The real case that inspired ‘Megan Is Missing’, the chilling film that went viral on TikTok

Was Megan Is Missing a real case?

A few days ago, Megan Is Missing, a horror film released in 2011 and directed by Michael Goi about the disappearance of two teenagers, began to go viral on TikTok.

Since then, social media users have not stopped describing it as “traumatizing” and “terrifying” for its raw and explicit scenes.

Of course, that has raised several questions about this chilling story, including whether it was based (or not) on a real case.

But before answering that question, you have to know a little more about the film.

What is Megan Is Missing about?

Megan Stewart is a popular and outstanding high school student, who is kidnapped by Josh, a man she met online.

After her disappearance, her best friend, Amy, does everything in her power to find her, including tracking down Josh. But in her odyssey, Amy suffers a fate equal to or more terrible than Megan’s.

The film was originally filmed in 2006, independently and with a fairly limited budget of $35,000. And it wasn’t until 2011 when Anchor Bay Films gave it limited theatrical distribution.

Megan Is Missing was one of the first “computer screen films”, meaning that almost all the action takes place through the screen of a computer or smartphone.

Its purpose was to raise awareness among parents about the risks that children and adolescents experienced when establishing contact with strangers over the Internet.

However, the level of violence and hypersexualization of minors scandalized the public and even caused the film to be banned in countries like New Zealand.

Why did it go viral in 2020?

Michael Goi never thought Megan Is Missing would become so popular among teenagers. But for almost a week several TikTok users have uploaded their reactions to the film on this platform.

So much so that TikTok already hosts the largest audience for this film since its premiere almost 10 years ago, with more than 83 million views.

This unexpected success caused Goi to decide to launch an alert on this platform that says:

“Don’t watch the movie in the middle of the night. Don’t watch it alone. And if you see the words ‘Photo Number One’ appear on your screen you have about four seconds to remove the movie if you’re already a little scared before seeing things you don’t see.” you want to see.”

And now yes…

Was Megan Is Missing a real case?

The kidnapping and death of Megan Stewart as such never happened. However, the film takes as inspiration several real cases of kidnapped teenagers.

One of them was that of Alicia Kozakiewicz, who at the age of 13 began talking online with a 38-year-old man named Scott Tyree, who posed as a boy her age.

Using tricks, Tyree convinced Alicia to meet on January 1, 2002 at a location near her home.

Once there, he forced her into his vehicle and drove to his home in Virginia where he abused and tortured the girl in his basement and broadcast everything live on his webcam.

Fortunately, a user from Florida recognized Kozakiewikz from the missing persons ads in the press and on television and notified the FBI.

They tracked down Scott Tyree’s address, arrived at his home on January 4, 2002, and freed Alicia. They later went to Tyree’s workplace and immediately apprehended him.

Currently, more than 18 years after her traumatic experience, Alicia Kozakiewiz is an activist and founder of The Alicia Project, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the safety of children and adolescents on the Internet.

Scott Tyree, for his part, was released in February 2019 and placed in a halfway house for his social reintegration. However, he returned to prison in October of that same year for violating his parole.

For its part, Amy and Megan’s relationship, as well as the tragic fate they experienced, were inspired by the case of friends Ashley Marie Pond and Miranda Diane Gaddis.

On January 9, 2002, Ashley disappeared on the way to the bus stop in her native Oregon. From then on, her family and her friend and neighbor Miranda began an arduous search.

However, two months later, on March 8, Gaddis was also kidnapped in circumstances just as inexplicable as Ashley’s.

The person responsible for both disappearances had been Ward Francis Weaver III, a neighbor of both girls who no one suspected until his own son, Francis, reported him to the police for trying to rape his girlfriend.

It was then that Francis declared that his father had been involved in the kidnappings of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis, so the FBI proceeded to search his house on August 24, 2002.

What they found was simply chilling. Miranda Gaddis’ remains were found inside a microwave box in a shed behind her home.

The next day, police found traces of Ashley Ponds, whom Weaver had buried in the backyard inside a 55-gallon barrel.

For charges of sexual abuse and aggravated murder, Weaver was sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

He is currently serving his sentence at the Snake River Correctional Facility in Oregon.