A Facebook group is tracking a serial killer in the US. It's a rare time online sleuths have gone after an active threat

A plethora of online forums already exist to discuss other serial killers - the unsolved Zodiac Killer case of the late 1960s and '70s probably has the most. But they mostly involve very old cases, and they serve mainly as discussion arenas that sometimes get heated. — Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash

After hearing last week that a serial killer was loose in her city of Stockton, Renee Myers eagerly scanned city websites for updates. Days went by with just a few bulletins, a town hall and a press conference, and she got frustrated. She wanted to vent more. She wanted to hear theories. She wanted to help catch the killer.

So on Oct 5, Myers created a members-only Facebook group called Stockton Serial Killer Community News and Information, told her friends, and hoped a few people would request access. Little did she know what she was starting — by Oct 11, Myers had 2,500 members from as far away as Sweden and Michigan, and the grief, fear and theories poured in like a tsunami.