By Gino Spocchia – Sat, May 21, 2022, 4:04 PM – for Yahoo News

My cmnt: This is a cautionary tale for all parents of girls – of any age! Do NOT let your children go into a public restroom, especially in any large venue, unattended by you or another responsible adult. Restroom kidnappings happen all the time. Beware. Exercise caution. And DO NOT wait for the local police to do something – get private help ASAP.

My cmnt: You young women – always go to a public restroom in pairs or more. Watch out for each other. Be aware of your surroundings.

My cmnt: I will not be at all surprised to read later on that BLM and Hollywood elites have posted bail for these miscreants. If this had happened in New York or California they would already be out because of their insane no-bail laws.

My cmnt: In the days before liberalism took over our courts and changed our laws by working to elect liberal legislators a kidnapper was executed, pronto. Why were some of these perps out and walking the streets? They had prior convictions.

Eight people have been arrested for allegedly trafficking a 15-year-old girl who was snatched from a basketball game and trafficked to another state, as the victim’s family claims that they had to track down their daughter themselves when Dallas police failed to launch an investigation.

The girl, who has not been identified, was kidnapped on 8 April when she went to use the bathroom at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, where she was watching a Dallas Mavericks game with her family.

She was finally found 10 days later around 200 miles away in Oklahoma City after her parents sought the help of the Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative (TXCTI) to find their missing daughter.

The counter-trafficking nonprofit found nude photos of the 15-year-old girl on a prostitution website, leading Oklahoma City police to raid an Extended Stay America Hotel on 18 April.

There, they found the girl inside a room with convicted sex offendor Kenneth Nelson, according to authorities.

On Friday, Oklahoma police arrested eight people who have since been charged with child trafficking crimes.

They are: Saniya Alexander, Melissa Wheeler, Chevaun Gibson, Kenneth Nelson, Sarah Hayes, Karen Gonzales, Thalia Gibson and Steven Hill.

According to an affidavit, obtained by KFOR, Ms Gonzales is accused of taking the nude photos of the girl which were posted online and is charged with human trafficking and distribution of child pornography

Ms Hayes and Ms Gonzales are charged with the same counts.

Ms Gibson is charged with offering to engage in prostitution and Mr Hill is charged with rape.

With the teenager now back home, her family is demanding answers from Dallas Police Department as they say they begged officers to open an investigation as soon as she vanished at the game.

Depsite their pleas and the nature of her disappearance, the family’s attorney Zeke Fortenberry said on Friday that the department failed to investigate because of Texas Family Code Laws, which consider missing juveniles as runaways.

Instead, the family claim they had no choice but to turn to the nonprofit to help them find the missing teenager.

In a statement obtained by Fox News, Mr Fortenberry raised questions about the systems used by Dallas Police and the American Airlines Center – and said more could have been done to find the 15-year-old girl sooner.

“The systems and organisations involved in this case continually failed the victim”, the attorney said.

“She should never have had contact with the man at the Mavericks game.

“The Dallas Police should have worked quickly to investigate leads and locate the teenager before she was trafficked to Oklahoma”.

The victim’s father said: “My daughter was missing in Dallas, this is a Dallas case, but they refused to open a case for her.”

Dallas Police told The Independent that, unless there are “involuntary” circumstances, missing juveniles are investigated as runaways.

The statement said that a report was raised and a bulletin about the missing teen sent out to the department on 11 April – three days after her abduction.

“On April 8, 2022, an off-duty Dallas police officer working the Dallas Mavericks game was notified of a missing person at the game. The event and location was searched that evening,” the statement read.

“Texas Family Code (51.03 b. 3) dictates that missing juveniles are investigated as runaways unless there are circumstances which appear as involuntary such as a kidnapping or abduction. Those cases per code are to be filed where the juvenile resides.

“A report was generated by Dallas Police and Dallas Police assisted the North Richland Hills Police Department (lead agency as that was where the teen resided) and a bulletin about the missing teen was created and went out to the department on April 11, 2022”.

The Independent has approached the American Airlines Center for comment.

Meanwhile, the girl’s family said they are grateful to officials in Oklahoma who rescued their daughter from the clutches of the alleged traffickers.

“We are thankful for the work of the Oklahoma City Police Department and the recovery of our daughter,” the girl’s family said in a statement earlier this month.

“My heart breaks for the unimaginable things my daughter had to endure for the 11 days she was taken, and I am so glad she is safe as we work toward her recovery.”

Eight Arrested After Snatching Teen at Dallas Mavericks Game

By Mathew Murphy – Sat, May 21, 2022 – for The Daily Beast and Yahoo News

Eight people have been arrested in Oklahoma City for allegedly trafficking a 15-year-old Texas girl, who was abducted at a Dallas Mavericks game last month when she left her father to go and use the bathroom.

The girl’s family is also demanding answers from Texas police about why they refused to investigate their daughter’s disappearance and were forced to locate her themselves with the assistance of the Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative (TXCTI)—a nonprofit organization that was able to track down nude images of the girl on a prostitution website.

The teen went to the bathroom at the American Airlines Center on April 8 and never returned, her family’s attorney Zeke Fortenberry of the Fortenberry Firm, PLLC said in a release, obtained by Fox News.

She was missing for 10 days until Oklahoma City law enforcement located her at an Extended Stay America hotel— roughly 200 miles away — on April 18.

The Oklahoma City Police Department has arrested Saniya Alexander, Melissa Wheeler, Chevaun Gibson, Kenneth Nelson, Sarah Hayes, Karen Gonzales, Thalia Gibson and Steven Hill in connection to the trafficking case. Gibson is charged with offering to engage in prostitution; Nelson, Hayes and Gonzales are charged with human trafficking and distribution of child pornography; Hill is charged with rape; Gibson and Alexander have felony warrants; and Wheeler has a robbery warrant.

Mr Fortenberry said despite the family’s pleas to the Dallas Police Department, authorities refused to investigate the case citing Texas Family Code laws, which consider missing juveniles to be runaways “unless there are circumstances which appear as involuntary such as a kidnapping or abduction.”

“The systems and organizations involved in this case continually failed the victim. She should never have had contact with the man at the Mavericks game. The Dallas Police should have worked quickly to investigate leads and locate the teenager before she was trafficked to Oklahoma,” Fortenberry told Fox in a statement.

The girl’s father said “My daughter was missing in Dallas, this is a Dallas case, but they refused to open a case for her.”

The Dallas Police Department told Fox that officers took a report and included the missing teen in a bulletin.

Mr Fortenberry also slammed the Extended Stay America hotel for allowing a registered sex offender with a fake name and ID to rent rooms.

“The Extended Stay America hotel in Oklahoma City put profits ahead of people by turning a blind eye to the sexual exploitation occurring right before their eyes. This victim’s life will forever be changed. We hope to hold accountable those responsible and create change within these organizations so that this never happens to any other child,” he said.

SNATCHED AT STADIUM 

Inside battle to rescue girl, 15, ‘who was kidnapped from basketball game & had nude pics posted online by traffickers’

By Iman Palm – May 22, 2022 – for The Sun

THE family of a teen who was kidnapped from a basketball game and had her nude photos posted online have told how they battled to save her from a gang of sex traffickers.

The teen, who went to the bathroom during halftime by herself, wasn’t seen for 10 days after being abducted from the stadium in Dallas.

The 15-year-old was found alive in an Extended Stay America hotel in Oklahoma City on April 18.

Saniya Alexander, Melissa Wheeler, Chevaun Gibson, Kenneth Nelson, Sarah Hayes, Karen Gonzales, Thalia Gibson and Steven Hill were arrested in connection to the alleged crimes.

Nelson, Hayes and Gonzales were charged with human trafficking and distribution of child pornography as reported by Fox News Digital.

Hill was charged with rape while the others have outstanding warrants.

The teen was at the American Airlines Center with her father watching the Dallas Mavericks play against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 8.

The girl’s father reported that his daughter was missing when she hadn’t return from the bathroom. When he reported the incident to authorities, he was given the run around.

Attorney Zeke Fortenberry, who is representing the family and spoke to The US Sun, said that the father was advised to contact North Richland Hills Police Department about the case since that’s where his family lives.

However, police officers from that department told that father that they couldn’t help him since his daughter went missing in Dallas.

In addition to notifying authorities, the father also alerted the arena’s security, staff, and the Dallas Police Department.

As the game was ending, with his daughter still missing, the father was instructed to return home.

Fortenberry said that Dallas Police never opened a case for the alleged kidnapping despite pleas from the girl’s family.

“My daughter was missing in Dallas, this is a Dallas case, but they refused to open a case for her,” the girl’s father said.

However, the police department told Fox News Digital that an officer was searching for the missing teen on the night she disappeared.

The department didn’t continue the investigation citing a Texas Family Code, stating that, “missing juveniles are investigated as runaways unless there are circumstances which appear as involuntary such as a kidnapping or abduction.”

“Those cases per code are to be filed where the juvenile resides,” the department told Fox News Digital.

The Oklahoma City Police Department arrested the individuals involved in the alleged crime.

Fortenberry also blames the American Airlines Center, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Police Department, and an Oklahoma City hotel. He stated that these organizations could have done more to protect the teen.