00:00
This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:02
Guaranteed human.
00:04
Joy is essential and it's also elusive. But now, there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence. Joy 101. It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotb. If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting, and moving on-air chats. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Joy 101, and listen now. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is presented by CVS.
00:35
My first guest is Paris Hilton. Shakira. Luke and Yerin. We have surprises. Many surprises. Welcome to the Sweet 305 podcast where the group check comes to life. What up?
00:48
You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst. It's lemonade. This is Sweet 305.
00:54
Here, oversharing is encouraged.
00:56
Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
01:05
Hey, this is Chuck from Stuff You Should Know, and we're submitting our most science-y episodes for your peer review with our new Stuff You Should Know doing science playlist. Out now. You want to know about Occam's razor? The simplest explanation is usually the right one. We got you covered. Wondered what chaos theory is ever since the first time you saw Jurassic Park? Well, come on down. So distill a nice pot of tea, everybody. Turn down the gas on your Bunsen burner and slip into your most comfortable lab coat and listen to the Stuff You Should Know Doing Science playlist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
01:39
Can superstars even exist the way they used to?
01:41
2016 was sort of that last era of monoculture, where we still consumed things in community. Everybody wanted to be Beyonce at that point. I don't think we'll ever see another Rihanna.
01:55
What does it mean to be Black and eat in America? You will never make me feel bad for being a Black girl, for being a Black American girl, ever.
02:02
From music to food to the conversations shaping black culture right now, Therapy for Black Girls is bringing it all to the mic. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
02:15
Happy Pride from the Outspoken Podcast Network. All month long and all year round, we're celebrating being loud, proud, and always original. It's me, Brandon Kyle Goodman, host of the podcast Tell Me Something Messy. Check out my show for unfiltered takes on dating, relationships, and adulting. Listen to High Key for the best pop culture takes, and there are no girls on the internet for all your tech news. For your favorite celebrity kikis, check out Outlaws with T.S. Madison. Learn to love yourself unapologetically with BFF, Black Fat Fem, and start your day with intention with Waking Up With Ryan coming in July.
02:49
Celebrate Pride with the Outspoken Network. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Pride, and listen now.
02:55
Hello, and welcome to Unexplained, with me, your host, Richard McLean-Smith, where each week we explore another true tale of high strangeness.
03:05
But first, a quick update on some things before we begin.
03:08
As some of you may know, ironically, the biggest thing in podcasting right now is making videos. So I've finally bitten the bullet.
03:16
As you will see if you're watching this, here I am. For those listening and who will always prefer to listen, don't worry, absolutely nothing will change from your perspective.
03:25
Unexplained will always be available to listen to as a podcast. Only now it will come with an accompanying video. If you do want to watch, you can find the podcast at youtube.com forward slash unexplained pod. The video versions will also be available on Spotify and Apple podcasts once my hosting company updates their system. So listen out for any announcements regarding that. If you're new here and you're a fan of expertly told, atmospheric stories about the strange and unexplained, then you've come to the right place. And please subscribe to the show if you haven't already done so.
03:59
This is Unexplained, Season 9, Episode 26, In Through the Outdoor, The Brian Schaefer Mystery.
04:18
Early on Friday evening in March of 2006, there was a celebratory mood on the campus of Ohio State University.
04:26
Classes had just finished for spring break, and the quad was packed with students ready to let loose. 27-year-old Brian Schaefer wove his way through the crowds, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground ahead of him.
04:39
He heard a friend calling his name, trying to summon him over to join the celebrations, but he didn't look up.
04:46
Brian was tired.
04:48
He was midway through his second year of medical school, and the workload was crushing.
04:53
He'd pulled multiple all-nighters that week ahead of his exams, trying to retain impossible volumes of information about the human endocrine and reproductive systems, and that was only the tip of the iceberg. The past month had been the hardest of Brian's life, and right then, he was trying not to think about the deeper reason for his exhaustion.
05:14
He'd locked that away firmly in a mental box, which he didn't plan to reopen until he was ready.
05:20
Definitely not until he'd passed his end-of-year board exams.
05:25
Brian made it to the parking lot on the edge of the campus and got into his car.
05:30
He'd barely used it in weeks.
05:32
One of the perks of life at OSU was how walkable the university neighbourhood was.
05:38
He drove about 15 minutes east to a nearby Outback Steakhouse, where he'd agreed to meet his father for dinner.
05:46
Randy Schaefer was already inside, waiting at a corner table.
05:51
Randy stood up to greet his son, immediately noticing the dark shadows under Brian's eyes, his pale complexion, and the way he wouldn't quite make eye contact. He looked absolutely exhausted.
06:04
That wasn't a surprise, of course. The entire family was still in shock.
06:09
Less than a month ago, Randy's wife and Brian's mother, Renee, had died from an aggressive, fast-moving cancer.
06:18
Although Brian had been stoical about it on the surface, Randy knew his son was in pain.
06:24
He tried to convince Brian to take some time off school. Surely the college would understand, he thought, but Brian wouldn't hear of it.
06:33
He insisted that missing his exams would just derail his whole med school career and stress him out even more.
06:41
Clearly, Brian needed to keep things as normal as possible in order to cope. That's why Randy had insisted on taking him out to dinner to celebrate the end of the semester. It was their tradition, after all.
06:54
But now that they were here, in their favourite steakhouse, Renee's absence felt all the more glaring.
07:01
But neither of them wanted to acknowledge it.
07:04
Instead, they just made small talk about the exams, which Brian said had gone pretty well, all things considered.
07:12
And they talked about Brian's vacation plans for spring break.
07:16
At the end of their dinner, Randy was surprised when Brian said he was going to meet some friends for drinks at a local bar, considering how tired he clearly was.
07:26
What he really needed was an early night, and Randy almost said so, but decided better of it.
07:33
After all, maybe a night out with friends to blow off some steam was exactly what he needed.
07:39
He couldn't possibly have known then. It was the last time he'd ever see his son.
07:51
Brian Schaefer was born and raised in Pickerington, a suburb just outside of Columbus, Ohio.
07:58
He was a bright, energetic kid who made friends easily and was good at almost everything he tried.
08:05
He was a model student, played multiple sports, and as a teenager had even taught himself how to play the guitar.
08:13
He loved it so much that he had dreams of starting his own alternative rock band one day, but it was never more than a passing fantasy.
08:21
In truth, Brian was far too disciplined and sensible to do that.
08:26
As the older of two brothers, he also had a strong sense of responsibility. Being the first child, he felt it was important to set a good example for his younger brother.
08:37
His father Randy, an electrician, and his mother Renee, who was a nurse, had always encouraged him to choose a stable career path, and medicine seemed about as solid as they come.
08:49
In 2003, Brian earned his undergraduate degree in microbiology from Ohio State University before taking a place at their medical school.
08:59
It seemed like a natural fit to his friends and family. He had the right mix of smarts and social skills to become an excellent doctor.
09:08
Despite the grueling pace of that first year at med school, Brian adapted well. He kept up with all of his coursework while still carving out some time for a social life and the occasional guitar jam session.
09:21
In the fall of 2005, right at the beginning of his second year, Brian started dating fellow medical student Alexis Wagoner.
09:31
Things quickly got serious between them, in part because soon after they met, Brian was shaken by some devastating news from home.
09:41
His mother, Renee, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer.
09:47
Brian had always been close to his mum.
09:50
She was his closest confidant, and the idea of life without her was unthinkable.
09:55
But Rene didn't want Brian to worry, so she did what she could to play down her condition.
10:01
But with Brian now a med student, he couldn't be fooled. He understood the prognosis too well.
10:08
Even so, the speed of his mother's decline still stunned him.
10:14
In early March of 2006, only six months after her diagnosis, Renee passed away in hospital, surrounded by her family.
10:25
Brian was shattered by the loss, but he was also determined not to let it derail him. So rather than take any time off school, he doubled down in his studies in his mum's honour, trying to do what he thought she would want.
10:38
Or as he put it on his MySpace page, she will always inspire me to do my best and I don't want to let her down.
10:50
Hey, I'm Hoda Kotb, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb. Okay, if you know me, you know this. I'm always searching for inspiration, for support, and useful tools to help maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover all of that together. We're going to have these meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people, like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges that she never saw coming.
11:19
I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer, and that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartum depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety.
11:28
Olympic champ Shawn Johnson revealed why she had no choice but to be a gymnast.
11:33
There was something about gymnastics that was intoxicating to me. It's given me a belief that we all have one of those treasures inside of us. We just have to find it.
11:43
Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
11:53
My first guest is Paris Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerin, Samira and Gracie.
12:00
I'm so excited. On a bouncy bed.
12:02
You have surprises. Many surprises. Welcome to Sweet 305, where the group chat comes to life. What up, .
12:10
It's like a way to say, like, hello, friend. Hello, best friend. Hello, sister. What up, . Look, I've never talked to anyone. Except with my children. My children know.
12:28
You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst. Lemonade.
12:32
No hay alguien que te falta, como que tú dices, me gustaría colaborar con esta persona.
12:39
This is Sweet 305. Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons as part of my Cultura podcast network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
12:51
June is Black Music Month, and on the Drink Champs podcast, we're speaking with the hottest names in the culture, like Sway Lee. Do you realize how legendary you are?
12:59
I appreciate that. I be seeing it, but I'm like, man, I still got like so much more to do. Like Prince, he dropped like 30 albums. We dropped like five right now. That's the rate we got to be going.
13:09
Yeah, that's a good attitude. You also hear stories from industry legends and hip hop pioneers like Fab Five Freddy.
13:16
I directed when Nas is the early video. Which one? One Love. Wow.
13:22
I literally filmed in his apartment in Queensbridge. His mom's was still up in that apartment. Nas was just beginning to take off. His pops used to live near me in Harlem. His dad introduced him to a whole lot of, you know, conscious stuff, and he made a young prodigy.
13:37
No matter the era, Drink Champs brings you the biggest names and the most unfiltered conversations. Listen to Drink Champs from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
13:51
Mainstream media is full of cruel depictions of the unhoused. Stories that shame and blame and paint the unhoused as a monolith. We the Unhoused is the podcast that's changing that. I'm Theo Henderson, creator and host. And for years, I've created a space where the unhoused and their advocates can tell their own stories. In the last few months alone, I've interviewed unhoused parents, Immigrants, mutual aid organizers, veterans, the LGBTQIA plus community, and the policymakers who make the laws that impact the unhoused existence.
14:28
We Do Unhoused is a two-time Webby and Signal Award winning show with many exciting guests on the horizon. Tune in this week for my interview with Dr. Jill Wichler, a street doctor turned influencer whose work with the unhoused community has made a huge impact online and in her community. Listen to We The In-House on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
14:53
Happy Pride from the Outspoken Podcast Network. All month long and all year round, we're celebrating being loud, proud, and always original. It's me, Brandon Kyle Goodman, host of the podcast Tell Me Something Messy. Check out my show for unfiltered takes on dating, relationships, and adulting.
15:09
The more you get comfortable with someone, the more their real self comes out. They're gonna be gross. What's the grossest thing about a man? Burping. Shut it down.
15:16
Listen to High Key for the best pop culture takes, and there are no girls on the internet for all your tech news. For your favorite celebrity kikis, check out Outlaws with T.S. Madison.
15:26
Wait, so Luke was the son of Vader, and Vader was turned by RuPaul? Yeah, well, somebody turned him.
15:33
Some old, old, old witch.
15:35
Learn to love yourself unapologetically with BFF, Black Fat Fem, and start your day with intention with Waking Up With Ryan coming in July. Celebrate Pride with the Outspoken Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Pride, and listen now.
15:57
As far as Brian's friends could tell, he was handling the loss of his mother about as well as could be expected.
16:05
He planned to just stay focused until his exams were out of the way, and then he could take some much needed time to try and process it all during spring break, when he and Alexis had booked a vacation to Florida.
16:18
By then, the couple's friends and family were pretty sure that Brian was planning to propose during that trip.
16:25
Between grief and the pressures of med school, it seemed that Brian had grown up a lot in the past year, and maybe the idea of settling down appealed to him, being a chance to get some stability and control back into his life.
16:40
Besides, as some of them figured, it was probably what his mum would have wanted for him.
16:46
On March 31st, the final day of classes before spring break, Back in Brian's home, his father, Randy Schaefer, stood in the doorway of his bedroom.
16:58
Still utterly devastated by his wife's death, he hadn't been able to bring himself to touch any of her belongings.
17:05
Her clothes were still draped over a chair, her jewellery still out on her make-up table.
17:11
Even the book she'd been reading when she died was still on her nightstand.
17:16
randy took it all in and then switched off the light and headed out to meet his son that night he drove over to the outback steakhouse in the city of reynoldsburg situated almost exactly halfway between the schaefer home and the ohio state university campus it had become the family's favorite meeting spot ever since brian started his undergrad studies that night Randy was determined to put on a brave face for Brian, and the reverse was also true, so they both made an effort to keep things light as they ate their ribeye steaks.
17:53
At some point, Randy asked Brian about his upcoming trip to Miami with Alexis.
17:59
Brian had always loved Florida. In fact, he loved anywhere with a beach and a tropical climate.
18:05
Before he'd committed to medical school, he'd sometimes joked about leaving it all behind and moving to an island where he could make music and drink margaritas all day.
18:16
This vacation, he thought, would give him at least a taste of that dream.
18:22
Then when the night was over Randy paid the bill and said goodbye to his son.
18:28
He gave him a quick hug and jokingly told him don't do anything I wouldn't do and in that moment as he watched his son walk away into the night he Randy would later say that he suddenly felt an all-consuming sense of foreboding and had the sudden urge to run after Brian and hold him back, as if he somehow saw the city for what it was in that moment, a gaping, snarling mouth about to swallow his son whole.
18:59
Whether that was true, or just the distorted way that he remembered that night in the aftermath of what was to come, either way, if it had been true, it would have been with good reason.
19:19
After dinner, Brian drove back home to his apartment on campus, where he lived alone, to park his car, and then walked a few blocks to OSU's South Campus Gateway, a sprawling shopping and entertainment complex for students.
19:33
There he met up with his former roommate, William Florence, also known as Clint, at the Ugly Tuna Saloon, a busy college bar.
19:42
The place was packed with students, celebrating the start of spring break. and there was a restless kind of excitement in the air, laughter and chatter almost drowning out the music.
19:54
Brian and Clint both drank a beer and had a shot, taking advantage of that night's special offer, and talked about how their exams had gone.
20:02
A bit before 10pm, Brian stepped outside to make a phone call, then he dialed Alexis, who was visiting her family in Toledo that weekend. The pair finalised their travel plans and agreed to meet at Columbus Airport on Monday morning to catch their flight to Miami.
20:20
Brian told Alexis he loved her and told her to say hi to her parents from him.
20:26
Just as Brian was finishing his call, Clint emerged from the bar and suggested they get started on their bar crawl.
20:33
They worked their way gradually southwards across the city, stopping every now and again along the way.
20:39
At every bar, they each had a single shot of hard liquor, never lingering long before moving on.
20:46
Two hours and as many miles later... They reached a bar in the Short North neighbourhood, where they met up with a friend of Clint's called Meredith Reed, but it was getting close to midnight, and Brian was beginning to succumb to all the sleepless nights and stresses of the exam week.
21:03
Sensing that the night was winding down, Meredith offered to give the guys a ride back to the university district, and get one last drink there with them.
21:12
A short time later, at 1.15am, the three of them rode up the escalator to the main entrance of the Ugly Tuna Saloon, where Brian and Clint had begun earlier in the night.
21:25
Both were several drinks deep at this point, but weren't visibly drunk or out of control.
21:31
By then, the bar was much less packed than it had been earlier, but the atmosphere was still buzzing and a live band was playing.
21:39
The trio mingled and danced. Then, at some point, Brian got separated from the others.
21:51
It's been suggested that shortly after re-entering the ugly tuna salooner, Brian and Clint got into an argument, but this has never been confirmed.
22:02
In any case, by the time the bar closed at 2am, Clint and Meredith appeared to have completely lost Brian.
22:10
They both lingered by the exit as other patrons descended the escalator. Wondering if perhaps Brian was still in the bar, maybe using the restroom or finishing up a conversation with someone.
22:22
They tried texting and calling him as they scanned the faces of the thinning crowd of people as they emerged one by one from the bar.
22:31
But Brian didn't respond and neither did he appear to emerge from the bar.
22:37
Barely a few minutes later, the ugly tuna salooner turned out its lights and locked its doors.
22:45
A security guard confirmed that there was nobody left inside.
22:49
Confused, Clint and Meredith assumed that Brian must have simply gone home without them.
22:56
It was a little strange, but he wouldn't be the first person to pull a French exit when he got tired.
23:02
The next morning, Brian's dad Randy knew better than to try calling his son so soon after a night out.
23:09
Even when he finally shot off a text to him on Saturday afternoon, how was last night, he wasn't surprised not to get a reply.
23:18
Brian's girlfriend Alexis, who was busy with her family in Toledo for most of Saturday, had tried calling him earlier in the day to check in, but her call went straight to voicemail, so she figured he was just sleeping off a hangover.
23:32
She tried again that evening, but again it went to voicemail.
23:37
A thread of unease began to twist in her stomach, but she tried to shake it off.
23:42
had already finalized their plans and agreed to meet at the airport on Monday morning, so there wasn't anything pressing they needed to talk about.
23:52
Even still, Brian had always been communicative and it was rare for them to go a full day without any contact.
24:00
On Sunday, she tried him again, but yet again it went to voicemail.
24:06
By now, Alexis was beginning to wonder if Brian had lost or broken his phone, She thought about calling his dad, but the family had been through so much recently that she didn't want to worry him unnecessarily.
24:20
On Monday morning, Alexis arrived at the airport as planned, but Brian was nowhere to be seen.
24:28
Alexis could only wait at the security gate, watching as one after another passenger filed pass to get onto their flight.
24:37
On the huge illuminated departures board above her head, she watched as the status of their flight to Miami moved from go to gate, to boarding, to final call.
24:49
Then she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, and for a second her heart leapt.
24:55
But it wasn't Brian, it was his dad, Randy.
25:05
As Alexis answered the phone call, she realized for the first time that her hands were shaking, her voice came out strangled with panic, and finally she told Randy everything.
25:17
She told him that Brian was missing.
25:21
For Randy, it was almost a relief to finally hear the words out loud.
25:26
Like Alexis, he'd been desperately trying to convince himself that everything was okay, even as his texts and calls went unanswered. Now finally, he could spring into action.
25:37
As soon as he got off the phone with Alexis, Randy reported Brian missing to the Columbus police and told them everything he knew about his son's Friday night plans.
25:48
The cops began by interviewing Clint, who gave them a rough timeline of the evening.
25:53
As he explained it to them, he'd last seen Brian inside the Ugly Tuna Saloon around 1.40am, but hadn't been able to find him when the bar closed at 2.00pm.
26:05
This location was good news for the investigation.
26:08
Thanks to high crime rates in the surrounding neighbourhood, the South Campus Gateway complex, where the bar was located, had numerous security cameras.
26:17
When the police reviewed the security footage, they quickly identified Brian, Clint and Meredith going up the escalator towards the bar at 1.15am.
26:27
This matched the timeline that Clint had given them, which lent credibility to his statement, but otherwise didn't give them much to go on.
26:36
And then, at 1.55am, just five minutes before the bar closed, incredibly, Brian was picked up on CCTV, emerging from the bar into the street outside.
26:50
He appeared to talk to two young women there, before heading back into the bar.
26:56
The CCTV footage then revealed Clint and Meredith leaving a few minutes later, along with the rest of the bar's remaining punters that night.
27:06
But Brian wasn't among them.
27:09
Despite scouring the footage again and again, the police couldn't find a glimpse of him leaving the club.
27:17
No one in the footage really looked like him or was wearing the same clothes as him that night.
27:23
The position of the camera also eliminated any blind spots.
27:27
It was inconceivable that anyone could have used that main entrance without showing up on the footage, which left two possible explanations.
27:37
Either Brian had deliberately disguised himself by changing his clothes and hiding his face from the cameras, sneaking out with the crowd at 2am, or else he'd left by a different route.
27:54
Hey, I'm Hoda Kotb, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb. Okay, if you know me, you know this. I'm always searching for inspiration, for support, and useful tools to help maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover all of that together. We're going to have these meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people. Like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges that she never saw coming.
28:23
I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer and that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartum depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety.
28:32
Olympic champ Shawn Johnson revealed why she had no choice but to be a gymnast.
28:37
There was something about gymnastics that was intoxicating to me. It's given me a belief that we all have one of those treasures inside of us. We just have to find it.
28:47
Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
28:58
My first guest is Paris Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerin, Samira, and Gracie.
29:04
I'm so excited. On a bouncy bed.
29:06
You have surprises. Many surprises. Welcome to Suite 305, where the group chat comes to life. What up, . It's like a way to say, like, hello, friend. Hello, best friend. Hello, sister. What up? Look, I've never talked to anyone.
29:22
Except with my children. My children know.
29:32
You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst. It's lemonade.
29:39
This is Sweet 305. Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons as part of my Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
29:55
June is Black Music Month, and on the Drink Champs podcast, we're speaking with the hottest names in the culture, like Sway Lee. Do you realize how legendary you are?
30:04
I appreciate that. I be seeing it, but I'm like, man, I still got, like, so much more to do. Like, Prince, he dropped, like, 30 albums. We dropped, like, five right now. That's the rate we gotta be going.
30:13
Yep, that's a good attitude. You also hear stories from industry legends and hip-hop pioneers, like Fab Five Freddy.
30:20
I directed Winnaz's early videos. Which one? One Love. Wow.
30:26
I literally filmed in his apartment in Queensbridge. His mom's was still up in that apartment. Nas was just beginning to take off. His pops used to live near me in Harlem. His dad introduced him to a whole lot of, you know, conscious stuff, and he made a young prodigy.
30:42
No matter the era, Drink Champs brings you the biggest names and the most unfiltered conversations. Listen to Drink Champs from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
30:56
Mainstream media is full of cruel depictions of the unhoused. Stories that shame and blame and paint the unhoused as a monolith. We the Unhoused is the podcast that's changing that. I'm Theo Henderson, creator and host. And for years, I've created a space where the unhoused and their advocates can tell their own stories. In the last few months alone, I've interviewed unhoused parents, Immigrants, mutual aid organizers, veterans, the LGBTQIA plus community, and the policymakers who make the laws that impact the unhoused existence.
31:32
We do in-house as a two-time Webby and Signal Award winning show with many exciting guests on the horizon. Tune in this week for my interview with Dr. Jill Wichler, a street doctor turned influencer whose work with the unhoused community has made a huge impact online and in her community. Listen to We The In-House on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
31:57
Happy Pride from the Outspoken Podcast Network. All month long and all year round, we're celebrating being loud, proud, and always original. It's me, Brandon Kyle Goodman, host of the podcast Tell Me Something Messy. Check out my show for unfiltered takes on dating, relationships, and adulting.
32:14
The more you get comfortable with someone, the more their real self comes out. They're going to be gross. What's the grossest thing about a man? Burping. Shut it down.
32:20
Listen to High Key for the best pop culture takes, and there are no girls on the internet for all your tech news. For your favorite celebrity kikis, check out Outlaws with T.S. Madison.
32:30
Wait, so Luke was the son of Vader, and Vader was turned by RuPaul? Yeah, well, somebody turned him. Some old, old, old witch.
32:39
Learn to love yourself unapologetically with BFF, Black Fat Fem, and start your day with intention with Waking Up With Ryan coming in July. Celebrate Pride with the Outspoken Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Pride, and listen now.
33:02
Officially, the Ugly Tuna Salooner's main entrance was the only way in and out of the building, but there was a service door tucked away in the side of the bar, not far from the spot where Brian had last been seen.
33:15
It led to a first-floor hallway, which in turn led to a construction area that wasn't technically open to the public, but wasn't locked either.
33:25
There were security cameras in that area too, and when the police reviewed that footage, there was no sign of Brian there either.
33:33
but the camera coverage there was much more patchy and had multiple blind spots, so it was entirely possible that he could have slipped past unrecorded.
33:43
Still, there was no mistaking that service door for a public exit. If Brian had chosen to leave the bar that way, it was because he didn't want to be seen.
33:53
Because he wanted to disappear.
33:57
Even though multiple bars in the area had security cameras too, Brian wasn't visible on any of them.
34:04
After 1.55am, on the morning of April 1st, there wasn't a glimpse of him anywhere in the city.
34:12
In the days following Brian's disappearance, the police mounted a vast search effort which spiralled outwards from the ugly tuna saloon and Brian's apartment nearby.
34:23
As many as 50 officers went door to door asking for information.
34:28
They searched local hospitals and homeless shelters, while police docks were used to comb through dumpsters, landfills and abandoned buildings for any evidence of Brian. But there was nothing.
34:41
They questioned Brian's family, friends and fellow students, hoping to uncover some dark secret that might offer a clue, a drug habit perhaps, or gambling debts, or even a known enemy.
34:55
But yet again they came up empty-handed.
34:58
Nobody had anything bad to say about Brian, nor any clue where he might have gone.
35:05
Brian's own apartment offered no leads either. His car was still parked outside, so wherever he'd gone, he hadn't used his own vehicle to get there.
35:15
This was significant because detectives were considering the possibility that Brian had disappeared voluntarily.
35:23
By anyone's standards, he'd been under intense stress before he disappeared.
35:28
There was the fresh grief of his mother's death, the sleep deprivation and stress from his exams, maybe even the pressure he'd felt to propose to Alexis.
35:38
But Brian's friends and family dismissed this out of hand, and even the detective who thought it was possible had to admit that Brian didn't fit the profile.
35:49
Typically, people who deliberately disappear tend to do so to escape financial ruin, abuse or a similarly unbearable and inescapable situation.
36:01
Despite everything that Brian had been through, he had a stable life and a loving family he was close to.
36:08
It just didn't feel right.
36:16
If Brian hadn't intended to disappear, the police figured there were only two real possibilities to explain what had happened to him.
36:25
Either he'd fallen victim to an accident, or a deliberate act of violence.
36:31
Because that service door from the bar led into a construction area which wasn't well lit at night, investigators thought it might be possible that Brian had fallen there and somehow died, But after an exhaustive search of the whole site, no body was ever found.
36:49
As for an act of violence, there was no sign of a struggle or foul play at the bar, and Brian was a strong, athletic young man who was more than capable of defending himself even after several drinks.
37:03
It is hard to fathom how he could have been overpowered and taken against his will without anybody noticing and without any video evidence.
37:13
Every possibility seemed equally implausible.
37:17
Before long, the police began to wonder if Clint or Meredith were hiding something.
37:22
They asked the pair to take polygraph tests.
37:25
Meredith agreed happily and passed the test, but Clint refused.
37:31
Such tests are notoriously unreliable, so perhaps Clint figured, not unreasonably, that he didn't want to subject himself to something so unpredictable, especially if he didn't have anything to hide.
37:44
Either way, there was no evidence to suggest that Clint had anything to do with Brian's disappearance. and the security footage clearly showed him leaving the bar with Meredith after they appeared to have innocently failed to find him.
37:59
All the while, Brian's father Randy continued to search relentlessly for his son.
38:06
Losing his son so soon after his wife's death, without any closure, was too much for him to bear.
38:13
Throwing himself into the search was just about all he could do to keep it together, and so, as the official investigation began to lose steam, he ramped up his own.
38:24
He and Brian's younger brother Derek formed a search party with some of their neighbours, and together, they spent hours trudging along the shores of the Olantanji River, searching for any sign of Brian and Meanwhile, Alexis would repeatedly call Brian's cell phone, in part just so she could hear his voice on the voicemail, but also in the hope that one day, somebody might answer.
38:49
And for months, it went straight to voicemail.
38:52
But then one night, she called Brian's phone again, and it began to ring.
39:05
As Alexis sat listening to that ringtone, she was instantly seized by hope.
39:10
But after only a few rings, the call once again went to voicemail as usual.
39:17
Investigators determined that this was probably just caused by a glitch on the cell phone network. But then, Brian's phone from that exact call was later found to have pinged a tower in Hilliard, a northwestern suburb of Columbus.
39:34
This cell phone ping is the closest thing to new evidence that's emerged since Brian went missing.
39:40
But in the end, just like everything else, it led nowhere.
39:45
Although dozens of tips came in from members of the public, claiming to have seen Brian in locations as far apart as Texas to Sweden, none of these leads panned out either.
39:58
In September 2008, Brian's father Randy was killed in a freak accident by a falling tree branch during a storm.
40:08
Then, in the comments of his online obituary, a post appeared claiming to be from Brian, giving his location as the Virgin Islands.
40:19
But the police soon determined that the post was just a cruel hoax.
40:25
Today, the investigation into Brian's disappearance is officially still active and remains one of Ohio's most notorious cold cases.
40:36
In 2021, authorities released an age-progressed photo showing what Brian would look like in his 40s in the hopes that he might still be located one day.
40:47
Hope doesn't have an expiration date, the Ohio Attorney General said.
40:52
Every missing person counts.
40:56
This spring of 2026 marks 20 years since Brian Schaefer was last seen.
41:11
This episode was written by Emma Dibden and produced by me, Richard McLean Smith.
41:21
Thank you as ever for listening. Unexplained is an AV Club production podcast created by Richard McLean Smith. All other elements of the podcast, including the music, are also produced by me, Richard McLean Smith. Unexplained, the book and audiobook, is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones and other bookstores. Please subscribe to and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show.
41:54
Perhaps you have an explanation or a story of your own you'd like to share. You can find out more at unexplainedpodcast.com and reach us online through X and Blue Sky at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at facebook.com forward slash unexplainedpodcast.
42:22
you you
43:49
Joy is essential and it's also elusive. But now there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence. Joy 101. It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotb. If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting, and moving on-air chats. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Joy 101 and listen now. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is presented by CVS.
44:20
My first guest is Paris Hilton.
44:22
Shakira. Luke and Yerin. We have surprises. Many surprises. Welcome to the Sweet 305 podcast where the group check comes to life. What up?
44:32
You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst.
44:35
It's lemonade.
44:37
This is Sweet 305.
44:39
Here, oversharing is encouraged.
44:41
Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
44:50
Hey, this is Chuck from Stuff You Should Know, and we're submitting our most science-y episodes for your peer review with our new Stuff You Should Know doing science playlist. Out now. You want to know about Occam's razor? The simplest explanation is usually the right one. We got you covered. Wondered what chaos theory is ever since the first time you saw Jurassic Park? Well, come on down. So distill a nice pot of tea, everybody. Turn down the gas on your Bunsen burner and slip into your most comfortable lab coat and listen to the Stuff You Should Know Doing Science playlist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
45:24
Can superstars even exist the way they used to?
45:26
2016 was sort of that last era of monoculture, where we still consumed things in community. Everybody wanted to be Beyonce at that point. I don't think we'll ever see another Rihanna.
45:40
What does it mean to be Black and eat in America? You will never make me feel bad for being a Black girl, for being a Black American girl, ever.
45:47
From music to food to the conversations shaping black culture right now, Therapy for Black Girls is bringing it all to the mic. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
46:00
Happy Pride from the Outspoken Podcast Network. All month long and all year round, we're celebrating being loud, proud, and always original. It's me, Brandon Kyle Goodman, host of the podcast Tell Me Something Messy. Check out my show for unfiltered takes on dating, relationships, and adulting. Listen to High Key for the best pop culture takes, and there are no girls on the internet for all your tech news. For your favorite celebrity kikis, check out Outlaws with T.S. Madison. Learn to love yourself unapologetically with BFF, Black Fat Fem, and start your day with intention with Waking Up With Ryan coming in July.
46:34
Celebrate Pride with the Outspoken Network. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Pride, and listen now.
46:39
This is an iHeart Podcast.
46:42
Guaranteed human.
