A woman on TikTok has discovered a rug buried in her backyard, and the Internet is convinced it’s a dead body.
Katie Santry, 34, was digging a hole in her lawn when she stumbled upon the strange sight — found approximately two and a half feet below the surface.
Immediately, she shared her discovery on TikTok, which has turned into a viral 22-part series, with one of her videos garnering more than 10M views. Her home in Columbus, Ohio, has since been the focus of an ongoing investigation and taped off as a crime scene.
Highlights
- Katie Santry found a rug buried in her yard, sparking speculation of a dead body.
- Cadaver dogs indicated possible human remains by sitting on the spot.
- The TikTok community advised Santry to get a lawyer despite police reassurance.
UPDATE October 4, 2024: After authorities and crew members spent hours digging, they did not find a body nor any human remains, only managing to recover the discarded rug "with some rubber." Why both dogs sat on the ground and how her laptop was broken are questions that are still unanswered.
A TikTok creator has discovered a discarded carpet buried in her yard, and people suspect it may be a dead body
Image credits: Katie Santry
Upon the discovery, Santry called the police. She met a dead end when they informed her they cannot provide resources to something they don’t have full information of.
It was up to her to dig up the rug, but this wasn’t something Santry was willing to do since she had already destroyed a tree that was supposedly $1,000 in value and damaged most of her land property.
About two days later, a different group of authorities showed up with two cadaver dogs in hopes of learning if the rug was, in fact, hiding something.
Image credits: Katie Santry
As the dogs sniffed around her background, they immediately sat down in the area of the carpet — a sign that they’ve detected human remains.
Santry posted a video documenting the interaction. She wrote, “This is not what i thought was going to happen. Both dogs sat at the hole. Very quickly, the police were here to caution the house off.”
"I honestly didn't truly believe it was a dead body until the dog sat," Santry told Bored Panda. "The second that first dog sat, and then the second one did, I really freaked out!"
“It might not mean anything yet,” said one of the authorities in a separate clip, indicating that something as simple as a small trace of blood could cause cadaver dogs to alert their owner.
If it weren’t for the extensive comments under Santry’s videos, there wouldn’t have been an investigation
Image credits: Katie Santry
“This wouldn’t have happened without TikTok,” said Santry. “I was not going to do this myself. I have, like, guilt now that I wasn’t going to do this on my own. This is only happening because of all of you little sleuths.”
Indeed, people on the platform have been pushing her to take action.
“There’s obviously a body in that rolled up carpet,” one person said.
Image credits: Katie Santry
“I would have to [dig] it bc if it were a missing person and the family could have answers, I wouldn’t be [able] to sleep until I knew I did my part to make sure it’s nothing,” read another comment on one of Santry’s earlier videos.
Someone added, “I just find it hard to believe someone would go through the immense hassle of burying a rug due to a nose bleed.”
One user offered a feasible solution: “potentially a home birth and the placenta was buried in the rug it happened on?? and then the tree marks the new life?? could be a possibility.”
Santry said she was trying to find the balance between giving regular updates to her viewers while also remaining respectful to the "potential of uncovering a criminal activity," and she is grateful for the community she's built.
"It was incredibly overwhelming going from 5000 followers to 2 million in a matter of days, but I feel like we are really building a community of kindhearted and funny women and men that I am really excited about!"
Santry, along with the many people who are invested in the series, made an eerie theory that a ghost is involved
Image credits: Katie Santry
In the initial video, Santry was convinced her house was haunted. Her work-from-home office had been rearranged, her laptop screen was shattered, and the objects on her desk were not in the same place she left them the night before.
When she confronted her family members, they assured her they didn’t touch anything. She also knew it wasn’t a break-in since her alarms had been set.
Image credits: Katie Santry
Later, as she was setting up to build a fence in her yard, Santry showed viewers the tag of a “bloodgood” tree, right where the rug was buried.
“I pulled it out and said, ‘This is called a bloodgood tree,’” she said. “If I were a murderer with a sense of humor, I’d plant a bloodgood tree on top of a dead body and be like ‘ha!’”
“What on earth happened? Is there a ghost breaking my stuff?” she questioned.
Image credits: Katie Santry
She later added, “My next-door neighbor also died in her house the day we bought this house last October. That house started getting boarded up the same day this happened. So it was just a series of weird, coincidental events that, with a creative mind, could be construed as ghastly.”
The creator contacted her listing agent in the hopes that her house’s original owners could provide some answers, suspecting that a dead pet may be an explanation.
Image credits: Katie Santry
95-year-old Myron Weil had previously lived in the home and said that he and his wife used to do a lot of gardening and wondered if perhaps they’d discovered a burlap bag by mistake.
“The police called us yesterday, and they also asked some questions,” he said. “They talked to my son, too. None of us could remember anything about what was buried.”
He added, “I just hope that if there’s treasure there… I hope they get lucky.”
The TikTok community has advised Santry to take legal action
Image credits: Katie Santry
Police have informed her that there is no need to get a lawyer because there are “no concerns” of her involvement.
However, commenters are telling her something different.
“Word of advice: the cops are on your side until they’re not. Lawyer up ASAP. You think the blame for this can’t happen to you but they could build a case and it very well could. Be safe!” said someone.
One professional added, “Take it from a lawyer, the police will NEVER tell you to get a lawyer. But, you really should get a lawyer to protect your interests in all this.”
“Lawyer up,” advised another. “Even though u aren’t a suspect if there is something there, cops will 100% want to search your house. It can turn bad on a dime. Plenty of innocent ppl get caught up in bad detective work.”
Bored Panda has reached out to Katie Santry for further comment.
Image credits: Katie Santry
Commenters have pointed out the behavior of the cadaver dogs
