A fake story circulating online claims that a chemistry professor missing since 1984 was found hiding in a secret LSD drug lab in a couple’s basement.

Fake Story

The bogus story claims that a couple from Cottage Grove, Minnesota discovered an 83 year old man living in their basement. The man was later identified as Dr. Winston Corrigan, a University of Minnesota professor who had been missing since 1984. The bogus report also claims that police recovered over $500,000 in lab equipment, guns, military rations, and 55 barrels of pure liquid LSD.

The story is not real.

IFLScience.org

The article appeared on the website iflscience.org, which appears to be a satirical knockoff of iflscience.com. The website’s tagline is “100% Mostest Official and More Sciencey.” A perusal of the site finds such stories as a robotic bear designed to aid in assisted suicide, and studies claiming that dogs can see their own farts.

The article offers no sources.

Borrowed Photos

The photos used in the article are borrowed from other news sources. The photo of police outside the home is taken from a story by KSDK (no longer online) in April 2015 about a car crashing into a house, while the photo of the missing chemist is that of a 63-year old homeless arrested in Seattle back in 2012.

Bottom Line

The story of a missing chemistry professor who was found in a hidden drug lab is not true. The website on which the story appeared seems to be a spoof of iflscience.com, and the photos used to illustrate the story were taken from unrelated news stories.