Police say no body was found inside a buried rug that sparked a TikTok sleuth firestorm
A Columbus, Ohio, woman broadcast to millions of TikTok viewers this week as she documented the discovery and police investigation of a rolled-up rug buried almost 2-feet deep in her backyard.
But TikTok users — many of whom speculated the rug was evidence of a larger crime — expressed disappointment on Friday when the woman, Katie Santry Hansen, revealed that the rug she uncovered didn’t contain a body.
The Columbus Division of Police confirmed to NBC News that the investigation, which used K-9 resources, concluded on Friday with no human or animal remains found.
“Investigators began digging at the site at approximately 9:00 AM and removed several small rug pieces from the ground,” the police department said in an email statement. “The pieces all tested negative for human or animal remains and, at this time, there are no plans for further testing.”
Hansen grew her following from 6,000 followers on TikTok to over 1.6 million in under a week as the story developed. More than 150,000 people watched her livestream on Friday, where she documented the police search.
She was not immediately available for an interview on Friday.
In comments, TikTok users offered their own theories on what they described as “rug gate” — advising Hansen to contact lawyers and psychics and asking Hansen about her neighbors. Some also speculated that missing people from Columbus-area cold cases could be buried in the rug.
User curiosity continued, even as the police said there was no body. Commenters continued to encourage Hansen and police officials to search elsewhere, like under the home’s deck.
It’s become the latest instance of what has been referred to as “armchair sleuthing” online, in which people do their own deep dives to try and identify clues that they feel officials haven’t come across yet. Experts have suggested people’s desire to sleuth — which at times can spread false allegations and misinformation — is a symptom of the internet’s obsession with true crime and its desire to engage in gossip.
Internet audiences had a similar reaction earlier this week after Terryon Thomas, 20-year-old TikTok creator best known as Mr Prada, was charged with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. The popular Baton Rouge-based online creator was accused of driving the stolen vehicle of 69-year-old therapist William Nicholas Abraham, also of Baton Rouge, who was found dead on the side of a highway near Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, on Sunday.
Thomas became the subject of a social media frenzy after claims that he was involved in Abraham’s death went viral. Many posts on TikTok and X, some which garnered millions of views, speculated on the relationship between Thomas and Abraham.
Hansen first started documenting the rug saga on Monday, when she said in a video that she believed her house may be haunted after discovering that her laptop screen had been cracked overnight and items on her desk were scattered out of place. While digging a hole for a fence in her backyard, Hansen and her husband found the rug.
TikTok comments encouraged Hansen to contact the police, who initially told her to try digging up the rug herself, she said. After a few unsuccessful attempts with shovels, Hansen said that a homicide detective returned and took over the digging.
Interest from online users came to a head on Thursday, after Hansen shared a video on TikTok of two “cadaver dogs” sniffing around the hole in her backyard and sitting down, which she believed was a sign that the dogs detected a human scent.
The situation felt to Hansen like she was in a true crime TV series. But as her following swelled and her updates grew more serious, Hansen appeared to express more hesitation about continuing to document every single update.
“Imagine there is something there, and someone has to see that as a relative,” she said in a recent video, explaining she would still go live but not as the investigation unfolded. “I think it would be disrespectful. So I’m sorry to disappoint a lot of you.”
On her livestream update on Friday, Hansen dispelled rumors that she made everything up for TikTok attention.
“What was in the rug? Nothing,” Hansen said during the livestream on Friday. “There were no bones, there was no body, it was just a rug … This should be a sigh of relief. This is a good ending.”
