INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Indiana State Police ended up in a MrBeast video that turned 100 troopers into the hunters in a staged manhunt, and they found every suspect before time ran out. The YouTube challenge, titled Escape 100 Cops, Win $500,000, had posted a day earlier and was already drawing tens of millions of views by Aug. 24.
WLKY reported that the production put Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, and four other people in a faux city at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center. Each carried backpacks holding $100,000. If the troopers caught them within 12 hours, the officers would win the money. If the suspects escaped, the funds would go to their mothers.
How the 12-hour search played out inside the faux city at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center
The game relied on a mix of hiding spots, deception and constant movement. The suspects used hidden tunnels, safe rooms and other tricks to stay ahead of the troopers, who were filming the chase with hidden cameras, drones, camera crews and body-worn cameras.
At one point, the suspects even trapped several troopers inside a model movie theater, adding to the cat-and-mouse feel of the challenge. Despite that effort, the Indiana State Police team still managed to locate all of the participants with more than an hour left on the clock, ending the contest before the deadline.
The result gave the troopers the win and kept the prize from going to the suspects’ mothers. The setup was meant to resemble a real search while still functioning as a filmed entertainment production built around a high-stakes game.
Indiana State Police says the off-duty troopers were paid for vehicles, equipment and participation
The agency said all of the troopers who took part were off duty. Indiana State Police also said it was compensated for the use of its vehicles and equipment during the production.
In a statement, the agency said it had fun being part of the project and showing a different side of the department. It pointed to the breadth of work troopers do across Indiana, including K9 duties, emergency response and daily roadside enforcement.
The appearance gave the department a chance to show that its work goes beyond what drivers usually see on the side of the road. It also placed the agency in one of the most watched corners of online entertainment, alongside a creator whose channel reaches hundreds of millions of followers.
MrBeast’s reach helps turn a police training exercise into a viral YouTube spectacle
Donaldson’s MrBeast channel remains the most-subscribed on YouTube, with 514 million subscribers. He also runs the third-most-followed TikTok account, with about 138 million followers.
That audience helps explain why the challenge drew so much attention so quickly. By Aug. 24, Escape 100 Cops, Win $500,000 had reached 42 million views, just one day after it was posted.
For Indiana State Police, the video offered an unusual public-facing role in a creator-led production that blended police tactics, game-show structure and internet spectacle. The agency said the experience highlighted a side of its work that many viewers do not normally see.
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