SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – The 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally starts on Friday and with the excitement also comes a somber reminder about human trafficking.
Last year, five men were arrested following a sex trafficking sting operation at the Rally. Between 2020 and 2022, authorities arrested 23 people for attempting to solicit children online during the Rally.
“Human trafficking is, as we call, hidden in plain sight. It’s not going to look like the man in the white van and people getting kidnapped,” McKenzie Huska, director of Marissa’s House and Outreach Services, said. “It can look like that, however, it’s going to be right in front of your face.”
That’s why Call to Freedom wants people to be aware of the indicators of human trafficking.
“If somebody seems like they’re maybe under somebody else’s control as far as maybe their dress doesn’t look appropriate, maybe their attire seems worn out, maybe they don’t seem medically okay,” Huska said. “They could maybe have signs and symptoms of being under the influence and not being able to leave the situation. They may not have their ID’s.”
