Cops across the nation are wishing this disturbing teen trend would disappear.
Authorities are warning parents of a new “attention-seeking” challenge that involves teenagers faking their own vanishings.
The “48-hour challenge” viral hashtag seemingly encourages kids to purposely go missing and see how many people react on social media for “points.”
Police departments in California, Indiana, Missouri and North Carolina have campaigned against the challenge.
“Runaway and missing person reports are very serious matters and to use these attention-seeking type challenges pulls law enforcement away from their many other duties and causes unnecessary anxiety amongst the families and friends that are involved,” the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office in Indiana wrote on Facebook Monday.
The office also encouraged parents to talk to their children about how to use social media and the dangers that come with it.
Numerous law enforcement departments that spoke out against the challenge did not cite any instances of it. It also does not appear that there have been any reports of it other than police warning against it.
Missouri’s Overland Park Police Officer John Lacy warned teens not to engage police departments in what he categorized as a baseless endeavor.
“We are going to take that call very serious,” Lacy told Fox4. “You are wasting our time, and you are wasting our resources.”
