6 adults, 2 children rescued in Missouri during joint human trafficking operation

Eight victims of human trafficking, including a two-year-old and an infant, were rescued in Missouri this month during a joint operation with 16 state and local agencies including the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and the Attorney General’s Office.  

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced the joint operation’s success saying it sends a clear message to human traffickers in Missouri. 

Late in the evening of Feb. 5, the coalition of state and local agencies completed the human trafficking operation at two St. Joseph, Missouri truck stops. 

“This operation was successful because of cooperation between my Office, the St. Joseph Police Department, the state highway patrol, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, and 13 other agencies and departments,” Schmitt said. 

In addition to the arrests that were made, six adults and two children were rescued. The victims were offered victim services, including food, lodging, onsite medical services, counseling/therapy and drug rehabilitation, a news release said.

“Last night, my Office’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, in coordination with multiple law enforcement agencies, conducted a successful human trafficking operation at two truck stops in St. Joseph, resulting in 6 victims and 2 children being rescued and 3 arrests,” said Attorney General Schmitt.

Of the agencies involved in the operation was the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC). 

The DOC said two of its staff members were “instrumental” in the takedown. 

District 20 Administrator Tena Riley and Missouri Information Analysis Center Investigator Katie Folsom are part of the Attorney General’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force, which consists of law enforcement and victim service providers from around the state working together to combat human trafficking, rescue victims and make Missouri communities safer, a news release said. 

Working with representatives from other agencies, Riley and Folsom contributed intelligence expertise to the task force and also performed communications roles in the St. Joseph operation.

 “The task force is amazing; they’re just so dedicated. I’m super thankful to be involved,” Riley says. “Human trafficking is an all-encompassing problem. If we all work together, we’re going to make a dynamic change.”

The investigation into the human trafficking incident in St. Joseph is ongoing and as such, a news release said, further details about the operation cannot be released at this time.