True Crime Garage – Brian Shaffer /// 20 Years Missing /// CCTV Footage /// Part 4
Published: February 11, 2026

Episode Overview

In this fourth installment exploring the disappearance of Brian Shaffer, hosts Nic and the Captain—joined by guest Kelly from the “Brian Shaffer: Dead or Alive” project—delve deep into the newly acquired and released CCTV footage from the night Brian vanished inside Columbus, Ohio’s Ugly Tuna Saloona. The discussion centers on the painstaking analysis of the surveillance clips, previously unknown movements and interactions among key individuals, and the persistent mysteries still confounding the case 20 years later. The hosts issue a call to action to fellow web sleuths: examine the raw footage for missed clues, as the story’s accepted narrative may not reflect what truly happened.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Acquiring and Analyzing the Surveillance Footage

• Kelly shares the acquisition via public records request to Columbus PD, noting only one camera (outside the bar) was released. She describes the “painstaking” process of creating a timeline from hours of footage.
  • Kelly: “It was several hours long and I have spent hours upon hours combing through it along with many other members of my group.” (01:13)
• They discuss making both the timeline and unedited blocks of surveillance footage available to the public for further analysis.
  • Brian: “This is a call to action... hoping that web sleuthers and armchair detectives... dissect this and find things that I haven’t.” (01:47)
• Critical note: The timestamp on the footage is consistently four hours off, and even the minutes may be unreliable.
  • Nicholas: “Nothing angers me more than to see the time and date stamps being incorrect... Why they don’t change them, I don’t know.” (03:29)

2. Breakdown of Night’s Timeline from Footage

• Key Arrivals & Departures:
  • 9:51 pm – Brian and Clint arrive (with timestamp caveats).
  • 10:26 pm – Amber and an unidentified “mystery woman” arrive.
  • 10:40 pm – Brian and Clint leave.
  • 11:23 pm – Brighton arrives.
  • 12:48 am – “Mystery woman” is seen again.
  • 1:15 am – Brian, Clint, and Meredith arrive.
  • 1:55 am – Last confirmed sighting of Brian, outside talking with Amber and Brighton.
    • Kelly: “At 1:55am we see Brian for the last time... standing outside... talking to Amber and Brighton.” (11:22)
  • 1:59 am – Amber, Brighton, and "mystery woman" leave together.
  • 2:09 am – Clint and Meredith leave.

Important Observations:

• The “mystery woman” entered and left with Amber and Brighton; her identity was not initially known to Amber or Brighton.
  • Kelly: “Now we know it was Amber’s roommate.” (17:17)
  • Brian: "It's odd that Amber and Brighton don't know the identity of this girl... Police can't even tell us who the third girl is." (16:05)
• Brian’s last known activity: Appears to return inside the bar after saying goodbye to the group.
  • Nicholas: “It appears that Brian then leaves the group... I have to guess that he's going back into the Ugly Tuna Saloona.” (13:21)

3. Key Individuals and Their Roles

• Clint (Brian’s friend):
  • Repeatedly suspected and "thrown under the bus," mostly due to pressure from Brian’s father, Randy Shaffer.
  • Firm alibi: Seen with Meredith, house-sitting, and cooperated fully with police.
  • Kelly: "It was more he thought that Clint could know something, not that he harmed Brian." (33:22)
• The “Brian Schaefer doppelganger”:
  • Multiple individuals dressed similarly appear on footage, potentially fueling conspiracy that Brian left and was missed by reviewers.
  • Kelly: “I was able to prove that that was not Brian leaving the bar.” (37:40)
• Amber & Brighton:
  • Central to the last sighting and apparently in the dark about the full dynamics of their group’s interaction with Brian.

4. New Findings & Misconceptions Corrected by Footage

• Group dynamics were more complex—Brian’s “group” fluctuated between 3 to 10+ people, with fluid interactions.
  • Nicholas: “Now we have a group of three, that becomes a group of five, that becomes a group of six...” (27:21)
• Misreporting: The long-held theory that Brian never left the bar is disproven by footage showing him outside.
  • Kelly: “The last footage we see of him, he was already outside of the bar.” (23:34)
• Significance of the “Other Four Guys”:
  • Several other friends—Jason Fistic, Brandon Schatuni, Jeremy Rogers, Graham Davis—were part of Brian’s social itinerary that night, possibly with their own entourages.
  • Brian: “There’s four other individuals that we know Brian was in communication with that night and going from bar to bar... Why was he trying to find them? ...Why weren’t these individuals questioned more?” (39:25)

5. Calls for Public and Police Action

• More footage exists: Only one camera view has been released; other angles are needed to piece together the full story (no views showing bar exits).
  • Brian: “I think that CPD has other angles and why aren’t they releasing those to us?” (39:25)
• Lack of police follow-up: Many critical interviews and polygraphs—especially with key women—were never conducted, or records have gaps.
• The hosts urge listeners to examine the released footage on the True Crime Garage website and reach out if anything is spotted.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the CCTV timestamp error:
  “Nothing angers me more than to see the time and date stamps being incorrect in any man... the discrepancy is consistent... we shouldn’t dismiss the idea that the minutes are off as well.” — Nicholas (03:29)
• On group dynamics vs. the narrative:
  “It just seems like he was a little all over the place and not really spending time with one particular person. I’m kind of confused why we always heard he was out with Clint that night when he was out with a lot of people...” — Kelly (23:34)
• On last sighting confusion:
  “This narrative of Brian went into a bar and he never left the bar, we know is not true.” — Brian (39:25)
• On doppelganger theory:
  “There’s at least one guy... that had a dark colored T shirt with a light colored long sleeve shirt underneath. Similar haircut, white dude wearing jeans, very similarly dressed.” — Nicholas (36:09)
• On law enforcement shortcomings:
  “Why don’t law enforcement... take missing person cases more serious from the get go? Like we’ve heard over and over, investigate the case as if it’s a homicide until you prove it’s not.” — Brian (39:25)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:32–03:29: Surveillance footage acquisition and timestamp caveats
• 05:37–14:49: Night’s key arrivals/departures; breakdown of notable surveillance moments
• 16:05–18:26: Discussion of the “mystery woman” and implications for the investigation
• 18:26–21:15: Clint and Meredith’s relationship, alibi confirmations, and police polygraphs
• 22:00–22:34: The “Orange Sweater Man” and persistent red herrings
• 23:34–29:57: Debunking case myths, group dynamics, newly identified individuals
• 31:22–35:27: The “Clint under the bus” narrative; family suspicion and its effects on the case
• 36:02–38:55: Doppelganger analysis and final appeal for open-source investigation
• 39:25–End: Frustrations with law enforcement’s reluctance to release more footage

Final Thoughts & Call-to-Action

The episode ends with an open invitation to the true crime community: the full timeline and raw surveillance footage is now available at truecrimegarage.com. Listeners are urged to review, analyze, and share any potentially overlooked clues with the hosts or authorities.

Brian: “We have information, we don’t have answers. And we’re hoping that these individuals will contact us or contact the police... Surveillance footage will be on truecrimegarage.com—please look at it and see if you could see something that we aren’t.” (39:25)

For armchair detectives and seasoned sleuths alike, this deep-dive is both a summary of what’s known and a challenge to help rewrite the final chapter in Brian Shaffer’s mystery.