PHOENIX — The FBI says it has found more than a hundred human trafficking survivors, and more than a dozen were located in Arizona.
The grim discovery was part of Operation Cross Country which took place during the first two weeks of August across the country. The FBI's initiative focused on identifying and locating victims of sex trafficking and arresting those responsible for it.
In total, they located 84 minor victims of child sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation and 141 adult victims of human trafficking. They found 37 actively missing children.
The FBI says it also identified or arrested 85 suspects accused of child sexual exploitation or human trafficking.
The youngest victim found was 11 years old.
The FBI says in its operation, 17 of the adult victims were found in Arizona in just four days.
12News spoke to a sex trafficking survivor in the Valley who was happy to hear that law enforcement is prioritizing these crimes.
“It started when I was a child," she said.
12News is protecting the survivor's identity.
“I was never really sold but rented for sex at a very small age," she said.
The abuse continued for years. She finally escaped after she was nearly beaten to death.
“I literally hit the door running," she said. "And from that point on, I really just tried to make something of myself and to move forward.”
That moment of escape doesn't come for every survivor.
>> Live, local, breaking. Download the 12News app
“It's fortunate for those survivors that we were able or that they were able to recover and get out of that situation. But it's unfortunate that we even have to do this," said Courtney Bollinger, the social services manager for MIND 24-7, an organization that provides crisis mental and psychiatric care along with substance abuse care.
Bollinger recently worked with MIND 24-7 to add a sex trafficking protocol to assist survivors. She said since launching the program, they've worked with an average of three to four survivors per month.
“It does happen here and we have to take our blinders off so that we know how to protect our children and our neighbors and our community," Bollinger said.
The FBI says it has victim specialists to work with the survivors they found which is a critical step towards healing.
“We're talking about long-term counseling, long-term services," the survivor said.
This survivor now works with CeCe's Hope Center to help others in the position she was once in.
She has advice for parents on what to look out for.
“When that person is doing something out of the norm, or unusual," she said.
"So let's say, for example, all of a sudden your child comes home and they have expensive handbags, they're starting to wear expensive jewelry, they're sneaking out of the house, they've got maybe an older boyfriend or those types of things that might be unusual for them.”
Human Trafficking Resources
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.