SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — A CBS 8 investigation has uncovered that some of the missing children posters displayed at California highway rest stops are outdated, with some featuring children who have already been found.
CBS 8 visited the Buckman Springs Rest Area in East County, where photos of 30 missing children were posted in a Caltrans kiosk. However, upon closer inspection, it was revealed that not all of the children featured are still missing.
"My husband and I stop here often to use the restroom, and we always call it the missing persons bathroom," one traveler told CBS 8.
The missing children flyers are produced by the California Department of Justice and are updated monthly. However, the posters at the Buckman Springs rest stop dated back to 2017, 2018, and 2019.
One boy who went missing from El Cajon in 2017 is now an adult, and was found safe in Salt Lake City in 2022, according to El Cajon police. Other children with photos posted also were no longer missing.
Despite the outdated information, some travelers still see value in the program. "Get their faces out wherever you can get them out. And it's a perfect opportunity, like you said, people traveling interstate and all over to see them," one woman commented.
Caltrans publicizes the Missing Children poster program on its website, but when contacted for more information about the program's duration and scope, a spokesperson was unable to provide details until after the Thanksgiving weekend.
While some of the children featured on the posters at Buckman Springs are still missing, the presence of outdated information raises questions about the effectiveness of the program.
In addition, not all rest stops have these posters. At the Aliso Creek rest stop near Camp Pendleton, no missing children flyers were posted at all. CBS 8 expects to receive more information from Caltrans on Monday and will provide updates as they become available.