Police Put Photo of Wrong Person on Posters for Missing Man, Family Says

In an effort to find missing father Scott Karsen, police accidentally used the photo of someone else in their bulletins.

After going out to run errands, California father Scott Karsen went missing on Oct. 24. In the effort to help find him, the police used the photo of a different man in their missing persons bulletin

Karsen was last seen near a Walmart in San Clemente. According to his daughter, Tracy Lee, “After leaving Circle K he went to a wooded area and that’s all we really know.”

After realizing that the police had posted a picture that was not Karsen, Lee says that her family spent the next three weeks attempting to contact detectives regarding the error. 

“How can we find my dad if people are looking for the wrong person?” Lee said.

“It was very frustrating and very upsetting and I didn’t know what to do.”

Lee thinks that the man in the photo may be an acquaintance of her father, but is unsure of how the mix-up happened. 

The picture flub was eventually rectified once the Orange County detectives were notified of the issue, but the daughter of the missing man is concerned about the time lost.

“We’ve lost so much time that was so important in the beginning and now we have to try to make up for it.” said Lee.

According to the family, Karsen has a brain injury that has the potential of leaving him confused, but the daughter says he has never disappeared before. 

The family continues to search for the beloved father, offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who can lead them to the missing man.

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