A U.S. Marshals fugitive team found the girl Tuesday in Port Huron, Michigan, a year after her foster family reported her missing.(Gray News, file)
By The Associated Press
PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) — A 14-year-old girl who was reported missing over a year ago by her foster family has been found hiding in the closet of a Michigan home, authorities said.
A U.S. Marshals fugitive team found the girl Tuesday in Port Huron, about 62 miles (99 kilometers) northeast of Detroit. Child Protective Services took her to a hospital, where it was discovered that she was pregnant.
“She was crying,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Watson told the Detroit Free Press. “She didn’t know where she was going to go. She was pretty terrified. And she was afraid of losing her baby.”
Authorities are pursuing parental kidnapping charges against the girl’s biological mother, who previously lost custody of her daughter, Watson said.
The mother is believed to have found the girl after she ran away and started moving the girl from house to house, authorities said. The girl has been reunited with her biological father.
State police contacted Watson on Tuesday seeking help in locating the girl. Tips led authorities to the home.
“The occupants refused us entry, wouldn’t talk to us or give us any information,” he told The Detroit News. “We ended up having to serve a search warrant to get inside.”
DETROIT, MI – Not all heroes wear capes, and that much is evident in terms of police officers all over the nation.
That’s exactly the case in Detroit, Michigan where two officers noted something was off.
Through their digging, they were able to determine that the children in the car they’d pulled over had been kidnapped and they were able to rescue them.
On November 30th, Detroit Police Officers allegedly witnessed a vehicle run a red light in the area of Grand River and Evergreen Avenue and stopped the vehicle for the infraction.
When officers spoke to the female driver, she told them that she was in a hurry to get the children that were in the vehicle to school.
The officers noted the body language of the children inside the car and decided to dig a little deeper and began questioning the driver as to which school the children attend. The woman was unable to provide a straight answer to the question which immediately raised red flags.
This woman kidnapped 4 Black Kids in Detroit on Tuesday.
Detroit police officers who noticed something peculiar about a woman and four children in a van they stopped for a traffic violation saved the youngsters from a kidnapping, authorities said Friday. https://t.co/hWNTmHxRQN
According to Detroit Police Chief James White, Officers Parrish and Flannel asked the woman if the children were hers and she said that they were. White said:
“Are these your children? To which she said yes, and the children at the same time were shaking their head no.”
The officers separated the woman driver from the children and began to ask what the relationship was between them and her. What they learned was shocking, the children, whose ages ranged from 11 to 5, did not know who the woman was that was driving the car.
The discovery came during a traffic stop from a car going through a red light by a pair of officers from the Eighth Precinct. https://t.co/HEKXT3eqm7
As the officers continued their investigation, they learned the vehicle the suspect, identified as Stephanie Marie Binder, was driving was reported stolen.
Binder was arrested and charged with four counts each of kidnapping – child enticement, unlawful imprisonment, and one count each of receiving and concealing stolen property -motor vehicle, and unlawfully driving away of an automobile.
While conducting further investigation, Detroit Police learned of a Ring doorbell camera that was in the area where the children would normally walk to school.
When they reviewed that video they saw the van the woman was allegedly driving pull up to the children as they were walking and have an interaction with them. During the interaction, Binder was allegedly able to convince them to enter the car and leave the area.
Officers believe that Binder was able to convince the children to enter the van by targeting the youngest one and convincing him to enter. The older siblings followed the youngest one to ensure that he was safe while one of them, who had a cell phone, was calling for help.
The children’s mother, Shayla Burleigh, reported:
“She preyed on my youngest one. The oldest one didn’t want to leave his youngest brother. He did what he had to do.”
She added:
“I just thank everyone involved that my children are back home safe.”
Today Chief James E. White held a press conference to recognize @DPD8Pct officers Parrish and Flannel, for rescuing four children who were kidnapped. The officers stopped a van near Grand River and Evergreen after the driver ran a red light. pic.twitter.com/TFwgeChKxc
Keith Lindey, one of the children’s father, expressed his praise and gratitude that the Detroit Police officers dug further on a simple traffic stop to ensure the safety of the community. He said:
“I just want to congratulate the City of Detroit police officers for performing their duties. I am thankful.”
There has been no information released that would give any insight as to why Binder allegedly kidnapped the four children. Binder is being held in a Wayne County Jail on a $5 million bond.
The court has ordered Binder if she can bond out to not have any contact with the victims in the case and will be ordered to wear a GPS monitor. Additionally, she will be confined to her home until further ordered by the courts.
GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. — A 16-year-old girl was rescued from captivity in a Michigan barn Friday evening.
The Genesee County Sheriff's Office conducted a sweep with the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team, or "GHOST," searching for 27 missing children who had "fallen off the grid," WEYI reported.
Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said seven four-man teams spread across the county looking for the children. Seven of the missing kids highlighted by the operation were found.
That included a 16-year-old girl who police say was locked in a barn in the city of Montrose. The barn was surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire.
Police say it appears the girl had been trafficked.
Her alleged captor was arrested and is awaiting arraignment in the Genesee County Jail, WEYI reported.
Swanson said GHOST has conducted rescue operations in each of the last three years.
Police said five recent GHOST operations targeting sexual predators have resulted in 17 arrests. Those arrested have come from across the state of Michigan who went to Genesee County to prey on children.
FLINT, Mich. — Several crews with a mid-Michigan sheriff's office on Friday went searching for 27 children who have been missing or off the grid.
Seven four-man times spread out across Genesee County, about 70 miles northwest of Detroit, to look for the children.
Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said seven of the missing children were found. One of them was a 16-year-old girl who was locked in a barn. Swanson said the barn was surrounded by barbed wire and it appears the girl was a victim of human trafficking.
The suspect in the case was arrested and is awaiting arraignment at the Genesee County Jail.
A child sex sting in Genesee County has led to 22 arrests, including some metro Detroit residents.
Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell said the suspects are believed to have been targeting children in Genesee County for sexual purposes. While some live in Genesee County, others traveled from Wayne, Oakland, Saginaw, Shiawassee, Lapeer and Tuscola Counties.
The arrests, accounced at a news conference Monday, were the result of a five-week investigation by the newly formed Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team (GHOST) task force beginning April 11 and ending on June 15.
"On the wall behind me are the names and faces of sexual predators, pedophiles who lives among us," said Pickell, gesturing to booking photos displayed. "They are of all ages, creeds, genders and professions with one goal in mind: to have sex with kids."
Those in custody include a Comerica Bank Senior Vice President, a financial adviser, a subcontractor and factory worker at General Motors, two McDonald's employees, three construction workers and a political candidate.
"This fella over here, George Huffman, is really a unique guy," Pickell said. "In 2010, Huffman ran for the United States House of Representatives and garnered 33% of the vote. In 2018 he ran for the United States Senate on the U.S. Taxpayers ticket and he got over 27,000 votes."
Pickell detailed the case of the lone female arrested, Jennifer Beckman, a restaurant manager.
"She provided her 6-year-old daughter for Michael Foster to have sex with; trafficked her 6-year-old daughter," the sheriff said. "And upon further investigation we found that Michael Foster was having sex with his 2-year-old daughter. It doesn't get any worse than that."
Some of the suspects brought drugs with them when attempting to meet the children for sex, Pickell said, while others brought guns or knives.
"And we're doing some further investigation into that," he said. "When you see all these weapons that people bring to have sex with a child and they say, 'Well, I bought it for my protection.' Protect them from a young boy, a young girl?"
The suspects face a combined 66 felony charges, totaling 994 combined years of potential prison time. Child pornography and human trafficking charges are pending in some of the cases.
Pickell said this investigation is a sobering reminder that we must be more vigilant than ever protecting our kids, even when they're not in public.
"We used to worry about children when they were outside the house playing," he said. "Now we have to worry about them when they're inside the house and up in their bedroom and browsing on their computer. That is where these predators and child pedophiles are roaming, lurking and trying to entice children."
An additional suspect, Forrest Williams, remains at large. Anyone who knows his whereabouts is asked to call the Genesee County Sheriff's Office at 810-257-3422.
At the moment, Michigan might be best known for the extreme cold temperatures, snow, and ice it is facing, but to Danielle Jordan Bastein, an ER nurse at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan is also known for something far more dangerous:
Human trafficking.
But now, thanks to a new screening protocol that she implemented while a student at Wayne State University, Bastein is fighting back — and working to help trafficked individuals before it’s too late.
What Does Human Trafficking Have to Do with Hospitals?
In an article with Fox 2 News Detroit, Bastein explained that a large majority of trafficked individuals come into contact with health care workers at some point during their trafficking, but shockingly, very few of them are actually identified by healthcare staff. One study found that approximately half of all trafficked individuals (mostly women and female children) do see a healthcare worker at some point during their exploitation. In fact, healthcare workers are the most likely of any profession to come into initial contact with a trafficked girl or woman, so even the National Conference of State Legislatures has identified healthcare workers as a key first-line defense against trafficking.
So, what are we missing here?
Well, in Bastein’s eyes, we are missing out on crucial screening protocol and training that would ensure that emergency room triage nurses are able to routinely ask the right questions and do the right assessment that would flag a potential trafficking victim for further follow-up. Her screening tool looks for patterns of inconsistencies in the patient’s story, abuse, torture, or neglect signs, and other behaviors consistent with trafficking victims, such as if they aren’t holding their own ID or money, or if the person they are with is answering questions for them and refuses to leave or let them be alone.
If the patient is identified as a victim and agrees to help, the hospital then works to provide the individual with housing, transportation and any necessities they may need. And if you’re thinking that all this is well and good in theory, but may not fly in “real life”, get ready for this stat: since implementing the screening, the hospital has successfully rescued 17 victims of trafficking in the past year alone, a number that shocked even Bastein herself.
"It took me aback it actually worked and we kept it going," she told Fox 2 News.
Making a Difference in the Mitten State
What Bastein is doing is important for the nation, for the future of nursing, and for the state of Michigan. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline organization, Michigan has the 6th highest reported incidences of human trafficking in the entire country, with 176 reported cases in 2018 alone. The organization reports that sex trafficking among female adults and children make up the vast majority of Michigan’s trafficking, with cases high in the traveling and hotel/motel industries.
It’s thought that Michigan’s highway connectivity, as well as its proximity to bordering states and Canada, make it a prime location as a pass-through or origin source for trafficking. Additionally, major events, such as the Detroit Auto Show tend to attract large spikes in human trafficking incidents. For example, WXYZ Detroit reported on Jan 17th that the FBI rescued as many as 40 children who were trafficked during the show and that sex trafficking goes up between 280% and 300% during the auto show.
How Nurses Can Get Involved Against Human Trafficking
In a post about Bastein’s story shared by Johnson & Johnson on Facebook, several nurses in the comment section praised her efforts and noted that they wished more training on trafficking screening would be offered to current and upcoming nurses in the future. “This is so needed,” commented Laurie Crosgrove. “Hopefully other hospitals will use the protocol and even more woman can be saved from the horrendous life they are leading. As a nurse myself, I applaud your efforts. Great job Danielle!”
Supporting and sharing Bastein’s efforts are important and could be a conversation starter with your own facility about implementing a similar program, but there are other steps you can take if you’re a nurse who wants to do more to help human trafficking victims:
Take a CE course on human trafficking. There are several CE classes dedicated to helping you learn more about how to identify and help victims of trafficking online, such as this one.
Know the stats for your state. Many people think human trafficking isn’t a problem in their area—until they actually look at the statistics.
Memorize and display the information for the National Human Trafficking Hotline for potential victims: (888) 373-7888 or text “help” to 233733.
The more nurses who are aware of the problem of human trafficking and the vital role they can play in helping to stop and rescue victims, the more of an impact can be made. Bastein hopes that her efforts will spread to other areas across the country to save even more victims of the modern-day form of slavery.
"It feels pretty amazing that at least I had a small part in getting this person help,” she noted.
That’s what a movie filmed in Genesee County is doing.
"Ring of Silence" made its debut at Flint's Capitol Theater.
Human trafficking is an issue that's not just happening in Genesee County where director Nicole Bowers Wallace wrote Ring of Silence, but across the globe.
“The more I found how prevalent this epidemic is not only in the cities but the suburbs I knew I had to do this movie,” she said.
Hundreds came to see the debut for Ring of Silence. It's shown through the lens of a 17 year old girl. She falls in love with an older man, eventually leading her to the world of sex trafficking. Michigan State Police Detective Trooper Amy Belanger says that's often how it happens.
“Usually the male in the relationship makes them think they have this future together and that's how this movie starts out and when he flips the switch then you start noticing changes. She's raped she's sexually, assaulted,” Belanger said.
Belanger works with Flushing Township Police Chief Brian Fairchild on the Genesee County Human Trafficking Task Force. He hopes this movie sheds light on the signs parents and teens should look for.
“Change in behavior, change in attitude, a sudden lack of attention in school and distancing not wanting you to know who they're dating,” Fairchild said.
Above all Bowers Wallace hopes this film open's people's eyes.
“Most people have no idea what's happening and how big the problem is and that's the biggest thing I want to take away,” she said.
Organizations across Flint stepped up with donations to make this movie happen.
