A widely shared post claiming a serial killer is abducting people in the Gainesville area is fake, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office says.
The social media post includes a photo of a man in front of a blue backdrop. It says he drives a truck with LED lights that hits cars with women traveling alone and then abducts them when they stop.
“This bogus post showed up on a Gainesville public marketplace account several days ago and it’s been shared many, many times!” the sheriff’s office says. “Please note that it is FALSE. NOT TRUE. FAKE NEWS.”
Though this post says Gainesville, the sheriff’s office says similar posts with these claims have circulated elsewhere.
Officials indicated they checked out the claim and thanked those in the public who brought it to their attention. They say the Gainesville account where the post first appeared has also made sure to indicate on its page that the information is false.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office tagged its post with the hashtags “what is wrong with people” and “better safe than sorry.” The Gainesville Police Department shared the sheriff’s office post, simply adding, “Here we go again…”
