One of the Internet’s Biggest Stars Quietly Took Over This Southern Indiana Facility

MrBeast Brought a $500,000 Challenge to Southern Indiana And ISP Was Ready

As soon as I heard this happened just hours away from me in my new home state I knew I had to write about it and watch the full video on YouTube. When you hear that 100 Indiana State Police troopers are searching for five people, you probably assume something pretty serious is going on.

Luckily, this is not the case  It was a game of hide-and-seek.

And not the kind we played as kids.

YouTube superstar MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, brought one of his over-the-top challenges right here to Southern Indiana, complete with 100 Indiana State Police troopers, disguises, SWAT vehicles and a whopping $500,000 on the line.

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Wait... MrBeast Was in Southern Indiana?

I know right!

The video was filmed in July at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center near Butlerville, Indiana, and MrBeast released the roughly 20-minute video on Saturday.

If you're not familiar with MrBeast, he's known for creating massive YouTube challenges involving huge prizes, elaborate sets and some pretty ridiculous competitions. Plus, he's really fun to watch, if you get sucked into watching one video, you'll want to watch several.

This time, the challenge was essentially the ultimate game of hide-and-seek.

MrBeast and four other contestants had to find places to hide throughout the massive training facility while 100 Indiana State Police troopers were given 12 hours to find and capture all five of them.

And there was a lot more than bragging rights at stake.

$500,000 Was on the Line

If you think you'd be pretty good at hide-and-seek with half a million dollars on the line, these guys certainly tried.

The contestants used camouflage, disguises, custom-built hiding spots and some pretty creative strategies to stay out of sight. At one point, hiding inside dumpsters even became part of the plan.

But they weren't exactly hiding from Mom and Dad in the backyard.

They had 100 Indiana State Police troopers actively searching for them. Troopers had access to ISP cruisers, SWAT vehicles and other specialized tactical equipment as they searched the facility.

And as a Hoosier, you know, you do NOT challenge Indiana State Police to a game of hide-and-seek.

Indiana State Police Found Every Single One

Despite all of MrBeast's tricks and elaborate hiding places, the troopers managed to track down all five contestants before the 12-hour deadline.

They didn't just barely beat the clock, either.

Indiana State Police captured the final contestant with approximately one hour and 30 minutes remaining in the challenge.

That meant the troopers came out on top and won the $500,000 prize.

I'd say Indiana has officially earned some hide-and-seek bragging rights.

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What About All Those Police Vehicles?

Seeing 100 state troopers, cruisers, SWAT vehicles and tactical equipment being used in a YouTube video understandably raised some questions about taxpayer-funded resources being used for a commercial production.

Indiana State Police addressed that following the video's release.

According to ISP, the troopers who participated in the production did so while off duty, and MrBeast's production company fully compensated the agency for the use of the state-owned vehicles and equipment featured in the video.

So no, 100 on-duty troopers weren't pulled away from their regular jobs so MrBeast could play hide-and-seek.

Southern Indiana Just Got a Pretty Big YouTube Cameo

It's not every day that one of the biggest creators on the internet brings one of his massive productions to Southern Indiana.

And considering MrBeast's videos routinely reach audiences around the world, it's pretty cool to see a place right here in our part of Indiana serving as the backdrop.

The next time you're driving through Southern Indiana near Butlerville, just remember: that's where 100 Indiana State Police troopers once spent 12 hours hunting MrBeast and his friends for $500,000 and won.

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