In April 2024, a rumor circulated on Facebook and Instagram about a story involving a veterinarian who allegedly believed a pit bull had something to do with a child’s disappearance. This story was shown to users as paid ads and said: “A child is missing for 2 days until the vet checks his pitbull.”
In our research, we soon discovered that this particular story was not true. However, we also discovered that the story appeared to be inspired by the real-life disappearance of a girl and her pit bull.
In this article, we will first look at the fake story, set in Arkansas, that circulated in late April and early May. Then we’ll follow up with details about the true story that happened in Kentucky in 2018.
The fake story
The Facebook and Instagram ads that led to the fake story included three photos. We discovered that multiple versions of the ads were live and showing to users on May 1, 2024. With the help of a reverse image searchwe successfully traced the photo of the woman hugging the dog to a genuine and completely unrelated news story history 2023, about a dog reuniting with his owner in Oklahoma after being missing for nearly three years.
Users who clicked on one of the ads were directed to a 70-slide long article hosted on either site. motormastermind.com or theparentingspot.com. The story started like this:
The child had been missing for 2 days until rescuers saw the pitbull enter the yard
Panic gripped the small town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, when news spread that four-year-old Lucy Campbell was missing. The city descended into chaos as they tried to make sense of everything.
Search parties scoured every inch of the neighborhood, desperate to find any trace of the child.
Lucy’s parents, Grace and Greg, were beside themselves with worry.
At the end of this long fictional story, 2-year-old Lucy is found safe in the home of her father’s mistress. Their dog, Rocky, was also found safe. The police then arrested the mistress, while the wife asked for a divorce.
A small text near the top of the article read: “Disclaimer: For entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!” A second disclaimer at the end of the story also added: “All events, places and characters are products of the author’s imagination, and all images and videos are used for illustrative purposes only.”
We found no reports of missing children in the small town of Eureka Springs, and no mention of a veterinarian in the entire article — despite the promise of a “vet” involved, as the Facebook and Instagram ads said.
The story that appears in Facebook ads is somewhat reminiscent glurge. The term is defined by Dictionary.com as “stories, often sent by email, that are supposed to be true and uplifting but which are often fabricated and sentimental.”
The true story
Although the story of the child’s disappearance in Eureka Springs was invented for “entertainment” purposes, it appeared to be inspired by a true story.
On June 11, 2018, WGN-TV published an article with the headline: “Pit bull helps missing 2-year-old child survive for almost two days in the forest”. The article reported the details of the disappearance of a 2-year-old girl, Charlee Campbell, and her pit bull, Penny, in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky. The surname Campbell was the same one used in the fictional story.
The Facebook and Instagram ads leading up to the fake story appeared to suggest that a pit bull may have been to blame for a child’s disappearance, while the true story featured seemingly positive efforts from a real pit bull.
The article started like this:
LEBANON JUNCTION, Ky. — A child who was missing for nearly two days in Kentucky was found alive Friday, and her family says her dog is the reason she survived.
Charlee Campbell, 2, and her pit bull Penny emerged from the woods in Lebanon Junction after mysteriously disappearing Thursday morning, WAVE reported.
“This is our hero here,” said Beth Campbell, Charlee’s grandmother, as she pet Penny. Campbell said he believes Penny stayed by Charlee’s side the entire time she was gone.
To read more about the true story, we found Facebook Posts published by the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office at the time of Charlee’s disappearance. An article from Louisville WHAS11.com also reported more details about the consequences of the case.
Sources:
“Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office.” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/bullittsheriff.
Source, Heather. “Charges filed, questions continue in case of missing Bullitt County girl.” WHAS11.comJune 12, 2018, https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/police-pursue-charges-against-grandmother-in-missing-child-case/417-563717583.
“Glurge.” Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/glurge.
SMITH, Sara. “Seminole County Dog Missing for Nearly Three Years Found in Maud, Reunited with Owners.” KTULJanuary 9, 2023, https://ktul.com/newsletter-daily/seminole-county-dog-missing-for-nearly-two-years-found-in-maud-reunited-with-owners-capone-mastiff-candace-harjo-wewoka- police-animal-control-dog-facebook-social-media.
Tribune Media Wire. “Pit Bull Helps Missing 2-Year-Old Child Survive Nearly Two Days in the Forest.” WGN-TVJune 11, 2018, https://wgntv.com/news/dog-helps-missing-2-year-old-survive-for-nearly-two-days-in-the-woods/.
“VIDEO: Bullitt Co. Sheriff Doubts Missing Girl Was Wandering Alone in the Woods.” WDRBJune 11, 2018, https://www.wdrb.com/news/video-bullitt-co-sheriff-doubts-missing-girl-was-wandering-the-woods-alone/article_2d0e3897-d772-55d8-91f8-1705fbba9fe1.html.
