Kirkland Police rescue teen sex trafficking victim

The Kirkland Police Department (KPD) announced Friday its officers recently rescued a 16-year-old sex trafficking victim who is from California.

According to a statement on the city’s website, the rescue began on Saturday, Dec. 2, after KPD officers responded to a reported theft at a gas station in the Totem Lake neighborhood.

The patrol officers saw a “suspect” vehicle at the nearby Motel 6 in the area. Since the department had received information from the FBI the previous day about a missing teenager who was believed to be a victim of human trafficking who was believed to be at the Motel 6, the city’s officers investigated the vehicle and saw items that led them to believe the vehicle may be associated with the missing teenager.

Further investigation led KPD to a room at the motel where officers found a 16-year-old girl who was later identified as the missing teenager from California. Child Protective Services responded to care for the teenager.

From there, the officers arrested two suspects and impounded the vehicle that was found at the scene. The two men were booked into King County Jail and are facing multiple charges, including the commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

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KPD used its statement to thank the Seattle FBI Field Office and Child Protective Services for their assistance in this case.

The department concluded by adding a warning for the general public, saying that those people who suspect human trafficking is occurring, “whether it is a minor or an adult being coerced into prostitution or labor,” they should call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.