Steven Nisenfeld was puzzled by his son’s report card after he returned home for the winter break of the 1996-97 school year. Eighteen-year-old Bryan had been an honors student in high school, but his grades after his first semester at Roger Williams College in Bristol, Rhode Island, were subpar. Bryan told his dad he was changing his major from Architecture to English and assured him he would do better in the second semester.

Something other than his classroom struggles, however, may have been weighing on Bryan’s mind. Whatever it was may have led to his death, which, his family believes, was murder.

Bryan Nisenfeld

Bryan Nisenfeld grew up in Audubon, New Jersey, a borough ten miles southeast of Philadelphia. Although he was well-liked, he was always an introvert who had few close friends and preferred writing poetry over attending parties and proms.

Bryan had a disappointing first semester at Roger Williams College, a private school of approximately 2,200 students. He was struggling academically, but his problems may have extended beyond the classroom.

Collegiate Struggles

Shortly after midnight on January 31, 1997, an agitated Bryan called his father. With his voice trembling, Bryan said that another student was harassing him and threatening to beat him up.

Steven telephoned the Roger Williams campus security; they then called the student adviser in Willow Hall, Bryan’s dormitory. When the adviser went to see him, Bryan had calmed but again said he had received threatening telephone calls from a former student he refused to name. After Bryan assured the adviser he was alright, he called his dad again, saying he had overreacted and that Steven did not need to come to Rhode Island.

Eight days later, on February 6, Bryan attended his afternoon literature class. He was not doing well in the class and the professor attempted to speak to him regarding his struggles, but Bryan brushed her off. The professor said something appeared to be weighing heavily on him.

The following day, a Friday, Bryan failed to attend any of his classes. The weekend passed with no word from him, and he was a no-show for classes on Monday and Tuesday of the following week.

On February 12, six days after Bryan was last seen, the college notified his father of his extended absence.

Something Was Bothering Bryan

Steven came to the college and searched Bryan’s dormitory room. Other than being uncharacteristically messy, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Steven thought it appeared as though Bryan had stepped out briefly with the intention of returning.

Six months passed, however, with no sign of Bryan until a very troubling and puzzling clue literally surfaced.

Steven Nisenfeld

Bryan’s Father

On Labor Day weekend, as Lori Vales and her daughter, Chelsea, walked along Narraganset Bay’s Hog Island Beach, three miles from Roger Williams University, they noticed a tan boot on the sand at the high tide line of the beach. After picking up the boot, Lori was astounded to discover a human foot inside. Another bone lay nearby. Tests identified it was a human shinbone. Both bones were determined to have come from a human left leg.

The boot was consistent with a pair owned by Bryan Nisenfeld that was not among the items found in his dorm room. DNA tests identified the foot and shinbone as his.

The partial remains found all but assured that Bryan was dead but were not enough to determine how he had died. Because the foot and shinbone were found six months after he was last seen, they had likely become separated from his body due to the water’s disturbances, decomposition, and temperature changes.

Searches of the woods and bay did not find any other remains.

Foot Found

Reporter Jody Ericson wrote a series of articles about Bryan’s disappearance and likely death. After speaking to his parents and reading some of his poetry, she concluded he was questioning his sexuality and detected undertones of a homosexual relationship with Josh Cohen, who had dropped out of Roger Williams University the previous semester.

Jody says whatever the nature of the friendship was between Bryan and Josh, it abruptly ended in late 1996 or early 1997. She believes the falling out may have occurred because Josh was going to expose his homosexual relationship with Bryan and that Bryan did not want anyone to know he was gay.

Josh admitted to making the harassing phone calls to Bryan, but claims they were only done in jest and that Bryan had made similar calls to him. He also said they were only friends and that there was no homosexual relationship between them.

The police are satisfied Josh Cohen had nothing to do with Bryan’s disappearance and likely death. I could not find a picture of Josh.

Jody Ericson theorized that anti-homosexuals may have learned that Bryan was gay and killed him. Authorities say there is no evidence to support the theory.

Was Bryan Hiding His Homosexuality?

Bryan spent many hours alone, writing his poetry while sitting on the Mount Hope Bridge at Hog Island Beach, only a few miles from his campus dormitory. Investigators have found no evidence of foul play in his probable death and believe he most likely either took his life by jumping from or accidentally falling from the two-hundred-eighty-five-foot-high bridge.

Bryan’s parents do not believe he committed suicide, but they concede it is possible he may have accidentally fallen from the bridge. They lean, however, toward believing their son was murdered and that Josh Cohen knows more than he is saying.

Mount Hope Bridge

Bryan’s mother, Marianne Brown, said she received an anonymous phone call saying a Roger Williams University Administrator and two faculty members were withholding information about her son’s case.

The University denies the claim and authorities found no evidence the college officials were not forthcoming.

Marianne Brown

Bryan’s Mother

Unless the rest of Bryan Niseneld’s remains are found, the manner in which he died will probably never be known. The chances of finding his remains are remote as they likely long ago decomposed in the Mount Hope Bay.

Anyone believing they may know what happened to Bryan Nisenfeld is urged to contact the Bristol, Rhode Island, Police Department at (401) 253-6900.

Bryan’s Foot Is All That Has Been Found

Marianne Brown and Steven Nisenfeld had not been notified about Bryan’s disappearance until six days after he was last seen. In 2000, Steven was successful in getting Congress to pass “Bryan’s Law” requiring universities to notify parents if their children have been missing after only twenty-four hours.

Steven Nisenfeld died on March 28, 2023, at age seventy-two.

“Bryan’s Law” 

SOURCES:

• CBS News
• New Jersey Star-Ledger
• Philadelphia Inquirer
• Providence Journal
• Unsolved Mysteries