Buried Rug Sparks TikTok Crime Theories, Police Investigation

Police in Columbus, Ohio, concluded an investigation at a woman’s home Friday after she went viral online for sharing that she discovered a mysterious rug buried in her backyard, sparking theories that something sinister may have happened.

Katie Santry reached millions of TikTok users in the span of a week with a series of posts about whether her house might be haunted. Santry said she had found her possessions strewn around her home office and come upon unexplained cracks in her laptop screen. But what intrigued her followers the most was the rug buried in her yard, which was discovered while digging a hole for a fence.

TikTok users flocked to Santry’s videos for updates, telling her in the comments to contact authorities in case the rug was connected to a crime. Many speculated that the rug could have been linked to missing people or unsolved cold cases.

With their encouragement, Santry said she called the police to take a look.

Santry documented the investigation as authorities arrived at her property with a small excavator and police dogs. In her footage, dogs could be seen sitting down at certain spots in her yard. Santry believed that the dogs were “marking” those areas.

Columbus police and Santry did not immediately return HuffPost’s requests for comment.

Authorities confirmed to the media that rug pieces collected from Santry’s backyard all tested negative for human and animal remains, and that there were no plans for further testing.

Despite this, online sleuths have pushed for a deeper investigation and continued to come up with new theories — speculating, for example, that someone may have been killed on the rug.

Santry still has questions about whether the police dogs may have sensed something amiss, but she is nevertheless “thrilled” that there’s not a dead body in her yard, she said on TikTok.

“There’s no body, there’s no body. Honestly, let’s praise the Lord there’s no body,” Santry said in a video updating her followers.

“I can stay in my house,” she added. “Everyone knows where I live, but at least it’s not haunted by that.”