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No body was found in viral TikTok user's buried carpet, police say

Topline

Katie Santry of Columbus, Ohio, posted a series of viral TikToks this week documenting how she found a rolled-up rug in her backyard buried several feet underground – even though police said Friday afternoon it wasn't Body found in carpet.

Important facts

Columbus, Ohio, police said Friday they found no evidence of human or animal remains in Santry's backyard after digging up a rug they found in her yard days earlier.

Santry posted a series of TikToks throughout the week documenting her situation, including one that sparked fears among her and users that there might be a body buried in her yard after police sent in two cadaver dogs, both of which helped Santry Sitting in the garden had a hole in the carpet – possibly an indication that they had smelled human remains.

Police collected samples of the carpet in Santry's backyard and told local reporters that it “tested negative for human or animal remains,” adding that no further testing would be conducted.

Santry said in her latest TikTok that she still doesn't understand why both cadaver dogs were sitting at the hole, but expressed relief that there wasn't a body buried in her yard.

Important background

Santry said in a TikTok over the weekend that she believes her house is haunted. She woke up in the morning to find her home office disorganized and her laptop broken. My husband was building a fence. At the behest of TikTok users, Santry called the police about the carpet, who initially dismissed the situation. Days later, she posted another video in which she said police had called her back and told her they had heard about her situation and wanted to send more officers to investigate. Santry said police would send cadaver dogs, and if the dogs appeared to detect something, police would dig up the carpet, but otherwise leave it lying around. Santry livestreamed her investigation and later posted a TikTok video showing two different cadaver dogs sniffing the scene, eventually both sitting at the hole she had dug that contained the carpet. After both dogs sat down, Santry audibly gasped. She said later in her video that police told her that the dogs sitting at the hole didn't necessarily mean there was a body buried there, but instead could indicate something else, such as traces of blood. The next morning, police sent excavators to dig up the carpet.

What we don't know

How Santry's laptop broke. “Now that Santry knows there's no body buried in her backyard, that's her main question,” she said in her TikTok Friday afternoon.

tangent

Santry's series on TikTok, which spans more than 30 parts, garnered millions of views per video and is the latest example of TikTok users' appetite for long-form, multi-part series. Other long-form series have captivated users in recent months, such as Tareasa Johnson's 50-episode “Who TF Did I Marry?” series, which recently had a television adaptation, and the 14-episode series on social media -Influencer Brooke Schofield on her breakup. Santry likened her situation to a true crime documentary throughout her video series. Thousands of users commented on each of Santry's videos, offering advice and developing their own theories – many trying to explain why the cadaver dogs stopped at the hole when there was no body.

Further reading

Columbus Police Share Carpet Test Results From Viral TikTok Investigation (NBC4i)

Columbus Police update on digging up rug in woman's backyard (10 WBNS)

What to Know About 'Who TF Did I Marry?' TV Adaptation of TikTok Series (Forbes)

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