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Verify: Is the '48-hour challenge' real?

The challenge encourages teens to go missing for a couple of days to get their 15 minutes of fame on local news.

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A new trend is circulating the internet and it’s become so pervasive that a local law enforcement agency felt the need to respond to it. 

The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office posted about it on its Facebook page, warning parents it was floating around social media and they were getting a lot of questions about it.

The “48-hour challenge” apparently encourages teens to run away from home for at least two days. The goal - to be reported missing on the news.

Credit: Facebook

So, 11Alive decided to verify it – and our first stop was the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office.

QUESTION: Is the 48-hour challenge real?

Coweta County Lt. Jason Fetner said that they have had no reports of teens disappearing as part of the 48-hour challenge.

"I know of no agency, department or entity that this has happened to. It feels like an urban legend,” Fetner said. "However, if we don’t reach out and fill in that void with some kind of tangible, reliable information, people in the public are forced to come up with something."

Police said teens don’t understand the dangers they face by running away for 48 hours and could fall victim to criminals or sex traffickers.

They also mentioned how it would be a misuse of the "valuable efforts of law enforcement," and would cause unnecessary "heartache and panic for family, friends and everyone involved."

So, are kids really running away from home for 48 hours as part of the viral "48-hour challenge?"

ANSWER

We verified that this is false.

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