Teens make terrifying discovery in suitcase during TikTok challenge
WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT: A group of teenagers made a grisly discovery which led to a police investigation while they were out exploring a beach when filming a TikTok video.
“Something traumatic happened that changed my life,” US TikTok user @ughhenry wrote alongside the video.
The video starts off with one of the teens at the beach in West Seattle, Washington then pans to rocks near the edge of a waterway where a suitcase is lying.
“Randonaut sent us to this part of the beach... and we found this black suitcase,” the caption on the video says.
Two girls are then seen approaching the suitcase in the video.
“We were joking that maybe the suitcase would have some money,” the next caption reads, as one of the girls is seen climbing down to where the suitcase is, while the others stand on what appears to be a jetty.
Using a stick, the teenagers open the suitcase, remarking on the horrible stench.
Inside the suitcase, is a black plastic bag and the next caption explains the smell was “overwhelming” once they opened the suitcase.
One of the girls is seen calling the police, and the person filming the TikTok speculates about whether the contents are food, or a dead body.
“By this point we were getting a little scared and nervous,” the next caption on the video reads.
The video then shows police arriving at the crime scene and then a screenshot of the statement issued on the Seattle Government’s website.
The statement, confirms the contents of the bag were in fact, human remains.
“Detectives are currently investigating after several bags containing human remains were located near the water in the 1100 block of Alki Avenue SW this afternoon,” the statement says.
“Police responded after receiving a call of a suspicious bag on the beach. Another bag was located in the water.
“Once the contents were determined to be remains, detectives responded to begin their investigation.”
In addition to the police, the Harbour Patrol and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office are assisting with the investigation, which the statement says is “active and on-going”.
Local news station, KOMO reported it was unclear if the suitcases were dumped on the beach, or if the tide had carried them to shore.
What is ‘Randonauting’?
In the comments, TikTok user @ughhenry said while they were laughing in the video, it was their way of dealing with the situation, saying they are now having trouble sleeping.
The TikTok references a “randonaut” sending the group to that location and people in the comments of the video were questioning why no one was “talking about the fact randonaut led them here”.
“Randonauting is using a random number generator to produce specific coordinates within a set radius of your current location that you can travel to as a way of exploring the world around you,” Wired explains.
“People gather these coordinates through a dedicated app, Randonautica, where they can further define what they want to encounter.”
In the comments of the TikTok another person said they went “randonauting” a few days ago and they found a dog off its leash, they later claim they found out the dog’s owner was dead.
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