An investigation by local, state and federal authorities led investigators to find a missing 15-year-old Nevada girl and her alleged trafficker.
According to a statement from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, a team of investigators was answering online sex ads as part of Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, which is a statewide effort to curb human sex trafficking. They found an ad with a female who they suspected was under the age of 18. A "date" was set up and the female from the ad showed up. She was arrested and investigators say they discovered the woman to be a 15-year-old at-risk missing juvenile from Nevada.
During the investigation, authorities say they also detained a man who they believe to be the one possibly trafficking the 15-year-old. They say they identified the man at the scene, however, he was released because of a lack of probably cause at the time. After further investigation, authorities say evidence showed the man was in fact trafficking the teenager and they plan to issue a warrant/criminal filing.
This investigation was led by a team of detectives from the California Highway Patrol, FBI and the San Luis Obispo County Counter Human Trafficking Team (which is made up of a investigator from the SLO County DA's Office and a detective and sergeant from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office).
