What happened to TikTok star Andrew Dawson? Mystery of conspiracy theorist who hasn't posted for over a year

It's been around 18 months since TikToker Andrew Dawson stopped posting any content online. Many of his hundreds of thousands of fans believe he has gone missing - but mystery still remains surrounding exactly what happened to him. Some even think he may have passed away.

The strange circumstances of Dawson's abrupt absence from his social media channel came after he posted conspiracy theory videos on his page. He then claimed his videos were fake, only to retract that statement a short time later, before telling fans they may not hear from him again.

It's a case that has baffled people in the United States, as people try to uncover who is Andrew Dawson, what parts of his content were real and what were fake, why all the confusion and uncertainty and - most importantly - just where has he gone? This is everything we know.

Who is Andrew Dawson?

Andrew Dawson went by the TikTok handle @andykapt. He had gained more than 480,000 followers on his profile and over three million likes on his videos. He found fame on the platform because of eclectic mix of content. He was known for posting videos showing apparent UFO encounters and other unexplained sightings, for example figures seen on the top of mountains.

What was Andrew Dawson's viral video?

One video that gained particular attention was one that appeared to show a figure Dawson had spotted atop a Canadian mountain. He labelled this a "giant". It was filmed in April 2022, and quickly went viral. Comments on all of Dawson's videos are now turned off, but at the time many people commented on it. Some were simply amazed by what the video appeared to show, while others questioned its validity and said it was most likely an optical illusion.

Dawson then took to his TikTok to report unsolicited encounters with intelligence agencies and claimed to be under surveillance. One of his videos was captioned "stopped by the CIA" and another was captioned "being stalked". He then went quiet online for a number of weeks.

In another video posted to his page around a month later, in May 2022, however, Dawson reassured his fans that he was not dead and had not disappeared, but he did admit that his videos had all been a hoax. He said: "Sorry to disappoint you guys, but all of the videos that I posted were scripted . . . they were just fake. They were just strictly for entertainment."

Ten days later, however, Dawson posted another video to his page which had the caption "to (sic) much has happened and i can't be forced to be silent." In the short video, which Dawson appeared to film while he was walking somewhere in the dark, he said: "You might not see me post ever again. My videos, they weren't fake." He also overlaid the video with the statement "I'm scared".

The next day, 18 May 2022, Dawson posted another video showing an indentified object on top of a snowy mountain, which appears to have been the same mountain which he previously claimed to have seen a "giant" on. In the video, he zoomed the camera in to the mystery black object and said "what is that? That was not there yesterday".

This was the last post from Dawson, leaving fans and skeptics equally confused about the truth behind his content and what has happened to him in the months which have passed since his last video.

What has happened to Andrew Dawson?

It is still very unclear what has happened to Dawson. Some people believe he may have come to harm, but others believe he has simply chosen to step away from social media.

Amidst mounting speculations about Dawson’s wellbeing, however, an obituary was published online on 1 July 2022. Published on the official website of Campbell River Mirror, the tribute revealed that his full name is Andrew Ryan Dawson and he was born on 4 November 1987, which means that this year he will turn 36-years-old.

The brief article also listed Dawson's family members, but did not include details about the circumstances of his death. It's also not clear who submitted this tribute, and the lack of transparency meant that some believe the obituary is a hoax.

Dawson's possible death has not been confirmed or denied by any reputable sources, including any of the family members and loved ones listed in the obituary. The case was so huge in the US that the case sparked an episode on Youtube channel 'The Why Files' called "What Really Happened to Andrew Dawson?". The synopsis for the show reads: "In April, 2022 his posts took a strange turn and Andrew Dawson would become the center of one the biggest internet mysteries in years."