Photos taken by detective are being analyzed in order to solve a crime. (Freepik)
A while ago, you may have heard rumors flying around about 100 kids going missing in Virginia in under a week. Not only that, but you may have heard things such as the kids being kidnapped and used for a recreational challenge similar to the popular Netflix show “Squid Game.” But how did these rumors even start?
In early August, it became known that Virginia had over 100 kids go missing in a single week. This raised suspicion across the internet, mainly TikTok, with memes being spread around, and people coming to insane conclusions.
However, the main fuel to the fire appeared to be videos of ice cream trucks late at night circling neighborhoods in Virginia. One video even showed an ice cream truck rolling through a dark street at 1:23 a.m., with text overlay asking: “ok who’s creepy idea was an ice cream truck at 1:23 am?” The video gained over 196,000 likes and sparked heated debates in the comments.
The main reason why this sparked fear however was because ice cream trucks are usually out around ten, at the latest, and them being out later than that feels eerie and uncanny, since ice cream trucks are most often associated with childhood and fun, however these trucks being out past midnight is bound to spark concern, due to its recent kidnapping accusations.
With this in mind, the internet began assuming the worst, thinking the two were linked in some odd way.
Soon after the video was released, Chris Brown, a popular rapper, even spoke up on it. He said how he doesn’t feel like kids are safe at night with the trucks driving around. This, alongside TikTok’s habit of making small situations into something larger, blew it out of proportion and made it go extremely viral, raising concerns throughout not only Virginia, but America as a whole.
But a question many might have is what really happened to all those kids?
In response to all these rumors, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), came out and stated that over 90 percent of these missing kids were teens running away from abusive households or kids in danger of being sex trafficked. The majority of the time, abduction isn’t even suspected. In fact, there is practically no evidence of a mass abduction even taking place in Virginia.
“When there’s information out there that’s not necessarily accurate, that’s not helpful for law enforcement [and] parents that are looking for their children,” statedLeemie Khang-Sofer from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Even so, knowing most of the time the reports are simply just runaway teens, extensive searches are filed in order to look for the child or teen in question.
With all of this in mind, it’s safe to assume that children in Virginia are safe, and there are no kidnappings or abductions taking place. It can be easy to fall for hoaxes and rumors with so many people spreading them and adding fuel to the imaginary fire, however it’s best to do your own research on the topic before spreading, or believing the rumors at first glance.