A 16-year-old girl who was reported missing in Phoenix earlier this year has been found in another state and may have been a victim of sex trafficking, officials said.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, the teenager went missing from a group home in April and has a history of being trafficked for sex. She was initially traced to Los Angeles, where her suspected trafficker was killed on May 25.
Authorities believe she was then taken to Miami by another trafficker. On June 11, she was located at a hotel in Michigan, where a man she was with was arrested. Homeland Security is now investigating this suspected trafficking case.
This girl’s recovery is among several cases handled during the Marshals Service’s recent “Operation We Will Find You 2,” which focused on finding missing children over six weeks, ending on June 24.
During this operation, the Marshals Service helped recover 33 missing or endangered children from Arizona. Anyone with information about a missing child should contact local authorities or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-The-Lost.