On April 3, 2015, the Great Falls (MT)/Cascade County Crimestoppers posted the mug shots of one Levi Charles Reardon on their Facebook page. Reardon was wanted on charges of felony forgery and theft.
The next day, the Crimestoppers posted an amusing update:
Just under three weeks later, Reardon was arrested and appeared in court on a $2,500 warrant. Police have not disclosed exactly how they located Reardon following his impetuous social media activity; a post on the Crimestoppers Facebook page said that they were told that an anonymous tip led to his arrest.
Reardon’s “like” of his own mug shots helped make his mug shot the most popular post on the Crimestoppers Facebook page, and caused the story go viral around the world. Commenters provided links to the story in Kenya (Standard Digital), France (La Figaro), and Belgium (La Libre). Others say that they saw the story in Austria and Portugal.
Remarkably enough, Reardon’s Facebook profile is still active.