The parents of a Texas girl who left a Mavericks game with a man are speaking out to raise awareness about human traffickers.
Kyle and Brooke Morris said in an interview with "Good Morning America" that they want their daughter's story to be a cautionary tale about the dangers of human sex trafficking.
Kyle Morris said that something like this can happen to anyone. There are people who want to make it happen even if you don't think it's doable.
The girl was found by police on the side of a road in Oklahoma City 10 days after Morris reported her missing.
Through an online ad, the Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative was able to locate the girl.
The people were arrested in Oklahoma City. The cases are still pending.
The parents said that their daughter is doing well after entering treatment to recover from her trauma. According to the family's lawyer, the girl gave her parents permission to talk about the case. She is not being named because of her age.
The girl told her mother that she had met a lot of other girls in Oklahoma.
Brooke Morris said that she wondered how long they had been in this life.
Kyle Morris said that he and his stepdaughter were in the Platinum level of the arena on the night of the April 8 game. The girl told him she needed to go to the bathroom. He said she didn't have a phone and left her identification at her seat. Security searched the restrooms and the arena when she did not come back. According to Morris, an off-duty police officer working the game told him that the girl was seen walking out of the arena and into the parking garage.
The girl did not seem to leave by force according to the lawyer who has seen the video. According to Kyle and Brooke Morris, their daughter has left without their permission before. Kyle Morris said she had left with people she knew in those instances.
"This time, everything about it was different," he1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556
Fortenberry said that the Mavericks and American Airlines Center have been helpful in figuring out what happened. Kyle Morris said he found an email address for Mark Cuban, who responded within minutes, adding people who could help and tell them to use whatever resources they needed.
"What happened to the unnamed teen after she walked away from the American Airlines Center facilities on April 8, 2022, is tragic, and the American Airlines Center and Dallas Mavericks are glad she is now safe and wish her well on her road to recovery," the statement said.
The American Airlines Center has no evidence that any traffickers have been in the arena at any point.
After Kyle Morris reported his stepdaughter missing, arena security staff began reviewing video footage, and Fortenberry was allowed to look at it as well.
Kyle Morris said he was told by an off-duty officer to return home and report his daughter's disappearance. An officer entered the information into a national missing persons database early on April 9 after taking a report from Morris. The flag was added to the report.
The Dallas Police Department made a report and helped the North Richland Hills Police Department, despite the fact that they refused an interview request. There was a bulletin about the missing girl. The event and site were searched after an off-duty officer at the game was notified of a missing person. A part of the Texas Family Code was referred to by the spokesman. The code says that cases of missing juvenile should be investigated as runaways if there is a reason to believe that they were kidnapped.
The cases are to be filed where the juvenile lives, according to Dallas Police.
"For this situation, I'm just going to say Dallas' interpretation or application of that portion of the family code, I think is wrong."
Morris and his wife were concerned that the investigation into their daughter's disappearance wasn't making progress. The parents are unaware of any investigation by Dallas Police.
The Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative was contacted by the family after the girl went missing. A family friend recommended that they do that. The girl was located by the counter-trafficking group and brought to the attention of the police.
The Oklahoma City police searched rooms at the Extended Stay America hotel. Three people were arrested, but didn't find the girl. Police found her three days later walking with another person 6 miles away from the hotel. It's not clear how she got to Oklahoma City.
Two people have been charged with human traffickers and other offenses. There are preliminary hearing conferences in August. A preliminary hearing for Steven Hill will take place on July 11. According to court records, Nelson is being held on a $300,000 bond, while others are being held on $250,000 and $25,000 bonds.
Forced labor or commercial sex act is one of the types of human traffickers use. The United States is one of the places where millions of people are forced to work. Traffickers often use violence to lure victims.
The hotline is for human traffickers.
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