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Police: Blue Bell investigation hampered by 'catfishing'

Investigators say a "catfish" began taking credit online for the incident.

Lufkin Police said that their investigation into a viral video depicting a woman licking a half-gallon container of Blue Bell ice cream and returning it to its shelf was made difficult by a woman taking credit online for the incident.

According to a Facebook post from Lufkin Police & Fire, a "catfish" with a similar Instagram screen name to the account who published the original ice cream-licking video began taking credit for the incident.

Police said the "catfish" bragged about the incident on Instagram, saying, "Yeah, I really did that. You can call it Flu Bell ice cream now ‘cause I was a lil sick last week. Repost yourself doing this. Let’s see if we can start an epidemic (literally)."

In all, police said, approximately 4-6 women with similar names and appearances - including the "catfish" account - were eliminated as suspects before investigators could identify the actual suspect.

A San Antonio teen was identified Friday by investigators as a suspect in the viral video. The suspect is reportedly a juvenile whose identity will be protected, police said. The case has been turned over to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.  

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