There's a viral post about a missing autistic child in Mishawaka. It's a scam

Posts describing a missing child have rocketed around social media in Mishawaka and across the country the last few days. And they're all a scam.

The Facebook posts, which often turn up in yard sale or local news groups, claim a child named Brandan Cooper has been reported missing in whatever town is being targeted at the time.

"He is diagnosed with autism and needs daily medications. He is considered to possibly be in EXTREME danger and in need of medical assistance," the posts read. "We are asking for the community's HELP TO FIND HIM. ONLY TAKES 2 SECONDS to share."

The posts have materialized in groups as far flung as New York and Colorado, even stretching into Canada and Great Britain. And on Monday, someone posted one to "Mishawaka/south bend closet sales" — a page with more than 10,000 followers. The account that posted it appears to have been created a week before, with the only visible activity being adding two photos to the account and joining the local group, before making the post Monday and turning off comments.

The problem? There is no missing child named Brandan Cooper in Mishawaka — or likely anywhere else.

"I am unaware that we have any reports of any active missing small children or certainly any children with autism," said Mishawaka Police Department Sgt. Steve Headley, adding that the department mobilizes quickly for real cases of that kind.

Headley had harsh words for people who "resort to this type of low" to create such scams. "They play on sympathies and they really have no conscience when they do so," he said.

"It could harm a legitimate call for a missing person or missing child," he continued, comparing it to a boy who cried wolf. "If you say something enough, people become desensitized."

The Middletown, New York police department echoed that sentiment in a Facebook post Monday night after "Brandan" appeared in a buy-sell-trade group there.

"Brandan Cooper has not been reported missing to our agency and we have no reason to believe that he is an actual missing child," the post states. "Please do not share this post if you see it on another page."

What the Brandan Cooper posts show

The posts come complete with two seemingly identical photos of a small boy with curly red hair. He wears a black t-shirt covered in an orange tank top that reads "Autism Be Kind."

The comments to the posts are sometimes turned off, preventing anyone from raising an eyebrow.

Individual accounts post them to popular local groups, but the accounts are usually inactive or filled only with other suspicious posts. The complete Facebook history of the one that perpetuated the Cooper scam in Castle Rock, Colorado consisted only of a single profile picture, two other missing children posts, and a rent-to-own ad for a three-bedroom, two-bath home magically going for only $550 a month.

It's also uncertain if the child shown in the images is a real photo of another boy or just an A.I. creation. A reverse image search by The Tribune turned up zero other online hits for the child or the photos on the profile that posted it to the local Facebook group.

While Brandan Cooper is fake, hundreds of other missing persons cases aren't.

Indiana's missing persons spreadsheet lists more than 1,000 Hoosiers who have reported missing between 1974 and just a few days ago. Some are young, some are old, and many, unlike Brandan, are real children.