Shocking video thought to show missing teen shackled in man’s bathroom sparking FBI probe is revealed by cops to be a FAKE produced by actors for YouTube
Mum of missing Kayla Berg- who was only 15 when she disappeared - was convinced the screaming girl sounded and looked like her daughter
POLICE have confirmed that a shocking YouTube video which showed a ‘missing teen’ shackled in a man’s bathroom is “100% fake”.
The sick clip, which sparked an FBI probe, shows a 'kidnapper' holding a woman hostage leading viewers to suggest that the terrified victim was Kayla Berg – who disappeared in Wisconsin in 2009.
However, Antigo Police Department has updated its Facebook page to confirm that the video was scripted and contained actors.
The post read: “[We] have been investigating the Hi Walter, its Patrick, I have a new girlfriend video that was on youtube.com.
“The Antigo Police with the help of another law enforcement agency has been able to identify that this video is 100% fake and was a video that was produced to be placed on youtube.com.
“The Antigo Police Department has identified the video producer/camera man, actor and actress in the video. THIS VIDEO HAS NO CONNECTION TO THE DISAPPEARANCE OF KAYLA BERG. Thank you to everyone for their assistance in this investigation.”
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Posted to YouTube in 2009, the video titled 'Hi Walter, I got a new gf today!' shows a man speaking to the camera about his new girlfriend before revealing a screaming girl chained to his bathroom floor.
Investigators in Wisconsin had asked the public to track down the origin of the video after fears it could have been tragic Kayla Berg – who vanished around the same time the video was uploaded.
The FBI had reportedly opened an investigation after the disturbing video was linked to the seven year-long missing persons case.
Kayla's mum Hope Sprenger was shown the tape and said the girl sounded and looked like her daughter, who disappeared just before her 16th birthday.
Gymnast Kayla was reported missing six days after she left her father's house in Antigo, Wisconsin, when she was driven by a friend to nearby Wausau.
Exactly two months later the distressing video was posted on YouTube.
The video features a man named only as 'Patrick' talking to camera about a shopping date.
He then props the camera outside a door and opens it to reveal a wailing girl who screams: "Why are you doing this?"
He chillingly mentions buying jewellery for his "girlfriend" at retailers Kay Jewelers and JC Penny -- both of which have stores at a mall near where Kayla went missing.
The video -- which has been taken down from YouTube -- recently went viral after a theory emerged online linking it with the Berg case.
"[It] sounded like her, looked like her, it gave me chills," Sprenger told local channel . "Disturbing. It made me sick to my stomach".
"I thought it looked a lot like her,” she added. “I pray to God it’s not."
On Monday police in Antigo appealed for further information in the hope of determining whether the shocking tape was related to the Berg case.
But FBI investigators took over the probe after being contacted by Kayla's family.
Antigo Police Chief Eric Roller told : “Obviously we want to know who that subject is in that video so we can determine if it’s a hoax or not.
“It may help somebody. Somebody can identify this or come forward and say, ‘Yeah, it’s me. I did it. It was dumb.’
“That’s pretty much the best case ... to try to find that person and go from there,” he added.
Kayla's brother wrote on Facebook on Monday that he watched the video and "almost had a panic attack".
“If your [sic] wanting my opinion let’s just say this ... we’ve contacted the FBI because our local [police department] doesn’t have the experience needed for this", he said.
Police visited the house of a man in nearby Marathon County that they believed could be 'Patrick', but he was later ruled out of having any involvement in the video.
Who is Kayla Berg?
Kayla Berg was a 15-year-old teenager from Antigo, Wisconsin who vanished without a trace in August 2009
Kevin Kielcheski was a friend of Kayla who stated he dropped Kayla at her boyfriend’s home in Wausau, Wisconsin.
She has not been seen since.
Kayla’s boyfriend, who was 19 at that time, told the police that he never met her on the day she disappeared.
A missing poster with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said Kayla’s “ears and navel are pierced. Kayla has a scar on the right side of her nose. She also has a scar on her right shin.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a $20,000 (£16,000) reward to whoever could shed light regarding the case
WSAW-TV reported that Kayla had a passion for gymnastics, quoting a friend as saying: “She wanted to go to gymnastics camp and I told her that she would make an Olympic gold medalist.”
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