Pokémon Go was released last week, which is an augmented reality game; meaning you download it on your phone and then actually play it while walking around in the “real” world.  The goal of the game is to find monsters that are all around.  Of course one of the big jokes when the game was released was that people, actually getting out of the house (finally) would happen upon dead bodies.  There were even a couple fake news stories about it.  Well, unfortunately it really happened in Wyoming this past weekend.

A teenager, Shayla Wiggins went for a walk in Riverton, Wyoming looking for Pokemon Go creatures.  She had hoped to spot one near a natural water source, so she went walking along the river.  As she got closer, her game told her there was a monster near the river, but as she got closer to the water she noticed something in real life floating near the bank.  She got closer and realized it was in fact a man floating in the water.  Shaken, she called police who at first didn’t understand what she was doing by the river.  The Pokémon Go game is still new enough, sheriff deputies in Wyoming still had no real clue what it was;  But after a shaken Wiggins, gain composure, she explained the game and the dead body.

Police confirmed they did respond to a 911 call about a body in the river.  Which helps prove that this story is in fact true.  They also confirmed they found out about the man in the river from a resident who was walking in the area.  At this time they believe the death was natural causes.

How’s Shayla doing now?  She spoke to Kotaku:

“[The police] didn’t really know what [Pokemon Go] was. They’re were just like ‘okay,’” Shayla said. “I was like, extremely scared, I didn’t know what to do…I was shaking and crying,” Shayla said. While she feels better now, Shayla says that she hasn’t gotten a chance to play much more of Pokémon Go.

 

I’m wondering how many times this is going to happen as more people are walking around their “real world” environment?  I also how long until we start hearing about all the trespassing stories from people looking for these allusive creatures… only time will tell!

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