A 16-year-old girl in crisis at a Kent East Hill home caught the attention of a patrol officer who refused to let her slip through the cracks. After learning the teen had been abused, kicked out of her family home at 14, and left to stay with adults who did not know her, the officer spent hours working to get her somewhere safer.
The case is unfolding as January marks National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a period when federal and local advocates remind the public that young people living with unknown adults are at heightened risk for exploitation and trafficking. That risk makes it especially important for first responders and neighbors to stay alert, according to DHS’s Blue Campaign.
Officer Response and Timeline
Officers were first sent to the East Hill address after a 911 caller reported unwanted subjects at the home. When they arrived, they found the teen with an adult man. From there, the responding crew spent more than five hours trying to track down her family and secure a safe place for her to stay, according to the Kent Police Department’s Facebook post…