On June 6 2019, a Facebook user shared the following clip (archived here), asking readers to identify what appeared to be an unusual creature captured on home security footage:
In comments, the original uploader responds to a question about whether the footage was captured by a Ring doorbell (it wasn’t). In an appended update status, she says the odd sighting occurred on June 1 2019 and she noticed it the following morning (a Sunday):
So I woke up Sunday morning and saw this on my camera and am trying to figure out…what the heck?? First I saw the shadow walking from my front door then I saw this thing….has anyone else seen this on their cameras?? The other two cameras didn’t pick it up for some reason.
She also indicated that the time of the video was 9:59 PM on the night of June 1 2019. Commenters on the video typically fell into three categories: those suggesting the clip showed an alien, those pointing out a resemblance to the Harry Potter character Dobby the house-elf, and those surmising that the video showed a wandering child.
Of the three suggestions, the third was the most plausible — although not without additional questions, since the diminutive size of the person suggested a young child. A fourth possibility was that the uploader fabricated the footage, although there was no immediate reason to believe that the clip was faked.
As of June 10 2019, the clip had been viewed 7.3 million times on Facebook alone, and shared more than 125,000 times. We were unable to locate any explanation, but again, a temporarily mislaid prankster child seemed to be the likeliest reasonable explanation. Without a more precise location, we were unable to ask local law enforcement if they had investigated the bizarre finding or had received any similar reports.