'It was just a rug': Police conclude search after Columbus woman's backyard discovery goes viral

This story has been updated to add new information.

COLUMBUS, Ohio − Viral TikTok videos showing a rug found buried in a Columbus woman's backyard triggered a police investigation and social media fears that a dead body would be found, but Friday afternoon the search concluded with nothing found.

Katie Santry was digging holes for a fence in her backyard when she struck what appeared to be a buried rug, she said in a video posted to TikTok earlier this week. She also joked that her house might be haunted, saying her laptop had been broken and items were misplaced.

Santry's initial video has over 3 million views, and her entire chain of more than 20 clips about the rug mystery has garnered over 100 million views.

Santry again went live on TikTok after the search concluded, recapping the saga to more than 100,000 viewers.

"It was just a rug," Santry said during the live stream Friday afternoon.

Concerns grew when two cadaver dogs alerted to potential human remains in Santry's backyard Thursday.

Police dug in Santry's yard Friday and ultimately brought in an excavator, but a Columbus Division of Police spokeswoman said police found "some remnants of a rug material."

Friday's investigation brought with it significant police and media presence at the cul de sac in front of Santry's house. A few groups of curious neighbors and onlookers gathered nearby, filming videos and discussing updates.

Cars slowed down as they drove by, and many of the drivers held their phones out their windows to take pictures and videos.

Columbus police get involved

Several TikTok users urged Santry to contact the police as her videos went viral, and Columbus police visited the property Thursday.

Santry streamed the investigation on TikTok live, including the moments when two cadaver dogs sat down after sniffing a section of the yard. Cadaver dogs are often trained to sit to signal they have discovered human remains. Santry said at least 100,000 people watched the livestream.

"I'm still just hoping maybe someone just had a bloody nose on a rug and buried it," she wrote in a caption.

Watson said the dogs could have alerted to a variety of things.

"It could be body oil," Watson said. "It could be sweat. It could be it could be blood, like maybe a nick or a paper cut, something's as insignificant as that. So at this time, we don't know what we're looking at."

Who are the previous owners of Katie Santry's house?

The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, contacted the previous owner of the house – a 95-year-old Ohio resident – who said police called his family Thursday. He said that he and his wife did a lot of gardening, and he wondered if maybe they had discovered a burlap bag buried by mistake. 

He added that they're both perplexed by the whole ordeal and said the attention has been upsetting to his wife.

“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.”

Why are police investigating?

Watson said investigators on the property Friday were "starting to dig." Police held the scene overnight and continued investigating in the morning – Watson said they "needed light" to work.

"We're treating it as seriously as we can," Watson said. "You know, you can't leave any stone unturned in these incidents, so we just want to make sure that we are doing our due diligence."

bagallion@dispatch.com