TikTok video sparks lead in case of Arkansas girl who vanished in 2014, FBI says

A TikTok video has surfaced and begun circulating on social media that shows a woman bearing a resemblance to an Arkansas teen missing since 2014, spurring police and the FBI to investigate.

“We have the video from Tik Tok and have seen the Facebook posts,” the Stuttgart Police Department said in a statement Thursday. “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.”

Cassie Compton was 15 when she disappeared, KATV reported. She had spent much of the day at a demolition derby with a friend and returned home around 7 p.m. before heading out again a few minutes later. Then she vanished.

In the TikTok video, a woman can be seen sitting in the backseat of a car between two men, staring wordlessly at the camera as the men talk, outlets report. She appears to have bruises on both of her eyes.

Tina Storz, a private investigator who has been searching for Compton for years, told KATV the woman looks very much like Compton, but can’t say for certain that it is.

However, many social media users claimed the woman in the video is Los Angeles resident Haley Grace Philips.

After suddenly gaining thousands of social media followers overnight, Philips posted on Instagram explaining that she has been confused with Compton, KNWA reported. Philips’ family said she had been missing for several days, though they did not file a missing person’s report.

In Philips’ Instagram post, she says she is doing fine and hasn’t been kidnapped or held against her will, KNWA reported. As for the bruises, Philips said she was recently robbed and was hurt then.

The FBI office in Little Rock confirmed that it is looking into the case, Fox16 reported.

So far, no authorities have confirmed the identity of the woman in the video.

“The TikTok video has been brought to our attention,” an FBI spokesman told the station. “We are following up on the video and taking any logical investigative steps but we cannot say anything further at this time.”

Police said in 2019 that they had not ruled out any suspects in Compton’s disappearance, KATV reported.

This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 2:27 PM.