FBI investigating TikTok video amid speculation it shows woman who went missing as a child
Cassie Compton went missing in Stuttgart, Arkansas when she was 15
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Your support makes all the difference.The FBI say that they are investigating a recent TikTok video that they believe features a young woman who went missing in 2014 at the age of 15. In the video, which became widely seen on Facebook, a woman is sitting in the back of a car as two men speak to each other in the front seat.
Tina Storz, a private investigator who has been searching for missing Arkansas woman Cassie Compton for years, said that the woman in the video strongly resembles Ms Compton but could not confirm that it was indeed her, KATV reported.
Ms Compton was last seen near her home in Stuttgart, in eastern Arkansas.
"We appreciate all the tips and information about Cassie Compton. We have the video from Tik Tok and have seen the Facebook posts. We are working diligently with the Arkansas State Police and FBI right now. Since this is still an open investigation we can’t release any further information right now," the Stuttgart police department said according to Fox 16.
On the day that Ms Compton disappeared, she went to a demolition derby in DeWitt, south of Stuttgart, with a family friend. Shortly after returning just before 7 pm, she left her house and disappeared, KATV writes.
The FBI field office in Little Rock, Arkansas said: "We are following up on the video and taking all investigative steps, but we cannot say anything further at this time."
No charges have been filed and no suspects ruled out. Ms Compton's mother, Judy Compton, earlier told KATV that she suspected foul play.
"She had stayed the night with family friends and came home, on Sunday. The mother and the boyfriend were there. She went in, she left a few minutes later, and that’s where the mystery starts," Police Chief Mark Duke told KATV in 2019.
Mr Duke also said in 2019 that Judy Compton's ex-fiance Brandon Rhodes is a "prime suspect". Mr Rhodes was in 2019 being held in jail in an unrelated case, facing a charge of conspiracy to commit capital murder.
In a letter to KATV, Mr Rhodes wrote: "I am willing to do whatever it takes to bring closure to Judy and once and for all put this Cassie case to a close. There's only so much a man can keep bottled up inside of him. It's time the truth was presented to everyone."
When KATV arrived at the jail where Mr Rhodes was listed as an inmate, they were told he was no longer there. KATV wrote a letter to Mr Rhodes about the visit, to which he responded: "I find it disturbing because I knew nothing about your visit to Independence County jail... I am indeed still located at ICJ."
Judy Compton told her son before Cassie went missing that Cassie and Mr Rhodes did not get along. Both of them suspected foul play. But Judy then changed her mind, telling KATV: "I never thought that he would have anything to do with it."
Judy said that Mr Rhodes' first letter to KATV made her "heart drop".
"That makes me wonder. That'd make anybody wonder."
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