123 Missing Children found in Michigan during sex trafficking operation
Over 100 children were found safe during a one-day sweep by multiple Michigan law enforcement agencies, the US Marshals Service said Wednesday.
The agency said Operation MISafeKid recovered 123 missing children Sept. 26 throughout Wayne County in a sweep aimed to identify and recover missing children and locate victims of sex trafficking.
The operation had 301 case files for missing children open before the sweep, which was the first of its kind in Wayne County, according to the report.
All recovered children were interviewed by authorities about possibly being sexually victimized or used in a sex trafficking ring and officials said three identified as possible sex trafficking cases.
The report said one homeless teenage boy had not had anything to eat in three days, so authorities transported him back to their command post for food and turned him over to Child Protective Services for aftercare.
In addition to the missing children in Michigan, officers in the operation obtained information about two missing children in Texas and another in Minnesota. Those cases are being actively investigated, officials said.
“The message to the missing children and their families that we wish to convey is that we will never stop looking for you,” the US Marshals Service said.
Several agencies were involved in the operation including the US Marshals Service, Michigan State Police, Detroit Police Department, Wayne County local law enforcement, as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General.
As of 2016, Michigan had seen a increase of 16% in reported human trafficking cases so the state has stepped up their game in tackling the issue.
For the full story check out: https://nypost.com/2018/10/09/123-missing-children-found-in-michigan-during-sex-trafficking-operation/
For the full press release from the U.S. Marshalls Service go to: https://www.usmarshals.gov/news/chron/2018/100318.htm
For more information on Michigan trafficking statistics go to:
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2016/01/28/michigan-human-trafficking-cases/79453648/
Truckers Against Trafficking Visits Limestone Township, PA
When truck drivers are on the road, they stay overnight at truck stops all over the country. Sometimes these drivers encounter underage girls who are in dangerous situations.
Truckers Against Trafficking is an event held all over the country. On Wednesday, employees at Great Dane Trucking near Danville toured the traveling display. It teaches people in the trucking industry what to do if they ever encounter a human trafficking situation.
When truck drivers are on the job, they are paying attention to the road and their deliveries. But in recent years, they’ve started paying attention to something else: human trafficking.
John McKown is a UPS freight driver and was approached by a teenage girl one night while at a truck stop.
“Instead of helping or doing what I should do, I just said, ‘No, thank you,’ and just went back to bed,” John McKown said.
Recently, McKown went through training called “Truckers Against Trafficking.” The traveling exhibit educates the trucking community about reporting human trafficking.
This week it is at Great Dane Trucking near Danville.
Great Dane employees walked through the exhibit, which provides a glimpse into the realities of human trafficking, and how drivers can help.
“It blew my mind. It really hit home. I have small children,” Buddy Harris said.
Organizers say since Truckers Against Trafficking started in the last decade, they have trained over 600,000 individuals andgotten more than 2,000 calls into the human trafficking tip-line from truckers alone.
“That’s led to the recovery of over 1,000 individuals,” Van Dam said.
“I didn’t know that I could call a hotline, but now I do. I got trained by Truckers Against Trafficking,” McKown said.
For the full report and video visit: https://wnep.com/2018/10/10/truckers-against-trafficking/
For more info on Truckers Against Trafficking check out there site: http://truckersagainsttrafficking.org