MISSING: Brian Shaffer

[00:00] Hi, Crime Junkies. It's Britt, and I have big news. One of my favorite seasonal shows, CounterClock, is back with a brand new season, and it is wild. Host Delia D'Ambra is digging into the 2008 Lane Bryant murders. I mean, this isn't just a recap. It is a reinvestigation. She's talking to law enforcement, people from the community, even sources who have never spoken publicly until now. And you know I love a show that asks all the questions. Listen to CounterClock Season 8 now wherever you get your podcasts. [00:30] Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And I'm Britt. And the story I want to tell you today is a creepy one, and one that I've been obsessed with for years, long before we had a podcast. This was one of those cases that I would put on my Google rotation along with, like, Maura Murray and Bryce Lispisa. I'd always wonder, has there been an update in the disappearance of Brian Schaefer? [00:57] Music [01:28] In the spring of 2006, a young woman named Alexis should be getting ready to enjoy a hard-earned vacation. She's in her second year of medical school at Ohio State University studying to be an obstetrician. And the courses are tough, but she is thriving under the challenge along with her long-term boyfriend, Brian Schaefer, who's in medical school with her. Now, both of them had planned this spring break trip to Miami. But on the morning of April 3rd, 2006, this was a Monday morning, Alexis is actually in the spring of the summer.

[01:57] at the airport, and she is anything but excited. She is anxious. She's scared, getting panicky even. She had spoke to Brian on Friday night, but she hadn't been able to get a hold of him all weekend. So she had stopped by his apartment multiple times throughout the weekend, Saturday, Sunday, each time finding nothing there. No Brian. She tried calling over and over all day Saturday, [02:27] That Monday, this was her last shot at hope that Brian was okay. Maybe he needed some time, but he would not miss this flight. Alexis waits for Brian. All around her, flights are taking off, landing. It would be their turn soon. But Brian is nowhere in sight. And listen, there are two types of people in the world. Those that want to roll up to the gate just in time for boarding. And those people... Like me. Yeah, and then the people like me who are there two hours ahead of time so I can have my two glasses of wine and not feel rushed at all. [02:57] though he's not there right that second. Like again, she's still holding out hope until a half hour before takeoff when the flight attendant at the gate is ready to begin the boarding process and he's still not there. And she's getting more and more nervous, more and more anxious. Where is Brian? She keeps trying to call his phone over and over. Why isn't he answering? It's not like him to just drop out of touch and disappear. By the final boarding call, Alexis is panicking because

[03:27] she knows something is terribly wrong. [03:31] She keeps thinking back to the last time she talked to him on Friday night, just three days before. He sounded completely fine. He told her he loved her like nothing seemed wrong. [03:42] When the flight takes off and Brian is still not there, Alexis calls Brian's dad Randy. And Randy goes right over to Brian's apartment to look for him. And according to Mail Magazine, Randy finds everything just like it should be. Car outside the apartment, bed made, all of his school books are in order. Everything at the apartment is normal, except there's still no Brian. [04:04] Right away, Randy calls the police to report Brian missing. Meanwhile, Brian's brother Derek gets involved too, hoping against hope that this is all just some misunderstanding. And according to the Columbus Dispatch, he even wonders for a second, like, if this whole thing is a practical joke because Brian was last seen on April Fool's Day. And there's no way a guy like Brian just disappears. Not a guy who's 6'2", 165 pounds, handsome, with, like, just enough of a quirk to his features to make him, like, the best kind of memorable. [04:34] He even had this Pearl Jam tattoo on his right bicep and a distinctive fleck on his eye. Surely someone has seen him. Okay, so the last time Alexis talked to him was Friday night, right? Right. Like, what were his plans for the rest of the weekend? Well, that's something that the police and the family had to piece together. Randy knows that he actually saw Brian on Friday night, the same day that Alexis talked to him. But they start to realize as they talk more and more to one another, to other people,

[05:04] early morning hours of Saturday, April 1st. And here's what they piece together. On March 31st, Brian has dinner with his dad, Randy, at a steakhouse in Columbus. Then he goes to a popular bar near campus on High Street called Ugly Tuna Saloon to meet up with his old roommate, Clint. Now, the Ugly Tuna caters to the Ohio State crowd, and it's known for like cheap drinks, loud music, and like generally being like... It's a college bar. Yeah, it's like the good place to hang out. [05:34] actual fishbowls, like very college. Oh my God. Yeah. So Brian, when he goes out, he leaves his dad. He goes out. He invites his brother Derek and Derek's girlfriend to come meet them. But Derek and his girlfriend had been at a comedy show all evening and they're just ready to head home. So they pass. Was Alexis with him at the saloon? No. So actually, Alexis doesn't go out with Brian that night because she's not actually in town at all. She had gone back home to Toledo, Ohio to visit family. Yeah. [06:01] So around 10 o'clock, Brian actually calls Alexis just to like check in and they talk for a little while, you know, maybe about the vacation, whatever. They part on good terms. They're excited for Monday. And then he goes back to having fun. And again, she says he sounded totally fine, totally normal. [06:17] After a few drinks at the Ugly Tuna, Brian and Clint decide to leave. They do some shots at other bars in the area. They have a little bit of kind of like a pub crawl. And according to 614now.com, Clint and Brian then meet up with another friend, Meredith, who drives them back to Ugly Tuna. Now, at some point at the Ugly Tuna, they get separated. Like, Clint and Meredith are still together, but Brian gets split off. And, you know, like, this happens at a bar. Sometimes you leave your friends to, like, step outside for a second. You go to the bathroom. You grab another drink.

[06:47] It's no big deal. You come right back when you're done. Right. [06:52] After they got separated, Brian doesn't come back. Eventually, last call comes up, the lights come on in the bar, and Clint and Meredith are looking around for Brian because, like, they're ready to leave. But they can't find him. They call his phone, Clint checks the men's room. But Brian is totally MIA. And they, like, wait outside of the bar for a little bit. But when they realize he's, like, nowhere to be seen, Clint and Meredith figure, you know, he probably just decided to head home on his own. Like, he lived within walking distance of the Ugly Tuna. [07:22] could have left early. It would have been super easy for him. Like, who knows? Maybe he didn't want to pressure them into leaving before they were ready. Maybe he got the drunk munchies and wanted to go eat something. Like a thousand things. Like I had this friend in college who that was like her MO. She would just disappear. And a friend disappearing is worrisome to all us crime junkies. And life rule, if you came with friends, leave with friends. Yes. But they don't worry too much at the time and they decide to make their own way home. Now, they weren't worried when [07:52] not worried necessarily the next morning when he doesn't pick up their phone calls. For a lot of people, like the general thought was like, you know, maybe, you know, he was out drinking all night. They were doing shots everywhere. There's a good chance he's hung over. Maybe he's just sleeping it off. Like been there, done that. Yeah. Morning afters are rough and there are definitely times where you just like don't even want to get out of bed. Oh, yeah. I mean, I had more than I'd like to admit those in college. So I get it. And even though, again, us crime junkies

[08:22] in hindsight and like scream. I think it was totally normal for no one to be like sounding the alarm bells right away that like Saturday morning. Brian was smart. He was a responsible guy. Like no one ever thinks something bad could happen to them or someone that they know. [08:37] But Brian wasn't just sleeping it off. Everyone realizes that when they come together and realize that no one had talked to Brian during the day Saturday or Sunday. And now that he hasn't shown up for his trip, they were sure something serious was going on. You see, the trip was extra special, not just because Brian needed a break or because he was planning to propose to Alexis on the trip. The trip had a way more significant meaning than that. [09:05] The trip was a gift from Brian's mom, Renee. The whole family was super close, but Brian was extra tight with his mom, Renee. She was a nurse, and his whole inspiration for studying medicine came from her. [09:17] Three weeks before he was supposed to leave for his trip, his mother actually passed away. She had been sick for a while, battling a rare form of blood cancer. So Brian skipping out on the trip didn't seem right. It didn't seem like something that he would do. But now the Schaefer family are in this devastating position, having just lost Renee. And now just literally a couple of weeks later, Brian is missing after a night out drinking with friends,

[09:47] frantically searching for some insight about where he is. [09:51] Now, police did say that since Brian had been drinking all night, he was more vulnerable to getting mugged or for something like sinister having happened to him. Now, he was 6'2", remember, and it's clear from photos on his MySpace page and around the internet that he kept himself in good shape. Like sober, he'd be a risky target for a prospective thief, but drunk, he might be a little easier to take advantage of. [10:14] Now, Brian's girlfriend, Alexis, stays at his apartment for days on end, desperate for that front door to open and Brian to walk back into their lives. She takes to social media, begging Brian's MySpace friends to please spread the word and keep Brian in their prayers. These messages are heartbreaking. And there's one from April 3rd, the day he missed the flight, that says, quote, I love you so much and I just want you to come home, end quote. [10:44] homeless shelters, but there's no sign of Brian and no one that matches his description. Local media picks up the story. A tip line is set up. Police and volunteers plaster missing person posters on telephone poles all over Columbus. But Brian isn't found and no one is coming forward with any helpful information. So the police decide to go back to the ugly tuna saloon to retrace Brian's steps. They pull the video surveillance from that night [11:14] is where everything gets so strange. And you'll see why I've never been able to stop thinking about this case. Security footage shows Brian going into the Ugly Tuna at 1.15 in the morning of April 1st. Now, Brian can be seen outside on the escalator that leads up to the bar, and he's standing in front with two people behind him, who 614 now says is Meredith and Clint. There's nothing weird about this footage. He looks like he's having a good time. Everyone's happy.

[11:44] He doesn't seem like overly intoxicated, like he can still walk and function normally. Then when he gets to the top of the escalator, he walks out of frame and heads inside the ugly tuna with Clint and Meredith behind him. Now, according to Dateline, there were a couple of girls inside that Clint and Meredith knew and Brian starts talking to them. Now, police know from talking to everyone that Clint and Meredith at some point got separated from Brian and they couldn't find him and they assumed that he left on his own. [12:14] security tapes fast forwarding to see when Brian comes out you know trying to like nail down exactly what time he left maybe which direction he went stuff like that exactly exactly like where did he go at the bottom of the escalator so they spot him again on the tape at 155 in the morning and you can just barely see him in the corner of the frame but he's hanging out at the top end of the escalator like right outside the entrance of the bar and he's talking to two girls [12:39] After a minute or two goes by, he walks off camera again back inside the bar. So the police fast forward again, like again, looking for the time when he comes out and he leaves. But the thing is... [12:52] they never see him on security footage again. Wait, what? Yeah, and I'm sure they rewound a couple of times, played it back slower, but no matter how many times they watched the tape, Brian [13:04] never was seen on it again coming out of the Ugly Tuna. Okay, but like that can't be the only exit, right? Like, yes, it's like the one that the public uses or the one that everyone usually uses, but they have to have like an emergency exit or like a delivery door somewhere in the back. Like, come on. Yeah, so yes, you're right. There is another exit. The Ugly Tuna has one other door out back,

[13:34] And it leads to a really messy construction site, like heavily under construction site that would be super hard to navigate, even if Brian hadn't been drinking. But like, again, like add alcohol to all of this. And it's dark out. It wouldn't make sense. Like, yeah, you would have had to like go out there again if you're so wasted that you don't even know where you are. You're not functioning properly like you go out there. And you get stuck out there. Right. But like, again, no one found him in this construction site. [14:04] door but a lot of other places around that area had cameras that would pick up that door so they pull video from all these places to see if brian made the strange decision to exit that way and again brian isn't on any of the other cameras footage [14:21] Now, this gets even crazier when you factor in just how much surveillance is in Columbus. Now, I didn't know this before I was researching, but according to this Mail Magazine article that I read, Columbus, quote, has more closed circuit television than Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo combined. Whoa, that's like a lot of surveillance. Right. So which means like if Brian left in any way. Something would have seen it. [14:51] CCTVs. [14:52] Now, even though they aren't able to spot Brian on any of the video footage, they are able to use all of this video footage and comb through it to find out exactly who was at the bar that night. And Fox 8 Cleveland and other sources report that every single person who entered the bar that night was accounted for and seen leaving, except for Brian. And it's literally like he vanished into thin air somewhere inside that bar. I mean, yeah, but like, unless we're going to...

[15:21] stop this and make this show about aliens, that just doesn't happen. Like, either he left [15:28] Or someone did something to him. Those are really the only two options, right? Right. I mean, I think the how, like the physical how of this could have us spinning in circles all day. How can you be seen going into a place? And never seen leaving. Right. When everyone else is accounted for coming in and out. Like, how? So instead of how, maybe let's talk about why. So like you said, I feel like we have two real options here. Either Brian left on his own or someone did something to him. [15:58] And early on, and you still see people speculating about this today, people thought that maybe Brian did walk away on his own because he was so overcome with grief from the loss of his mother. Yeah. [16:09] I mean, I guess that's not out of the question. Like, how many times have we seen, like, what grief can do to a person? Yeah. Like, you can be 100%, okay, one minute, and then just devastate the next. Like, there's nothing about the grieving process that's rational. And people do things that they just— [16:27] wouldn't normally do or aren't them, you know? Right. Right. [16:31] Running away... [16:33] And starting a new life, I don't think is like... [16:36] crazy to consider. No, it's totally true. So I'll admit up front, like in all the past years that I've been obsessed with this case, I never really gave that possibility a ton of consideration because [16:47] Personally, I just didn't understand it. But I've also never lost a parent. And I think it's really hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes. But as I was putting together this episode, I was talking to a friend about the case and she opened up to me about the loss of her dad. And she said, you know, as soon as he died, I ran. I went overseas for three weeks. I didn't go to his funeral. It was the only way that she could cope. And there's something about hearing it from her. Like all of a sudden I got it.

[17:17] family member. And remember, Brian's mom, Renee, was in bad shape before she passed away. It didn't just happen overnight. And on top of that, she was his inspiration for going to medical school in the first place. Yeah. And I mean, watching a loved one go through cancer treatment is a grieving process all on its own. And I don't think it's something that I can even fully grasp or explain to you well. Like, I don't think anyone could unless you've had to live through it. But my friend, [17:47] when the cancer is terminal, their death just kind of slows down. So every moment with them is precious, but also every moment is just agony as well. Right. And even though Brian was a medical student and understood intellectually what his mom was going through, that didn't make it any easier for him. There's still the emotional component for sure. Yeah, and he's caught between this turmoil of like wishing her suffering would end without wanting her to die. [18:17] completely walk away and just start over somewhere. Like, it becomes a little more possible in my mind. Well, especially if you consider the fact that this trip was a gift from her. Like, Yeah. This trip could be an emotional trigger for him. That's really true. I had no idea until that moment. Yeah, until it's like coming up like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna have to leave. This is too much. Right. [18:37] Everyone in his life knew how hard Renee's death was on him. But despite all of that, and, you know, they're considering all the same things we are here, they're convinced there's no way Brian would up and run away from his life, no matter how upset he was.

[18:53] Because of Renee's loss, Brian, Randy, and Derek had all grown even closer. And they all said Brian was expressing excitement about the future, his proposal, his trip. And he was just determined to make his mom proud. And beyond that, when I kept talking to my friend about how she dealt with her grief, I said, here's the thing I don't get. Like, you came back. You wanted to see your mother again. Like, I get him running. And that part does make sense to me. [19:23] your girlfriend, who you were planning on making your wife. You never come back to your brother, to your dad. Like, that part doesn't quite work for me. Especially because they seem like such a close family. Like, like you said, your friend came back. Like, you would think that if he did decide to... [19:37] step away from his life or whatever for a time, he would... [19:41] want to reconnect and want to be there for his family like they've been there for each other all along. Right. And plus, let's just go back to the how. If he wanted to leave and start over, A, he could have done it at any time. Like, go missing from your apartment. Why the mystery of, like, you being seen coming into a bar and never coming out? Yeah. And again, even B, if that was your plan, like, I want to be seen going into this bar and then, like, just disappear. [20:11] he would have needed one crazy kind of disguise to leave the ugly tuna and totally avoid being spotted by all those cameras and everyone around him. And what I've never seen mentioned is, again, police accounted for everyone walking in, everyone walking out. I've never seen it mentioned anywhere that like, oh, there's this like person who walks out that we never saw walking in. So even a disguise doesn't really make sense. Everyone's walking out was accounted for walking in. Yes. So I think, you know, if this was the plan, I think whatever he would have had to done would have been really hard.

[20:41] And then again, factor in that he had been taking shots and drinking all night long. It just even seems less plausible. So another possibility police and the searchers have to consider is that maybe Brian had been the victim of a terrible accident. Maybe Brian got hurt somewhere or maybe he fell into the Olentangy River by his apartment. So they bring in cadaver dogs to the OSU campus. But they're not. [21:06] The dogs don't pick up. [21:07] any scent. Columbus Monthly reported that the city even searched the sewer lines and found nothing. Okay, but what about his friends? Did any of them see anything like weird or out of the ordinary at the bar before they lost track of him? Nothing that's been officially reported. So here's the thing. Police do talk to both Clint and Meredith pretty early on in the investigation. Meredith doesn't know anything about what happened to Brian. And when they ask her to take a polygraph, [21:37] however, is more of a mystery. [21:42] For decades, some cold cases have been reduced to files in a cabinet, but not anymore. I'm Ashley Flowers, and me and my team on the deck have been traveling across the country to report on these forgotten cases. And in some instances, it's resulted in these cases being solved after decades. [22:01] Join me every Wednesday as we revive these stories one card at a time. Listen to the deck now. [22:08] wherever you get your podcasts.

[22:12] Clint refuses to take the polygraph. Then he gets a lawyer. And according to the lineup, Clint, through his lawyer, expressed that he had nothing to hide and felt that he already told the investigators everything he could. Which, yes, we talk all the time about knowing your rights and understanding how you interact with police. And even not taking polygraphs. Yeah, like again, Clint's doing all the things I would do. But it instantly makes people suspicious, especially Brian's brother, Derek. [22:41] He told Mail Magazine, quote, [22:44] I didn't know Clint very well, but I always thought something was off with him. The way he talked about my brother after he went missing, kind of in a negative way, I wouldn't expect that from someone whose friend vanished. If Clint knew something, I hope he would have shared it. I deserve to know. [23:00] end quote. But they're friends. Like Clint and Brian are friends. I mean, you'd want to help your friend's family in a situation like this, which is like literally a worst case scenario situation. Like even if it's just to help them get closure. Yeah. This kind of reminds me of the live show that we do. Like there's a portion where someone related to the victim might have information and they just like they literally do the same thing. They shut down. They get a lawyer. [23:30] I get protecting yourself, but at some point, like, if your family member, your friend is, like, missing, the most important thing isn't, like, if you are to get in trouble or something happening to you. It's, like, let's find the missing person. Right. But the more I found, I guess things really weren't the best between Clint and Brian, though. In the investigation discovery special that I saw, they did, like, a piece on this case back in July of this year. And they spoke to Sergeant John Hurst of the Columbus PD, who was the lead investigator in Brian's case.

[24:00] said that at some point they had found out that Clint and Brian had like gotten to a verbal argument at the bar which I had never heard before. [24:12] And this only makes Derek and Alexis more suspicious that Clint knows more than he's owning up to. Now, there's another theory that makes Clint look like he's involved, but with a twist. People say if Brian really did have this, like, premeditated plan to run away, he probably would have needed help. So some are saying, like, okay, he's this old friend, an old roommate. Maybe he helped him leave and disappear. And that's why he's being so cagey. Right. [24:42] protecting his friend, but like in his own weird way that's making him look guilty. But that's just one of the theories and there isn't anything to link Clint to Brian's disappearance. So investigators have to just keep looking. [24:56] They talked to the two women who were chatting with Brian outside of that bar, you know, on the video at 155. And neither of them have any real insight either. So they're crossed off the list pretty fast. Now, as you can imagine, between losing his wife and his eldest son in the span of three weeks, Randy Schaefer is devastated. So much trauma in such a short time makes him desperate. So he consults psychics while the police are searching for clues about where Brian might be. [25:25] A Columbus Monthly article from 2009 told this heartbreaking story about how one psychic told Randy that Brian's body was, quote, submerged in water held down by the whirlpools that form at the base of concrete bridge posts, end quote. Now, since Brian lived so close to the Olentangy, less than a mile away, Randy goes out, buys waders, and just starts canvassing the river with Derek.

[25:55] smiles looking into all of the whirlpools for any signs of Brian until Randy trips, falls in the water, and almost drowns in the same place that he's searching for his missing son. Oh my god. I know. There's something about that story that just really got to me. Now, [26:12] Randy and Derek and Alexis keep searching and keep hoping and keep praying. Alexis calls Brian's phone every day for months, and it always goes right to voicemail. But one day, about six months after he disappears... [26:31] His phone was. [26:32] rings. [26:35] Now, when the phone rings, Brian doesn't pick up the phone. But just the phone ringing itself was something Alexis hadn't heard in half a year when she called his phone. So she notifies the police and they reach out to the phone company. Because if there's a ring, there's a ping, right? I like that slogan. But yes, if there's a ring, there's a ping. So they reach out to the phone company and find that the phone pinged off of a tower outside of Columbus. [27:03] Like no one can really like pin this down. And the best anyone can say is his service provider says, you know, it's possible that this was just some kind of computer glitch. And there's really nothing to indicate that Brian had actually turned his phone back on. And there's been no activity on his phone since the night he went missing. Not only has his phone not been used, but his bank accounts, his credit cards, all of that stuff is totally untouched. If Brian's still alive, he's not accessing his finances at all.

[27:33] had with him when he went missing from the ugly tuna were like normal things you take with you if you're planning to come back home like keys, wallet, shoes. But none of that stuff has ever been located either. Right. [27:44] With no new leads and every tip turning out to be either a vicious hoax or a dead end, gradually the case goes cold. [27:52] By 2008, there haven't been any new leads in years. And the tip line has turned into a place for the worst kind of humans to have fun. Like these quote unquote tips aren't even attempting to be credible. Like I read some of them in Mel magazine, and they're just people being racist and obscene for the sake of just being gross. It's [28:12] Awful. It was total abuse of the tip line. [28:14] Now, [28:15] As if the Schaefer family hasn't had enough tragedy, Randy is killed in a freak accident on September 14th of 2008 when a tree branch falls and hits him during a windstorm. Before he died, Randy was involved in the Central Ohio Crime Stoppers, and he even worked to get legislation passed in Ohio that set up a statewide protocol for handling missing adults' cases. He had never given up hope that Brian would come home. [28:45] for Derek this is just another shock to his system his whole immediate family is now gone in less than three years oh my god [28:55] Once again, the Schaefer's friends and family gather to mourn. They pay tribute at his funeral and online. And this is where things get even weirder. The Columbus Dispatch publishes Randy's obituary on their website, where people can, like, leave condolences. And a mysterious post shows up in the comments. And it says, quote,

[29:18] Dad, I love you. [29:20] Love, Brian. End quote. And in parentheses, it finishes with U.S. Virgin Islands. And everyone is, like, taken aback. Like, could this be real? Is this proof that Brian's alive and has somehow snuck out of the ugly tuna to start a new life? Like, away from all the suffering, away from his home. As an American citizen, he wouldn't need a passport to get into the Virgin Islands either. Like, and he had his wallet with him. So presumably he had a photo ID, which was never recovered. [29:50] If Brian had truly wanted to disappear and start over, it would be an easy place to go. [29:56] Now, according to The Lantern, the Ohio State University's student newspaper, police subpoenaed the website records to find out where this comment originated, hoping that maybe, like just maybe, this is going to offer some genuine insight into Brian's disappearance. [30:11] But of course, it does not. On October 7th, 2008, this is about three weeks after the message appears, police announced that the post was made on a public computer in Franklin County, Ohio, which houses both the city of Columbus and Ohio State University. And we find out that basically this post is just yet another hoax. And Brian's case stays cold. [30:36] In the years right after Brian's disappearance, the internet kind of goes bananas for this case. There are so many conspiracy theories about what could have happened to him. One of them, though, is that Brian was murdered, not by a friend or someone he knew, but by an elusive predator known in the online community as the smiley face killer. Now, we have gotten...

[30:58] So many requests to talk about the smiley face killer and we might someday but that's like a whole nother can of worms that we're not opening just quite yet Yeah, it's [31:07] It's not even been proven that it's like a real one person doing it. Exactly. So for anyone who doesn't know, the smiley face killer theory was developed by a pair of retired NYPD detectives and a criminal justice professor in Minnesota. And basically, they think that a series of drownings in the Midwest over the 1990s and 2000s weren't accidents. [31:37] a signature smiley face near where the bodies were left. And this idea that Brian's disappearance was somehow connected to the smiley face killer really picked up a lot of steam in 2016 when another young man went missing from that same area where Brian vanished. And the parallels are eerie. This kid's name was Joey Labute. He's 26 years old, where Brian was 27. They were both tall with dark hair. They were both drinking at bars on High Street near campus in the springtime. [32:07] apart. Now, in both cases, their friends lost track of them, and then they're each last seen on surveillance footage from the bars. [32:15] Joey's loved ones were just as heartsick and terrified as Brian's as they waited for information. But three weeks later, his body was found in the Sayato River. But here's the catch. His body was found in the river, but Joey didn't drown. There was no water in his lungs. So he was dead before his body was placed in the river. Oh, my God. There was no sign of trauma, no obvious cause of death, like no sign of suicide.

[32:45] toxicology reports, just another enduring mystery and plenty to speculate on. [32:52] This smiley face killer theory got so much attention that the FBI even looked into it for several years. And they put out a statement in 2008 saying, quote, We have not developed any evidence to support links between these tragic deaths or any evidence substantiating the theory that these deaths are the work of a serial killer or killers, end quote. [33:13] Aside from law enforcement agencies like the FBI saying this isn't a credible theory, even if Brian was a smiley face killer victim, there's no way to tell without his body or proof that he's even really dead. Now, no smiley faces were found along the river where police and families search for him. And even if there had been, like, it's a really common thing that anyone with a can of spray paint can just put up on a wall. Right. It's not like a unique tag or anything. [33:43] Now, shortly after Randy's death, another tip comes in. Columbus Monthly recalls the story of this like more credible tip that puts Brian's body in a field near a freeway just outside of the city. So a team of human officers and canine sniffer dogs head out there, but the field is empty and they're at square one yet again. [34:13] and again, all with the enduring hope that maybe this time something new will emerge.

[34:20] you [34:21] For decades, some cold cases have been reduced to files in a cabinet, but not anymore. I'm Ashley Flowers, and me and my team on the deck have been traveling across the country to report on these forgotten cases. And in some instances, it's resulted in these cases being solved after decades. So, [34:40] Join me every Wednesday as we revive these stories one card at a time. Listen to The Deck now, wherever you get your podcasts. [34:50] I read a quote from Sergeant Hearst in Columbus Monthly that I think really sums up the difficulty of cases like this. He described the investigation as, quote, looking for a deceased person and for someone who's still amongst the living at the same time, end quote. Brian's brother Derek still blames himself for not going out to meet Brian that night he vanished. He keeps thinking, like, what if him being there changed just one little thing about that whole night, like the butterfly effect? [35:20] of it and completely changed the circumstances and everything would have gone differently. And even now, Derek asked himself the hardest question of all. If he'd gone to Ugly Tuna that night, would Brian still be with them today? [35:33] Now, Derek eventually married the woman that he was out with that night. And while Derek remains haunted by Brian's disappearance, he's moved on with his life as best he can. And Alexis has, too. When the Columbus Dispatch visited her in 2016, 10 years after Brian disappeared, they reported that she'd finished medical school. She became an OBGYN who practices in her hometown of Toledo. She's married with two young kids. And she's not the same person who is posting loving messages on Brian's MySpace page.

[36:03] She was candid about that part of her past and how it altered her life. She told the dispatch, quote, I put his things in the back of my closet and I just needed that chapter of my life to be over. There were a lot of tears and it was sad. [36:18] but it was time to move forward, end quote. As for the Ugly Tuna Saloon, it closed in 2018. [36:25] Whatever clues the interior may still have held about Brian's fate are completely gone now. [36:31] I mentioned earlier in the show that Brian had a tattoo of his favorite band, Pearl Jam. Brian's tribute tattoo is of Stickman, which has basically become like iconic as the cover art on the band's Alive single. And Eddie Vedder, the band's lead singer, even dedicated one of their songs, Come Back, to him when Pearl Jam performed in Columbus in 2010. Yeah. Which, if Brian knew about this tribute, it probably would have delighted him. And maybe, just maybe, someday, he'll be able to find out about it. [37:01] may already know. If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Brian Schaefer, please contact the Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at [redacted phone] or go to stopcrime.org to submit a tip online. [37:20] Again, if you have any information about the disappearance of Brian Schaefer, go to the Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at stopcrime.org. If you want to see any pictures or our sources for this episode, you can find those on our website, crimejunkiepodcast.com. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast.

[37:50] and we'll be back next week with a brand new episode. [38:14] you [38:16] you [38:18] *music* [38:21] Crime Junkie is an AudioChuck production. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve? [38:29] *music* [38:34] Okay, so... [38:35] Profit of the month, right? Let's do it. Okay, so this one is a little bit unconventional, and I want to highlight it specifically because, like, a lot of... [38:45] families get [38:45] puppies for Christmas and oh it's so true and then so many people don't keep dogs past Christmas exactly like like I am all for like getting dogs for Christmas I got one for my birthday once um and I still have him Niles [39:00] But... [39:01] a lot of people get puppies from like puppy mills and not great places. And... [39:07] Adult dogs are everywhere, and they are in every shelter, completely inundating their shelter. And I really want to highlight some dogs that are being fostered right now that are looking for their forever homes. Oh, let's do it. Yeah. Okay, so...

[39:24] Our listener, Jason, emailed me and told me about three dogs that they are currently fostering, which three dogs. Oh, this is even better. So it's not like you just found them. They came from one of our Crime Junkie listeners. Exactly. And it's a Crime Junkie listener. They have these dogs that they're fostering. They are willing to travel across state lines from where they are to get these dogs their forever homes. And I just, I'm so obsessed. So Jason and his wife have started fostering dogs. [39:54] But supposedly, according to Jason, Houston is like the stray dog. Sorry. Charlie is itching and like making that patting noise. I don't know if you can hear it. It's puppet month. I mean, I don't know. [40:09] Go back. [40:10] So Jason and his wife have been fostering puppets that they've been finding in their hometown of Houston. And Ashley, I don't know if you know, but Houston is evidently like the stray dog capital of the U.S. Oh, really? I actually didn't know that at all. Neither did I. And there's like thousands of stray dogs just surrounding the Houston area. And so every time his wife kind of stumbles across one, she brings it home, which like... [40:36] Same. Yeah, I get you. I mean, I cannot cross paths with a homeless dog. It would not end well. Right, exactly. I just have like a million dogs at that point. All the dogs in my home. Yeah, I cannot move to Houston. And when they emailed me, they had three foster dogs. [40:52] Bruce. [40:53] and Ivy. And he sent me pictures of them, and they're all just these beautiful, sweet, loving pit bull puppies. I say puppies, that's, you know, very universal. They're a range of ages, but they're all puppies to my heart. And...

[41:10] Ash, by the time that I emailed him and was like, "We want to feature these prophets," [41:15] Tell me... [41:16] all the things more, [41:17] He was like, "So... [41:19] We've already gotten them adopted. That's great news, though. It is. It's such amazing news. And I was like, that's great. Like, I have no problem with that. Like, thank you. I'm glad you emailed us. Like, whatever. And he was like... Good day, sir. Yeah, like, this is a great ending to my email. I would love for more emails to end like this. And then he was like, but also... [41:41] we found two more. Oh, tell me about these two more. So they had just found them like this past week. So they don't know a ton about them, but... [41:51] They attach pictures and information on Barton and Gamora. And Barton is definitely pretty young. He has like the whole puppy energy going on. He is super friendly and loving. There is some skin damage around his legs. And again, like he's a stray. They have no idea what he's doing. [42:12] what he has lived through in his very, very young life. And Gamora is super, super laid back and only wants attention. And she's super sweet and doesn't seem to have a violent bone in her body. And the only reason I say that is... Of course she doesn't. Because she is a pit bull and a lot of people have, you know, negative connotations towards, quote unquote, like violent breeds, which I have... That is such a bummer now. I have two pit bull crosses and, Ash, are my dogs cuddlers?

[42:42] the sweetest little dogs in the world. They only want to sit on your lap and they only want love. And so Bruce and Gamora are going to be on our page along with Jason's information on how to reach out to them and figure out how to adopt them. I'm super excited. And again, like it's- They will drive to you. They'll come to you, you guys. And it's the holiday season. If your kids or your family wants a dog this season, like please consider not getting a puppy from a mill [43:12] from rescue because they're so they go so so quickly consider an adult dog they're potty trained yeah they're already trained completely can we be trained on leashes yeah i think that's great yeah for the holiday season this year you guys yes if you're going to get a dog for your family consider a dog that's a little bit older i mean like you know i have a soft spot for full on senior dogs but even just a dog that's like a year don't call him that a year or two years [43:42] country to adopt older dogs. So consider it. Like, it's just an option. And [43:48] Everyone would love you for it. And before we sign off completely, I have like a little mini story to tell you. Let me hear it. [43:55] It's kind of like a mystery dog because it's only a dog that I've heard about. Okay, listen to this. So I was having dinner a couple of weeks ago with the old director of Crime Stoppers, who I'm still good friends with. And he has this new job and works with some listener in Texas. If this is you, please reach out. So he works with one of our fans in Texas. And he said that they have this like shelter or rescue or something. And they had this dog who's been there a long time.

[44:25] few years old. Nobody wants to adopt because they all want the puppies. And the dog is like kind of anxious, like wouldn't really like calm down. Not that he's like violent or mean or like hyperactive, but just like just a lot. Yeah, just anxious. And so they tried all these things. They tried playing music. They tried like the puppy TV, like all of the things and nothing worked to get this dog to calm down until... [44:50] They started playing crime donkey for this dog. No. Yes. And they said, what I hear they said is like, you know, through the chain of people. [44:59] is that [45:00] When they started playing Crime Junkie, as soon as this dog heard my voice, just like, [45:05] totally calmed down, totally soothed. I'm about to cry. I know. So if this listener is listening, we need to know who this dog is because this seems like the perfect companion for any crime junkie. Like listen to crime junkie with your new furry best friend. And we would love to feature him as a [45:22] A Propit of the Month and get him a home with a crime junkie. Yeah, so call out to whoever that listener is. I want to find this dog so this dog can find their new crime junkie home. Make sure to go to our website to see the dogs that Britt featured. And we'll be back next month with a new Propit of the Month. [45:39] Bye, guys. Bye. [45:46] Okay, crime junkies, you know I absolutely love a twist and a turn, especially when it comes to people who turn out to be someone they're not. That's why I have been obsessed with the podcast Chameleon. Every Thursday, host Josh Dean deep dives into a scam so bizarre, it will leave you wondering, how did they get away with that?

[46:04] It is truly one of my favorite podcasts right now and I've been listening for years. [46:08] I think you'll love it too. [46:09] Listen to Chameleon wherever you get your podcasts.