Sheriff’s Office, Police Department warn of fake serial killer posts
Both the Gulf County Sheriff’s Office and the Port St. Joe Police Department have issued public statements warning against what they say is false information circulating on social media regarding the presence of a serial killer in Port St. Joe.
“This is a fake post circulating on Facebook,” GCSO said.
“There is no serial killer in Port St. Joe,” said PSJPD.
The rumor originated with posts made in local Facebook groups claiming the existence of a serial killer in the area.
Identical posts have been made for communities across the country over the past several days.
Meet the Editor
Wendy Weitzel, The Star’s digital editor, joined the news outlet in August 2021, as a reporter covering primarily Gulf County.
Prior to then, she interned for Oklahoma-based news wire service Gaylord News and for Oklahoma City-based online newspaper NonDoc.com during her four years at the University of Oklahoma, from which she graduated in May with degrees in online journalism and political science.
While at OU, Weitzel was selected as Carnegie-Knight News21 Investigative Fellow among 30 top journalism students from around the country. She also was senior editor managing a 12-person newsroom in coordination with Oklahoma Watch, a non-profit news organization in eastern Oklahoma.