FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — A Sugar Land teen was rescued with just minutes to spare before he would have boarded a train to Los Angeles and possibly become a victim of human trafficking.
The story was told Thursday as the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office and the Houston Police Department joined forces to raise awareness about the dangers surrounding human trafficking and what can be done to help prevent it from happening.
The 16-year-old boy's parents reported him missing Tuesday morning after he ran away from their Sugar Land home. The next day, Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan said they saw a social media post showing the teen along with others in downtown Houston.
Through the post, they learned that the teen was getting ready to board a train bound for Los Angeles.
They only had 30 minutes to find him before he left.
Fagan said they reached out to HPD for help and officers were able to find him within 10 minutes. He was alone at a train station.
He's now back home, and while that story ended well, oftentimes, it doesn't. Missing teens often become victims of human trafficking.
"Human traffickers use social media a lot of times claiming to be young people and getting someone at a train station or bus station, that's a perfect location to apprehend these children and put them into this type of lifestyle," Fagan said.
Fagan wants parents to be aware and monitor their kid's social media accounts and electronics.
He also said it's not just girls that are potential targets.
"It's a fallacy to think it's only young girls that get trapped in human trafficking, anyone can do this, so that's why it was vital to find this young man so quickly, and again, I can't thank HPD enough for collaborating with us to bring this to a happy ending," Fagan said.
The most important thing to do is to talk to your children.