Parents use social media to rescue daughter from human traffickers in Hanford motel

Parents who used social media to track down their missing 15-year-old daughter got lucky and ended up rescuing her from human traffickers, Hanford police said Wednesday.

Two people, a woman and a man, are under arrest, police said.

Saturday, Hanford police officers said they were flagged down by the parents who reported that their daughter had run away from home and had not been seen since Thursday. The parents had no idea where she might be, police said.

Her worried parents sent out several fliers via social media. They included a photograph of their daughter and offered a $200 reward for information leading to her.

Sunday, the social media gambit paid off when a woman called the parents and said she had seen her daughter at a motel room in Hanford. The parents met the caller and, after paying the money, found their missing daughter at the Western States Inn motel in Hanford.

Police interviewed the rescued girl and learned she had met with a female friend, Dasha Smith, 21, of Armona, who had taken her in.

The girl told police that Smith drove her to Las Vegas for the night and persuaded her to become a sex worker and told her how to make money on the streets.

The girl was given clothing and food, and Smith told her they would go to the coast and eventually to Atlanta, where she could make hundreds of dollars by trading sex for money, police said.

Monday, police found Smith at the Western States Inn. With her was her infant child and Xzaivier McGee, 18, of Las Vegas.

Police questioned Smith and arrested her on suspicion of human trafficking and pandering. McGee was also questioned and was arrested for having sex with a minor, police said.

The investigation is still going on. Anyone with information should call Hanford police.

This story was originally published May 23, 2018 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Parents use social media to rescue daughter from human traffickers in Hanford motel."