Fact Check

Missing Child: Whitney Hayek

Whitney Hayek: Missing child or Internet hoax?

David Mikkelson

Published Dec 1, 2014

Claim:   Whitney Hayek is missing from her Emerald Isle, North Carolina, home.

OUTDATED

Example:   [Collected via Facebook, December 2014]


MY GRANDDAUGHTER WHITNEY HAYEK IS MISSING FROM HER HOME IN EMERALD ISLE NC!!!!

HERE IS A MORE RECENT PIC OF HER WITH HER MOM.

I'M ASKING EVERYONE TO KEEP FORWARDING THIS MESSAGE OUT ASAP. THERE IS A MISSING PERSONS ALERT STATE WIDE IN NC AND HER PARENTS ARE ALSO SEARCHING. IF YOU HAVE SEEN OR HEARD OF HER WHEREABOUTS PLEASE LET US KNOW


 

Origins:   On 25 October 2014, the above-quoted plea to help find a missing girl named Whitney Hayek was posted to Facebook by one of her relatives. The girl's age and the circumstances under which she initially went missing were not provided in the entreaty, but the urgent

message encouraged users to pass it along in the hope of recovering the girl safe and sound.

Whether the efforts involving Facebook and other social media services were successful or the girl returned home of her own accord, relatives posted updates later on 25 October 2014 indicating Whitney Hayek had been found safe. Hayek was missing for less than 24 hours, and no news outlets reported the brief disappearance.

As the plea from Whitney Hayek's relatives was not dated, the message has continued to circulate long after she was located and determined to be safe. However, Hayek is no longer missing and was found on the same day the plea was initially sent.

Last updated:   1 December 2014

By David Mikkelson

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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