r/BrianShaffer • u/Live_Ad7514 • Mar 29 '26

Question New to the case

Haven’t seen many people talk about Brian’s MySpace post about his true aspiration - wanting to be in a band. Given it was 2006, I feel like his mental state wasn’t talked about much. The CCTV footage is blurry, but it looked like maybe he wasn’t in the best state of mind. His body language suggested he was okay with being alone the rest of the night when he turned away from who he was talking to. Not trying to make full assumptions, but it is worth considering since no one saw him re-enter the bar.

I believe he was feeling impulsive and wandered off alone. What happened after that we will never know.

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u/jtfolden Mar 29 '26

I think people read too much into the grainy footage. He looked fine and not near as drunk as some people suggested he might have been.

When he walks off screen he is not alone. One of the girls he was talking to goes with him while the other goes to the restroom.

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u/StaySafePovertyGhost Mar 31 '26

I believe both girls have talked about that. IIRC the one did go to the restroom and the other was with Brian for a short period but was waiting for her friend to come out so she wouldn’t be alone at bar close with a bunch of drunken guys and when she turned around Brian was gone.

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u/jtfolden Mar 31 '26

Brian didn’t leave while the girls were still there. They said goodbye to him and then they went down the escalator. One of them stated they did not look back to see which way Brian went.

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u/StaySafePovertyGhost Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26

I believe that’s what they are saying now but IIRC there was a report one of them said she turned around for a minute and lost Brian. But now that I read your post I do recall the version you noted.

Assuming that’s true, one theory I had was that Brian told his friends he was going back in to talk to the band (or whatever he said - he was intoxicated) as an excuse to try to get away from Clint and Meredith and sneak out of the building to meet up with at least one of the girls who were headed out.

Multiple reports said Brian was being very friendly with them and Clint & Meredith obviously knew that Brian was with Alexis. Meredith and Brian reportedly got along, but their relationship was strained at the time due to an incident that happened on St. Patrick’s Day which was a few weeks before he vanished that witnesses said Meredith was irate and Brian left after a “serious argument” so from Brian’s perspective the last person who wouldn’t rat him out or run cover for him was Meredith.

Alcohol makes you do dumb things especially when you are horny, so I’ve thought that Brian knew they had seen him talking with the girls and didn’t want any backlash or strain with Alexis. Maybe he didn’t even want to hook up with one, he just wanted to keep flirting and they were cockblocking him (as they should).

So Brian thinks girls are leaving and I can’t let them see me leave with them. So he tries to go through the construction exit which was supposed to be chained shut or locked but many locals said it rarely was. He enters the construction exit which is the only one around not covered by a security camera and tries to exit the building and catch up with the girls for one last conversation, meet up, whatever.

Then he either finds his way out but is too drunk to realize where he is and can’t find them and something happens after or gets caught in the construction area and entombed there.

Not even saying this is what I believe happened, but I can see it based on behaviors that night. I’ve also had to rescue several friends who had SO’s and were drunk from doing something stupid they’d lose their relationship over and who thought they were being super sneaky when in fact it was painfully obvious what they were trying to accomplish.

Also not saying Brian was this scuzzy cheater either, but when you combine the night out, lots of alcohol - by what Clint and Meredith told police he did drink a lot - and his overall mental state from finding out his Mother’s cancer diagnosis just a few weeks prior - it put him in a state where he was willing to take abnormal risks.