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How family found TikToker's body before police
Family and friends of 31-year-old Jiare Schneider told FOX 5 Atlanta they found his body and the car he was last seen driving in a wooded area off of Brown Road in Jonesboro Tuesday afternoon. They explained they hadn't stopped searching for him despite what they referred to as a lack of urgency from authorities. Here's how they came to make the gruesome discovery.
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - After a week and a half of hoping for the best, loved ones of 31-year-old aspiring TikTok creator Jiare Schneider faced the worst outcome on Tuesday.
His body was found in a wooded area off of Brown Road in Jonesboro just after 1 p.m., Clayton County police confirmed with FOX 5 Atlanta.
RELATED: Missing aspiring TikTok star found dead in Clayton County, police confirm
"Our officers received a call from friends and family of Jiare Schneider, who’s been missing from Forest Park," said Clayton County Police Department spokesperson Lt. Ricky Porter.
Jiare Schneider (Credit: Clayton County Police Department)
Schneider’s friends and family made the gruesome discovery earlier that morning.
"This morning, a group of us gathered, and we came out here, and we went to the woods … and there he was," family friend Germequa Bell told FOX 5. "We knew when he disappeared that something was up."
Schneider’s body was found inside a car matching the description of the silver Toyota 4Runner family members said he had borrowed from a friend for a night out at Rumors Night Club on Nov. 15, but never returned.
"We did find the vehicle deep in the woodlice, which indicates there was a fast speed approaching the intersection," Porter stated in an interview with FOX 5.
The wooded area is about 25 minutes away from the club on Jonesboro Road, but just a few hundred yards from a "content house" loved ones said they believe he had visited at some point in the night.
A content house is a space where content creators and influencers from social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch and more can get together to collaborate on new ideas.
"We were searching more toward around that content house he was last seen at. We never got to come this way because it was blocked off by construction," Bell said.
Frustrated by what they felt was a lack of urgency from authorities, a final search using Schneider’s cellphone location data led them back to Brown Road.
"Of course, [we’re] relieved that we found him, but still angry that we didn’t get the resources, the help that we were asking," she told FOX 5.
They’re now left with a mix of emotions trying to process the sudden loss of a man loved by many—including his young son who was diagnosed with a chromosomal disorder known as DiGeorge Syndrome.
Schneider is being remembered as a great father, brother and friend.
"His son, that’s all we can think about … his son," Bell said.
The family fears Schneider could be a victim of foul play. FOX 5 reached out to Clayton County police to ask if investigators believe that’s a possibility. They said the case has been turned over to detectives with the criminal investigations division, and they are "investigating the death altogether."
The Source: This is a follow-up report by FOX 5 Atlanta's Joi Dukes. Some details were provided by the Clayton County Police Department and the City of Forest Park Police Department.