Disappearance of Brian Shaffer: History and Key Facts

In the early hours of April 1, 2006, Brian Randall Shaffer, a 27‑year‑old medical student at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, disappeared in Columbus, Ohio, United States. He had spent the previous night, March 31, having drinks with friends at a campus‑area bar to mark the start of spring break. He later became separated from them, and they assumed he had gone home.

Security footage from outside the second‑floor entrance recorded Shaffer briefly speaking with two women just before 2 a.m. before walking out of frame. No video shows him exiting the building, and he has not been seen or heard from since. The case received national media attention.

Shaffer's disappearance has been especially puzzling to investigators because the bar had no other publicly accessible exits at the time, aside from a nearby service door. Columbus police have explored several theories about what happened. Some scrutiny has focused on a friend who was with Shaffer that night, though he was advised not to take polygraph tests. Other speculation has included a possible connection to the purported Smiley Face serial killer, but police rejected any link to the alleged killer, consistent with the FBI and other agencies. It has also been suggested that Shaffer might be alive and living elsewhere under a new identity.

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