February 16, 2026
When bricks beat clicks
Dark web agent spotted bedroom wall clue to rescue girl from abuse
Brick beats Big Tech: internet hails wall clue, slams Facebook’s “no tools”
TLDR: A DHS investigator used a unique brick pattern to help pinpoint a victim’s location, while Facebook declined to help scan photos. Commenters cheered the brick sleuths, blasted Big Tech over priorities, shared Europol’s reporting link, and argued over whether more surveillance or less tech power is the real answer.
The internet is buzzing after a U.S. investigator cracked a horrific child abuse case not with high-tech wizardry, but by ID’ing the bricks in a bedroom wall. Greg Squire, a Homeland Security sleuth, pieced together clues until a brick expert recognized a rare “Flaming Alamo” brick—sending the case in the right direction. Meanwhile, Facebook reportedly told investigators it “did not have the tools” to scan family photos for the girl, and the comments absolutely erupted.
The crowd’s mood? Equal parts awe and outrage. One camp is cheering the “CSI: Home Depot” moment, calling the brick pros the unexpected heroes of the internet. Another camp is tearing into Big Tech—especially Facebook—for allegedly flexing data muscle for profit but not for people. Users dropped this Europol tip portal like it was a bat signal, while others lobbed a bombshell link claiming a Meta researcher warned of up to 500,000 daily cases on its platforms—fuel for the fury.
There’s even a side debate bubbling: some argue we should unleash facial recognition to rescue kids faster, while others warn that giving tech giants more surveillance power could backfire. But the meme of the day says it all: Brick Industry > Big Tech. The community’s verdict? Real-world experts with real-world clues just outperformed Silicon Valley at its own game.
Key Points
- •US Homeland Security Investigations’ Greg Squire pursued the identification of an abused 12-year-old known as “Lucy” from dark web images.
- •Outlet and socket styles indicated Lucy was in North America, but precise location was initially unknown.
- •Facebook was asked to assist in scanning uploaded photos but said it did not have the tools to help.
- •A regionally sold sofa narrowed potential addresses to about 40,000 across 29 U.S. states.
- •The Brick Industry Association helped circulate an image of a bedroom brick wall, and expert John Harp identified the brick as a 'Flaming Alamo,' providing a crucial lead.