Fake missing children flier distributed around Bellingham

A fake missing children flier is circulating around Bellingham, according to the Bellingham Police activity log.

Around 9:50 a.m. Tuesday, Child Protective Services notified police about the flier.

When contacted for more information, police referred the questions from The Bellingham Herald to CPS.

When CPS was contacted, a media spokesperson referred the questions back to Bellingham Police, citing confidentiality issues.

When contacted again, police declined to give information on where the flier was supposedly distributed, how many were there, or even what was printed on the flier – police cited a section in the Washington state code about confidential juvenile records.

Police did say that distributing fake missing children fliers was not a crime, but did not elaborate.

If the public encounters a flier, police Lt. Danette Beckley said “as with any piece of information they come across – verify it.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Fake missing children flier distributed around Bellingham."