Brian Shaffer disappeared 19 years ago while celebrating the start of spring break. Shaffer, 27, was a medical student at Ohio State University and was preparing to travel to Florida with his girlfriend, Alexis Waggoner. He was also coping with the recent death of his mother, who had passed away from cancer weeks earlier. According to reports, he had been planning to propose to Waggoner.
On March 31, after a long week of studying, Shaffer had dinner with his father before meeting a friend for a night out. Later that evening, Shaffer and two friends arrived at a bar called Ugly Tuna Saloona. Security footage from the early morning hours of April 1 captured him standing outside the bar speaking with two women. Footage then shows him re-entering the bar shortly before closing time. This was the last confirmed sighting of him.
Despite extensive searches and investigations, Shaffer’s whereabouts remain unknown. Police reviewed footage, questioned patrons, and examined all possible exits. No evidence indicated he left the bar in a typical manner, leading to ongoing speculation about how he vanished seemingly inside the building. His brother has said authorities were unable to determine what happened despite thorough efforts.
Shaffer grew up near Columbus and had previously completed an undergraduate degree in microbiology before entering medical school. Friends described him as charismatic, humorous, and social, with interests in music and travel. Before disappearing, he had been balancing academic pressures and grief, but those close to him said he did not appear suicidal or withdrawn.
