On the night of Brian’s disappearance, he and his former roommate, William Florance, were celebrating their spring break by ‘weaving through the college pubs on southern campus’ (Pepi). Although spring break in Ohio was nothing new for Brian, this year was a bit different because his mother, Renee, had past away 3 weeks prior from myelodysplasia, a rare form of cancer. And because Brian was planning to propose to his girlfriend, Alexis Waggoner, the Monday following the weekend (Pepi). These are both strong reasons why Brian could not have up and left; his family needed him and he was getting ready to start a new future with someone he loved.

Brian and William started their night around 9:30 p.m on Friday, March 31st at The Ugly Tuna Saloona and at 9:56 p.m, Brian called Alexis to tell her he loved her and he would see her back in Columbus after his ‘time out with the guys’ (Missing Brian Shaffer). Some time after midnight, Brian and William ran into a friend of William, Meredith, at The Short North, also celebrating her spring break. They all decided after their stop there to return to The Ugly Tuna Saloona to finish the night, reaching there around 1:15 a.m on April 1st (Tribune Media Wire). While at The Ugly Tuna Saloona, the last time Brian was seen on camera was talking to two girls outside the bar, appearing to be saying ‘bye’, says the Missing Brian Shaffer Page. But after that moment there has been no sighting of Brian Shaffer anywhere (Missing Brian Shaffer).