On June 18, Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers were notified of a possible victim of human trafficking.

The clues were observed by a Colorado Port of Entry officer who had training that had been provided by Truckers Against Trafficking.

The officer had become suspicious after observing several indicators of human trafficking while inspecting a commercial vehicle. The driver allowed the inspecting officer to speak with the female in the truck to check her welfare. The officer asked several times if she felt safe or wanted help, but she declined to give the officer a clear cut answer. The driver and passenger’s identifications were checked through the Colorado law enforcement database and returned with no issues. As the female did not want to cooperate with the officer and answer questions fully, the officer allowed them to leave.

After they left, the officer believed, “none of it felt or sounded right,” and decided to check the identifications through a national database.  The officer found out the driver had an outstanding warrant from Oklahoma for child sexual abuse and immediately relayed this information to Wyoming law enforcement.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) notified troopers of the vehicle’s description and were able to locate the vehicle west of Cheyenne.

The troopers confirmed the driver had a warrant for felony child sexual abuse, and he was arrested. Even though the passenger said the driver had not harmed her, she was counseled on early warning signs of someone being groomed for trafficking.

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