俄亥俄州哥伦布市的一位女性在本周以一段短视频的形式向数百万TikTok用户展示了她对后院深处发现并由警方调查的一个卷起的地毯进行记录的过程。但是，在周五，她在视频平台上拥有超过160万粉丝、名为Katie Santry的账户上公布，所发现的地毯内并未发现尸体。
哥伦布市警察局向NBC新闻确认，在周六结束了一项运用警犬资源的调查后，并没有在该地点发现人类或动物遗骸。警方发声明称：“执法机关于上午9时开始挖掘现场，共起出数块小地毯碎片。所有碎片的测试结果均排除了人体或动物存在的可能。目前尚未计划进行进一步检测。”
Santry自她的账号从6000名粉丝增加到1万6千多人之后，在事件发展中迅速走红。周五的一场直播吸引了逾15万人观看，记录了警方搜寻过程。她未能在当天接受采访。
TikTok用户们对“地毯门”提出了各自的想法与建议——有人鼓励Santry联系律师及占卜师，询问其邻居是否与此有关，并猜测该卷起的地毯中可能埋藏着哥伦布地区冷案失踪人员。即使官方宣布无尸体发现，评论区依然继续提议，希望Santry或警方进行更深入的调查，在她的房子下方的平台上寻找答案。
这种“居家侦探”的现象在互联网上并不鲜见，人们自行挖掘线索，希望能找到官员可能忽视的细节，而这一行为有时会导致错误的信息传播。专家指出，公众对犯罪和八卦的好奇心是其背后的动因。此前一周，一位名为Mr Prada、活跃于TikTok并拥有20万粉丝的创作者Terryon Thomas因涉嫌谋杀及妨碍司法公正被指控，其案件也曾引起广泛讨论。
Thomas涉事的背景故事在社交媒体上迅速发酵，引发网民对他的关系网和涉及案件细节的猜测。许多用户将讨论聚焦在其与名为William Nicholas Abraham的69岁心理学家之间的可能联系上。
Santry于周一开始记录地毯事件的经过：她认为自己的房子可能是闹鬼的迹象——因为发现电脑屏幕在一夜之间被摔裂，办公桌上的物品乱放一气。当她在后院挖掘篱笆坑时，发现了一个地毯卷。
TikTok用户鼓励Santry报警，并在警方最初建议其自行发掘后给予了帮助。数次尝试使用铁锹失败之后，一名凶杀案侦探回归并接管了调查工作。随着公众的关注度达到顶峰，在周四，她发布了一段视频显示两只“嗅探犬”在她的后院挖掘洞口，并坐在一旁，Santry认为这可能表明这些狗嗅到了人体气味。
对于这一事件的进展感觉像是一出真正的犯罪电视剧的Santry，在粉丝数量增长并调查内容变得更加严肃的情况下，表现出了一定程度的犹豫。她表示：“假设那里真的有东西存在，对死者家属来说将是不可承受的打击。”因此，“我选择尊重逝者，并为所有等待真相的人感到遗憾。”
在周五的直播中更新，Santry否定了这些事件是其为了获取TikTok关注度而虚构的说法。“地毯里是什么？什么也没有。没有骨头、没有尸体，只是一块地毯……这是一个解脱的消息，这是个好结局。”
新闻来源：www.nbcnews.com
原文地址：Police say no body was found inside a buried rug that sparked a TikTok sleuth firestorm
新闻日期：2024-10-04
原文摘要：
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, who goes by Katie Santry on TikTok, 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.” Santry 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 Santry to contact lawyers and psychics and asking Santry 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 Santry 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. Santry 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, Santry and her husband found the rug. TikTok comments encouraged Santry to contact the police, who initially told her to try digging up the rug herself, she said. After a few unsuccessful attempts with shovels, Santry said that a homicide detective returned and took over the digging. Interest from online users came to a head on Thursday, after Santry 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 Santry like she was in a true crime TV series. But as her following swelled and her updates grew more serious, Santry 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, Santry dispelled rumors that she made everything up for TikTok attention. “What was in the rug? Nothing,” Santry 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.”
