After researching true crime cases, a TikTok creator who goes by the handle @enrichedtalks has identified common patterns among many cases and is sharing advice on how to protect yourself.
Number one: do not stay out late at night. The best practice is to be home before midnight or even 11 p.m. In most cases, people who are out past midnight, especially between the early morning hours of 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., are killed or never seen again.
Number two: do not drink too much alcohol. According to @enrichedtalks, alcohol and drug use are at the center of a lot of disappearances and deaths. It blurs instincts and makes people easier targets.
“When you have alcohol, you’re drunk; you let your guard down, and people can see you as a victim because you’re jolly, you’re cheerful, you throw caution to the wind,” he pointed out.
“And that’s a bad thing because there are a lot of people out here who are looking for victims. They go to places in town where people will be in that state, so they can take advantage of them.”
Number three: do not be isolated. When you’re at the bar or club with a group of friends, you often split up at some point. One person might go to the bathroom, someone else might step outside for a quick smoke, and others might walk home if they live nearby.
That’s when things often take a turn for the worse. Danger can strike when a group of drunk people is isolated from one another in the dark at night.
Small precautions can make all the difference, such as sharing your location and ensuring that no one leaves alone.
Number four: do not let your guard down around bodies of water like lakes, rivers, and ponds. When people vanish mysteriously and their bodies are later found, they usually turn up dead in the water.
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TikToker @enrichedtalks also noted that more disappearances consistently happen in the fall and winter seasons for some reason.
“When it’s colder outside, people tend to disappear,” he said. “I don’t know why. That’s just where the stats are when you study it. A lot of people between fall and spring, it’s cold outside, they’re out after midnight, they’re drinking with a group of friends.”
Overall, it’s important to be careful and remain vigilant. When awareness slips away, things can quickly go wrong. If these patterns are better understood, it could help prevent more tragedy. In the comments section, several TikTok users dropped their own safety tips.
“Always lock your car doors; I had a lady of the night jump into my delivery van at a red light during the day, and she was like, can you drive me down here. She scared the hell out of me, and that could’ve been a lot worse of a situation. Just always lock your doors,” commented one user.
“Don’t get gas at night unless you absolutely have to. Try to have someone with you, lock your doors while you’re getting gas, and have your head on a swivel. Because that’s how we have to be now; we’re living in the last days,” wrote another.
“And don’t share too much on social media, like try not to post locations in real time or places you often visit. And avoid showing too much in your background (especially outside.) People may not realize that your background can show the area that you are in,” added a third.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
