Columbus police provide update after digging up rug from woman’s backyard

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus police spent Friday morning digging outside an east Columbus home after a woman found what was believed to be a rug buried in her yard. Her discovery went viral after she posted a series of TikTok videos and viewers told her to contact police. 

After spending hours at the home with multiple units present, the Columbus Division of Police said no remains were found and the dig was over. 

Investigators removed several small rug pieces from the ground, all of which tested negative for human or animal remains. Police said there are no plans for further testing at this time.

Katie Santry, who lives at the home, originally posted a video to TikTok saying she believed her home was haunted after waking up one morning to find her laptop screen was broken and other things on her desk were misplaced.

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Santry had recently started digging holes in her yard to install a fence. As she and her husband went digging the other day, they noticed something unusual.

“Back here… we dug a hole. There is a rolled-up carpet buried underground that we came across as we were digging this hole,” Santry said in a TikTok video.

From there, TikTok users started to spiral.

“I jokingly on TikTok said maybe the body in the rug is a ghost and broke my computer,” Santry said.

As tens of thousands of people all over the world became invested in Santry’s story, she started to take a closer look.

“So a tree was planted above the rug and its called a Bloodgood, because this was in the hole,” Santry said in a TikTok video.

Santry said she wanted to fill the hole and move on, but TikTok users said more needed to be done.

“I was just gonna leave and then TikTok was like you need to dig it, up you need to call police, so I did, and when they first came out they really thought nothing of it,” Santry said.

On Monday, police came to Santry’s home to take a look. Detectives returned to Santry’s house Thursday evening with K-9s to take a closer look.

“I thought there was maybe like a .005% chance that anything was gonna happen,” Santry said.

Santry streamed some of the investigation on TikTok Thursday afternoon. More than 100,000 users tuned in to watch at times, as she showed video of the K-9s sniffing through her yard.

At one point, Santry watches as the dog sniffs a spot and then sits down. She can be heard gasping in the video.

Santry said she instantly knew what that signal from the K-9 could mean.

“When they sit that means something though, right?” Santry asked one of the officers investigating. “Usually,” the officer replied.

A second K-9 could also be seen sitting in the same spot a little later.

“They said that there’s still a chance that this rug just could have blood on it, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a body in my backyard,” Santry said in a TikTok.

Columbus police said they had no conclusive findings.