Long Beach police rescued a missing 14-year-old girl who may have been the victim of human trafficking.
The girl was reported missing on Friday and investigators determined she may have been human trafficked, the Long Beach Police Department said. After an immediate search, detectives located the girl in Los Angeles.
Following their search and rescue, officers returned the girl to Long Beach and connected her to resources with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). The department will be in charge of coordinating the girl’s return home, police said.
“Human trafficking and the exploitation of children will never be tolerated in our community and the Long Beach Police Department will use all available resources to rescue the vulnerable victims of this reprehensible criminal activity,” Chief of Police, Wally Hebeish, said in a statement. “I’m extremely proud of our detectives and police officers for working so hard to rescue this victim. I commend our personnel for their ongoing efforts to locate and arrest all those responsible for this unacceptable crime.”
The investigation into the human trafficking remains ongoing. No arrests have been made.