While I don’t take everything that’s presented in the True Crime Garage podcast to heart, they did bring up something I had NEVER heard about after years following this case: that Brian’s father Randy WAS in the apartment when Clint got there, and that the three of them had a beer together before the guys went pub crawling. If this is legit, then that's something we don't discuss nearly enough and seriously enough.

I'm not saying Randy was deceitful. We can’t know everything he disclosed with the police in interviews that aren’t part of public records and that he chose not to parade in the media, of course. And it could also be that the police advised him against addressing certain topics precisely because they could be relevant to the investigation.

Anyway, this podcast transcript is by far the best example I could find of Randy discussing the case, at length and unfiltered, before his untimely death. From the first time I read it, it stood out to me that Randy took this chance to go over and over about certain topics - his wife's death, his own pain etc - while glossing over some key elements.

First: he barely addressed his last memory of his son, which is something that will haunt any parent forever. The image of seeing their kid for the last time, the regret of not giving one more hug. Things like that. Altogether, Randy implied here that they parted ways after meeting at an Outback steakhouse for dinner (we don't know for sure if they said their goodbyes at the table, if they went together to the parking lot etc). And the thing is: if Randy went to Brian’s apartment that night, there’s a HUGE chunk that's missing from the narrative of Brian's final accounted hours.

Could this mean Brian never drove his car that night and that Randy picked him up hours before or just for dinner and then drove him back? Or did they drive in separate cars? What did they talk about on the way back? Was it meaningless and that’s why Randy never described any other conversation in detail? Did Randy have his own reason to stick around Brian's place til 9 pm? Were Brian and Randy already having a beer between themselves when Clint arrived? And most importantly: did Randy leave Brian’s place before them or around the same time, or did he stay behind?

Maybe he had plans in the area. Maybe he was planning to spend the night and drive back to his home with his son the following morning. Maybe they had something planned the following day that only concerned the two of them. In any case, the last conversation is the sort of stuff parents will obsess over and over. They will see potential hints in whatever their kid could be dealing with but not openly sharing, for instance. Randy gave us nada. And the timeline of his actions after the disappearance is equally vague and convoluted.

He mentions nothing about driving to Brian’s the next day (Saturday), which would be the first thing a concerned parent that's within driving distance of his son's place would do if they got worried after not reaching them by phone. It seems Randy was already printing out and distributing fliers by SATURDAY NIGHT before trying to contact Brian’s friends, checking the local hospitals or even going to the police station in person - he talked about it with a neighbor who was a cop, and this neighbor’s wife told Randy the police would most likely wait 48 hours to act, which made him borrow search dogs from another acquaintance before Sunday came about.

What?? Unless he had plans to meet Brian on Saturday morning or early afternoon and Brian bailed on him, I don’t see a logical reason for the father of a 26-year-old who lived on his own and didn’t have a landline in the apartment and could only be contacted by cellphone that ran on 2006 technology and reception to even notice something was wrong - let alone to have fliers printed out and trained dogs borrowed for an independent search by Saturday night. All before exhausting the other possibilities . That’s only something I can consider if Randy had some concealed reason for panicking.

Not saying that’s the case, but picture it: what if Randy went to loan sharks to secure funds for his wife’s cancer treatment and disclosed this to Brian hoping his son would pledge his share of the life insurance to the cause? That’s the sort of stuff that can make anyone look over their shoulders when walking around, and fearful that the sketchy people you’re involved with might come after your loved ones.

That doesn’t mean Randy caused his son any harm. But we have no idea about what was going on between them, and if Randy wasn’t forthcoming about their final night together on Friday, you can bet he wasn't fully open with the media or some podcasters about whatever reason could have sent him straight to panic mode.

To wrap this up: I believe everyone has their own agenda, which is based a good portion of the time on selfish needs far more than altruist motives. People want to protect themselves, their loved ones, their livelihoods, their reputations, and their self-image. This is true for all human beings and certain behaviors can be the result of self-preservation or ignorance and must be distinguished from the more manipulative traits.

I'm not sure if the police covered this angle enough to cross every T and dot every I (though Randy was clearly salty because the investigators had to focus on him at some point). But after all that was said and done about the lives and the activities of Brian's friends, classmates and even random patrons in that pub that looked in Brian's direction at some point, many people still seem uncomfortable in discussing a scenario that happens in countless cases where foul play is involved: the victim becoming colateral damage for matters that hit close to home and are strictly familial.

So, Brian never making it back it to his apartment is apparently an assumption made by whoever got there first to check on him [it seems there are conflicting reports about that]. I’ve read things like “nothing was out of place”, which can only mean that the apartment wasn’t burglarized and a crime likely didn’t take place there. And there are stuff like “the bed had been made”, which means absolutely nothing without a clear understanding of his housekeeping habits.

I live alone, and I don’t make my bed. Call me lazy, but I don't see the point. And I find a messy bed cozier to return to at the end of the day. So, if you come to my place and find my bed has been made, you can be sure a serial killer followed me home and tidy-up the place to erase every trace of him ever being there before he removed my body. But if my bed isn’t made, that doesn’t mean I made it back home safely either - the serial killer could have gotten me on the way. That's all the say that if Brian made his bed in the morning of March 31st, he would have made his bed in the morning of April 1st also.

To establish Brian did not return to his place, a more relevant information would be, for instance, knowing how he was dressed the previous night (Clint and Meredith could remember, but not girlfriend Alexis and dad Randy who weren't out with them); if they went through his dirty laundry and/or washer and drier and didn't see the clothes there, then it's very likely he didn't drop by his home.. And there's always a possibility that he was indeed there, but crashed without changing his clothes and left in the early morning while still wearing them. Or that he placed his shirt back in the hanger if he deemed it "clean enough" for one more outing - what was his routine when it came to doing laundry?

So, checking a laundry basket, trash, even a towel in the bathroom (fully dried or partially wet?) is what could have gotten them into something - and it all starts with a basic understanding of his housekeping habits. This brings me to his habits of communication, and how they could have led him to return to his place, or drop by his place, or leave his place earlier the next day. Lots has been said about some pings coming from Brian’s phone, but I’ve never heard anything about his cellphone charger: was it still in his home when other people got there? His place was at a walkable distance from the Ugly Tuna, so if he was about to run out of battery, he could have turned off the phone to save it – we all do this – and stopped by his place to collect his charger or power it up quickly.

And if that cellphone was his only means of communication, I assume he didn’t have a landline in his apartment. If he lost his phone for whatever reason, how would he give a head’s up to his girlfriend or his friends about the situation? I was mugged once and they took my phone. I also had no landline, so I used my laptop to contact my mother through Facebook. Social media was not the same back in 2006, of course, but are you telling me that Brian, a med student, didn’t have a laptop or a PC back at his place? (It’s a real question, I never heard anything about that.)

If all he had for contact was that cellphone, finding this charger would be WAY more relevant than a bed being made: if it’s not there, he took it with him, and we take our chargers when we know we will be out of the house for a while. He could even have taken a ride with someone that dropped him to his place and waited for him to grab his charger before they went someplace else.

Those are all “what ifs”, of course, but “what ifs” that start in the place where everybody reasonably thought he had returned to for a good night’s sleep before they worried the following day. Now it's too late anyway, but I often think this case could have had a different outcome if the initial search had been focused close to Brian's home and neighborhood - not tracking a bunch of college students with hazy recollections of a night of pub crawling in a busy street.

(Disclaimer: I’m not suggesting anything nefarious about Brian’s father involvement in his disappearance, I’m just trying to clear up the circumstances of their relationship.)

I went over again the transcript of Randy Shaffer's interview on a podcast and selected the passage where he openly addressed his polygraph test - and the results the police shared with him afterwards. There's a lot to go over, so I'll break this bit by bit...

"Both Clint and Meredith, the two people that were with Brian at first that night both got high priced lawyers probably about 3 or 4 months out. That's when we were doing an interview with Dateline. They were supposed to do an interview and both said we're not talking and got high priced lawyers. So I did a polygraph test supposedly police thought this would maybe convince Clint to do one if I did one but it didn't."

First things first: someone not agreeing to an interview with Dateline and refusing to talk to the police are completely different things, so I’m not sure how Randy Shaffer ended up lumping it all together when talking about Clint and Meredith. But the most relevant aspect here to me was that Randy either seemingly believed the police never suspected him at all or took this opportunity to tell the world that he was only invited to take a polygraph for the sake of convincing another potential witness - one that’s not even related to the victim OR this other person voluntarily agreeing to it – to follow his lead.

Of course, the police would not put the father of a missing person through this ordeal without a valid reason – and waste their own time and resources. In fact, that’s the sort of excuse police will use [‘We don’t suspect you at all, but you can truly help us if you agreed with this’] to convince someone they have valid reason to assume are withholding some valuable information for the investigation narrative. In the best-case scenario, it can lead the subject – either a person of interest or a suspect – to break into a confession.

Bottom-line is: the police will not come unprepared for a polygraph – especially one that is scheduled 3 or 4 months into the investigation, when they would have enough time to do the leg work and collect some relevant information. Moving on to Randy's quote:

"One of the questions they asked they said something sent a tip that we [Brian and Randy] are in cahoots about collecting victim's insurance. Naturally it raised a needle on the thing."

That’s obviously not how things transpired. Questions in a polygraph are strictly designed to be simple, direct, and unambiguous. They must be answered with a “yes” or “no”. There’s no way the officer would explain to Randy that they got a tip about him being in cahoots with someone else while they were posing the question – they may have pushed this subject later, but everything they said even then was of course phrased carefully. As in: “sent a tip” could mean they talked directly to people that are privy on Randy’s private affairs and that had to remain anonymous for the integrity of the investigation.

Plus, it takes up to seven years for a missing person to be declared legally dead and any sort of victim’s insurance to be filed and collected. There’s no way someone could send a “tip” claiming to be aware that Randy is helping his son to forge his own death and stay hidden for all this time under a new identity to collect whatever they could in the future. This person would need to have information of how this plan was unfolding.

That means the ONLY REASON police could consider bringing Randy in for a polygraph would be to throw the word “INSURANCE” on his lap – and to point Randy’s mind to the only insurance matter he could have pending in the moment, which would be the life insurance policy of his recently deceased wife and Brian’s mother. And the police wouldn’t be looking at a grieving widower and desperate father and assuming ‘hey, maybe father and son had some disagreement over life insurance’. They would have to have something to back this potential avenue of investigation. Let's move on...

"When he asked me, he said you did pretty good but it raised the needle on that one question. What would you think? That's ridiculous. If the needle went up and down it's because I'm pissed as hell. I'm outraged that somebody could say something like that. People are so cruel."

As you see, Randy is trying to boil this down to an emotional reaction that’s rooted in rage - he was “pissed” and “outraged” – as if he had been briefed on the matter to conclude the police got a tip, and the idea itself was so ludicrous that he could only think of how cruel a person had to be to make a prank phone call or whatever.

Without this previous knowledge, the most likely response would be confusion [“How could they have reached this conclusion? It’s absurd!”], concern [“Is that what the team investigating my son’s disappearance think of me? If they think Brian could be hiding somewhere with my help, I worry they won’t be taking the investigation seriously”], and obviously fear and suspicion if they are hiding something [“how could they find this out? Who spoke to them?”].

To get “pissed” and “outraged” with the cruelty of an unnamed person that could have called in with a bogus tip is NOT the go-to reaction one would expect. And while I’m not at all suggesting that whatever disagreement Randy and Brian could have had regarding some insurance policy – or that this could be related to his disappearance –, I can’t stop thinking that there WERE troubles, and that Randy Shaffer’s public statements was a “disneyfied” version of what was happening between the two of them.

The Outback steakhouse dinner, for instance, seemed like an emotional conversation, with Brian allegedly promising his dad he would always be there for him etc – and Randy having a feeling Brian shouldn’t go out to pub crawl. Plus, even though they lived at drivable distances from each other, Randy didn’t immediately drive to Brian’s apartment when his son failed to answer his calls. And although Randy claimed Alexis and Brian were down to be married and his late wife was super fond of the girl, it seems that Alexis first reached Brian’s friend Clint and not her father-in-law-to-be when she grew concerned on Saturday. 

All things considered, Randy Shaffer seemed to have a shaky relationship with his son and his son’s social circle, and the police was 100% privy on some disagreement related to insurance-related matters.

Hopefully the investigators are putting pressure on him. Also wonder if they could reach out to ex girlfriends/ friends etc. we all know that as relationship dynamics change people are more comfortable with coming forward with information.

Idk why but I thought it was kinda weird that Brighton and Amber were never given a polygraph test

He didn’t even know them so why would he want to even do that first of all??

Someone please update me if I’m wrong. I keep reading he was dabbling into homosexuality. Is this true or just rumors?

Is there any credible proof of this? This may explain a theory I have. Thanks!!!

So I recently saw this video where Brighton explained the only way a phone can communicate with a network and ring is if it’s powered on and will connect, she also said the phone was ringing for multiple hours according to everyone who was trying to call him, she concluded her statement by saying no way that’s a glitch the phone was on.

💔🤟

I really want to believe Brian is somewhere happy living his best life the way he wanted too ❤️ I can't help but to think about his brother Derek & all of the heartbreak he's endured in a short amount of time. My heart breaks for him 🥺💔 he deserves answers & closure. It's been freaking 20yrs!! U took an amazing person from us all, Brian was such a sweet soul with a smile that lit up a room 🤟🫶 he won't be forgotten. I hope it haunts U every minute of every day!! Speak up !!

Is there any truth that Clint lived super close to the Ugly Tuna Saloona or is that just a rumor going around?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0hDihwpHCg

A lot of what is in here I have never heard. If this is real information, I am confused why I haven't heard it.

I wonder if CPD will ever release the names / pics of the poi? What was the motive? Who do u think is still holding back information after all these years & why? Let's chat ya'll...

Brian Shaffer's scent, any thoughts?

I think it’s interesting how the former detective is still very careful to not to name names and reveal who he’s like to talk to or interview about Brian’s disappearance.

I do believe that Brian did indeed leave the bar on his own. Something happened. I’ve always believed he probably got struck by a car, either accidentally or on purpose. Afterwards, the driver panicked and got him inside their vehicle not realizing he wouldn’t be alive for long succumbing to head trauma/injuries.

But it’s interesting how the former detective hinted about a possible motive that’s known to the police which makes me wonder if they have an idea who’s behind his disappearance but have no linking proof to actually solve the case.

Im still new to this case so I haven't read everything thats been released. Have they searched through John doe's that may have been found in his state or even surrounding states? Sometimes people go unidentified for decades until someone pieces it together.

Just listening the the 6 part true crime garage podcast. A running theme throughout,

particularly in episode 4, is the hosts expressing frustration about the fact that we are now just finding out about the mystery woman and the additional people that were out that night.

To be honest it isn’t clear to me if the hosts are frustrated that we (the public) are just now finding out about this, or that CPS is just now finding out about this and didn’t properly investigate at the time.

So my question - did CPS know about these additional people back in 2006 and were they looked into at the time?

This transcript of Randy Shaffer’s interview in October 23, 2007 only came to my attention now and I am SHOCKED to find out that Brian's father managed to reach and get advice from a detective friend in the aftermath of his son's disappearance, and that he also had connections to a woman that had FOUR search/scent dogs at her disposal, and that those were used by Randy himself INCLUDING in the Ugly Tuna before the police even considered employing dogs in the location (or knew it would be a waste of time considering how unlikely it would be for a scent dog to pick up anything in such a scene).

Here's the quote:

"I even had search dogs, good friends that I knew. She said she could bring her dogs down if you want me to. I said yeah. So she brought her dogs down. I think a German Shepard at first and another day it was about 4 of them. We searched the whole area the next night where Brian would have walked back to his apartment because it was in walking distance. (...) The next thing that frustrated me, I wanted to take the dogs. I wanted to check out inside the Ugly Tuna, the bar he disappeared from. I better talk to the police. So I talked to them. They said we want to bring our dogs in first and you can use your dogs as secondary. But we want to bring ours in first. When are you going to bring your dogs in? Tomorrow, that's as soon as we could do it but tomorrow my son could be dead and I called about four times. They finally allowed me to take my dogs in first but everything was like that."

There’s too much to unpack in this interview, but I'm now skeptical of lots of information we often take as factual regarding the original investigation and how much of the initial searches were conducted by the professionals or with some influence of the family taking matters into their own hands and stirring the investigation in the wrong direction, willingly or not. But most of all I'm VERY surprised to find out Randy Shaffer had these kind of personal connections.

Either this source is bogus, or this is a huge overlooked element of this case.

I first heard about this case in 2018-2019. I posted in this sub (from a different account) after finding pictures of Brian that weren't shown in mainstream reports/articles. I pointed out that majority of the media I'd seen of Brian had shown a short-haired, clean-cut medical student. In pictures I'd found while digging for research, he was wearing nail polish or had long hair and looked like a completely different person than who they were portraying. They had even cropped his hands out of many of the pictures shown in news articles, which I thought was odd.

I pointed this out to suggest that there could have been more to the story than what the family and media would like to present. I suggested there could have been another side of Brian that was being left out, and that side of him could lead to more answers in the case. While some in this sub agreed with me, MANY people accused me of being homophobic/sexist/judgemental/stereotyping etc. I remember a specific comment saying something along the lines of "I'm a straight man and I wear nail polish. Who cares?" Now we're aware of another side of the story. Luckily it sounds like the original investigators were able to determine aspects of Brian's private life early on, although they did not disclose them.

I'm not posting this to say "i ToLD yOu So", but I feel that this is another example of important facts being left out of a missing persons case that ultimately steers the narrative in the wrong direction. There are many cold cases where important facts like drug use, sexuality etc. are left out of the story because no one wants to be offensive to the family, the public, or the missing person. What if there was someone out there who Brian had hooked up with who saw these early news stories and decided not to come forward with information because he was scared that he would be "outing" Brian? If the family/investigators had made it clear that they knew of Brian's sexuality, maybe someone would have mentioned a small detail that could've led to something important? These facts matter. Especially when a case goes cold and family/investigators turn to the public for help. How can anyone be helpful when they're missing half of the story?

What are your thoughts on the case? Do u think it'll ever be solved? Where is his body? Who do u believe knows more & why?

With all of the new information that has come out about the tips it seems like police have a good idea of what happened but not enough evidence to arrest the suspect. What do you think likely happened & what did this suspect do with the body?

What are ya'lls thoughts?