Ethermac Exchange-TikToker Katie Santry Found a Rug Buried In Her Backyard—And Was Convinced There Was a Dead Body

A true crime story almost unfolded right before Katie Santry’s eyes.

After a TikToker shared Oct. 1 that she found a rolled-up rug buried deep in her backyard while she and Ethermac Exchangeher boyfriend Brandon were digging holes for a new fence, it eventually led to forensic teams investigating her Columbus, OH yard.

But while human remains were ultimately not found, as local police confirmed to E! News Oct. 4, it was a saga that gripped the internet. Here’s a breakdown of exactly what happened—and why TikTok was convinced something afoul was afoot. 

While Katie first didn’t think much of the rug she discovered, that turn when she woke one morning to a shattered laptop screen and a desk in disarray. After her boyfriend, his kids and her son insisted they hadn’t been near the sunroom, she wondered if there were a paranormal connection between the shattered laptop and the rug. 

“Is there a dead body in that rug?” Katie speculated in an Oct. 1 TikTok. “Or is it the ghost of the rug’s past? What on earth happened? Is there a ghost breaking my stuff?"

So, she and Brandon kept digging, documenting their progress online. Though, the couple were ultimately forced to stop due to the hard ground and existing structures in their lawn. 

Yet, Katie couldn’t shake the idea of what could be. “What if there really is a body?” she explained to People. “How could you not help that person find peace? How could you not help a family?”

So, on Oct. 2 she called authorities. And while she admitted the call could be a dumb one, two officers showed up to her home within 15 minutes. While they acknowledged the situation was unusual, according to Katie, they said the effort to dig outweighed the situation so they’d rather do some online digging.

Not that the decision came as a total shock to Katie. "I truly don't think there's a dead body down there," she told People. "The curiosity about why that rug is there definitely haunts me. But my biggest concern is my computer because, at the end of the day, it shattered for no apparent reason. That leaves me with the most question marks.”

Yet as her unusual story gained more attention online—she earned more than 1.4 million followers in three days—the local homicide department decided to send detectives and cadaver dogs (specially trained to locate human remains) to her home on Oct. 3. And in footage Katie shared from the visit, both dogs are seen immediately hitting the area where she discovered the rug. 

Which meant the department would then send forensics teams to dig in the area, as police also confirmed to E! News. The investigation resumed Oct. 4.

After the dogs’ visit, Katie shared, “Basically from there everything went to f--king s--t. I was terrified, losing my mind. I asked the cops if I need a lawyer, they’re very aware that I’m the one who called and they have no concerns it was me.”

Next, “Crime scene investigators will be here digging,” she continued. “And they said there’s still a chance that this rug could just have blood on it. It doesn’t necessarily mean there is a body in my backyard.”

“There’s a tent set up, and there’s nine police officers and CSI in the backyard,” she shared on TikTok Oct. 4. “They’ve blocked how far I’m even allowed to go, and they’re bringing equipment in now.”

“They’re digging, they’ve been digging,” she added. “Some of them are in the hole." 

“We still don’t know anything,” she noted. “The dogs could have had a bad day, had an off scent, who knows.”

Hopefully, she added, “We can all laugh about this tomorrow.”

And, as it turns out, laugh they will. Or at the very least, Katie can now breathe a sigh of relief because, ultimately, no human remains were found on her property.  

“They have covered the hole,” Katie updated her followers. “This has been the most insane experience of my life. No, they didn’t find a body. The found a mother-effing rug with some rubber.”

And while Katie still wondered about her broken laptop, the outcome wasn’t an undesirable one.

“There’s no body,” Katie concluded her video. “Yay!”