Sep 19, 2026 · 28 min · 18 segments
Episode 80 Brian Shaffer Minisode 27-year-old Brian Shaffer was attending the Ohio State University College of Medicine in 2006. He had a seemingly bright future ahead of him, but after bar hopping…
27-year-old Brian Schaefer was attending the Ohio State University College of Medicine in 2006.
He had a seemingly bright future ahead of him, but after bar hopping with a friend on the night of March 31st, 2006, he went through the front doors of the ugly tuna saloon and he was never seen again.
And Brian's case has been on our list for a while, but since Melissa requested it and we recently passed the 20th anniversary of his disappearance, I thought it was a good time to cover it.
But before we get into the details, let's look at the university that Brian was attending, Ohio State's College of Medicine.
While we normally start our university history with a founding date, Ohio's College of Medicine doesn't technically have one.
It began when a disgruntled group of faculty from the Willoughby University of Lake Erie decided to splinter off and start their own institution in 1847.
They took around 150 students with them, and not long after opening, they were solicited by a wealthy businessman named Lynn Starling, who offered to build them a hospital and adjoining school complex in Columbus.
Megan, should we take 150 students and splinter off? Try to start our own university? I think so.
Anyway, at the time, medical teaching hospitals weren't unheard of, so the faculty jumped at this opportunity.
However, the project wouldn't be officially completed until 1887, during which time there were several more divisions, resulting in splinter medical colleges.
By 1914, all of these different organizations merged back together under the Ohio State College of Medicine name.
And over the next several decades, the school grew into a school renowned for their research and medical breakthroughs.
For example, a revolutionary treatment for heart failure was created at OSCM, as well as treatments for hairy cell leukemia.
They're also responsible for several breakthroughs in robotic surgery, including being the first to perform a successful robotically-assisted heart bypass in 1999 and the first to perform a robotic thyroidectomy in 2010.
They are also ranked in the U.S.'s top 50 research schools, and they received recognition as one of America's best hospitals.
So, when a young man named Brian Schaefer was looking for a school to get his MD, OSCM was his first choice.
Brian was born on February 11, 1979, as the oldest child of Randy and Renee Schaefer.
27-year-old Brian Schaefer was attending the Ohio State University College of Medicine in 2006.
He had a seemingly bright future ahead of him, but after bar hopping with a friend on the night of March 31st, 2006, he went through the front doors of the ugly tuna saloon and he was never seen again.
And Brian's case has been on our list for a while, but since Melissa requested it and we recently passed the 20th anniversary of his disappearance, I thought it was a good time to cover it.
But before we get into the details, let's look at the university that Brian was attending, Ohio State's College of Medicine.
While we normally start our university history with a founding date, Ohio's College of Medicine doesn't technically have one.
It began when a disgruntled group of faculty from the Willoughby University of Lake Erie decided to splinter off and start their own institution in 1847.
They took around 150 students with them, and not long after opening, they were solicited by a wealthy businessman named Lynn Starling, who offered to build them a hospital and adjoining school complex in Columbus.
Megan, should we take 150 students and splinter off? Try to start our own university? I think so.
Anyway, at the time, medical teaching hospitals weren't unheard of, so the faculty jumped at this opportunity.
However, the project wouldn't be officially completed until 1887, during which time there were several more divisions, resulting in splinter medical colleges.
By 1914, all of these different organizations merged back together under the Ohio State College of Medicine name.
And over the next several decades, the school grew into a school renowned for their research and medical breakthroughs.
For example, a revolutionary treatment for heart failure was created at OSCM, as well as treatments for hairy cell leukemia.
They're also responsible for several breakthroughs in robotic surgery, including being the first to perform a successful robotically-assisted heart bypass in 1999 and the first to perform a robotic thyroidectomy in 2010.
They are also ranked in the U.S.'s top 50 research schools, and they received recognition as one of America's best hospitals.
So, when a young man named Brian Schaefer was looking for a school to get his MD, OSCM was his first choice.
Brian was born on February 11, 1979, as the oldest child of Randy and Renee Schaefer.
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