011 - Alpine Valley x2
    2012 - Isle of Wight, Manchester x2
  • PJaddictedPJaddicted Posts: 1,432
    Thanks Kat....I can't imagine how it would feel to have a loved one missing, you must spend every waking moment terrified.

    oxc
    ~*LIVE~LOVE~LAUGH*~

    *May the Peace of the Wilderness be with YOU*

    He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
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