14-year-old girl, a possible human trafficking victim, is rescued by Long Beach Police
LONG BEACH — Detectives and officers from the Long Beach Police Department located and rescued a missing 14-year-old girl who may have been a human trafficking victim in Los Angeles, authorities said Saturday.
The LBPD received a report about the missing girl Friday and began efforts to find her, according to a LBPD statement.
They found the teen in Los Angeles within a few hours and brought her back to Long Beach, where the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services took over to facilitate her return home, police said.
It was unclear what led police to believe she was being trafficked.
No arrests were immediately announced and a human trafficking investigation was continuing.
“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,” said Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish. “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.”