Fact check: False claim of serial killer stabbing victims in Missoula, Montana

BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: A serial killer has fatally stabbed seven people in Missoula, Montana

A viral Oct. 4 Facebook post describes a grisly discovery that was purportedly made in the western Montana city of Missoula.

"Another dead body was found in a cardboard box by the California Street bridge down by the river here in Missoula Montana and this happened to be another young girl which makes five girls and two guys that have been found dead along the Clark fork River between Madison Street bridge and Russell Street bridge (sic)," reads part of the post.

The user goes on to claim the deaths are the work of a serial killer, as all the victims were stabbed to death "in a similar fashion."

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The post was shared more than 1,000 times in two days.

But local law enforcement said the claim is baseless, and that no recent murders have been reported in the area mentioned in the Facebook post.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.

No crimes matching post have been reported in Missoula

Lydia Arnold, a spokesperson for the Missoula Police Department, said the information in the Facebook post is false and has caused “unnecessary concern in our community.”

Arnold added there have been no recent murders reported in the area of the city mentioned in the post.

If there were a threat to public safety, Arnold said the department would release information to the media and residents in the area “as soon as possible.”

The department addressed the viral claim in an Oct. 5 Facebook post, saying, "There is no factual information in the post and the entire post is not true."

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Jeannette Smith, a spokesperson for the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, said the same Facebook user who shared the Oct. 4 post had previously suggested a serial killer was active in Missoula in September, a claim that likewise had "no basis."

The part of the city referenced in the more recent post is under the jurisdiction of the local police department, but Smith said no murders similar to the ones described in the post have been reported in the wider Missoula County either.

In late September, the sheriff’s office solved a 30-year-old cold case in which a homeless man was found dead in Missoula with a knife wound in his chest. According to The Missoulian, officials identified the suspect as another homeless man who has since died.

USA TODAY has previously debunked similar claims of serial killers being active in communities around the country.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a serial killer has fatally stabbed seven people in Missoula. Local law enforcement said the claim is baseless, and that no recent murders have been reported in the area mentioned in the Facebook post.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: No evidence of a serial killer in Missoula, Montana