A 14-year-old child who had been reported as a runaway from Pennsylvania in January 2025 was rescued in Jasper as part of a human trafficking investigation. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is conducting the investigation at the request of the Jasper Police Department.
The teenager received medical treatment and additional resources following their rescue and will be returned to Pennsylvania.
Take Action: Anyone with information related to this case can contact the GBI’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit at 404-270-8433. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at the GBI website, or through the See Something, Send Something mobile app. All forms of human trafficking should be reported to Georgia’s statewide human trafficking hotline at 1-866-ENDHTGA (1-866-363-4842), where trained law enforcement agents, advocates, and first responders are available 24/7.
In Context: Human trafficking cases involving children who have run away are particularly common. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an estimated one in six endangered runaways reported to them are likely child sex trafficking victims. Children who run away from home are particularly vulnerable to traffickers who may offer them shelter, food, or emotional support as a way to exploit them.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
