One mother told investigators that a smuggler left with her son when she did not have enough money to pay. It later emerged that the son was 18 instead of 16 years old.
HARALSON COUNTY, Georgia – The teen at the center of an early Amber Alert on Monday was rescued and five people are in custody in what the Haralson County Sheriff’s Office identified as a possible human smuggling situation.
They said the teenager who was originally believed to be 16 was rescued at the Alabama Welcome Center on Interstate 20 across the Georgia state line.
The sheriff’s office said the mother paid to have her son brought into the country. She planned to meet the suspects at the Welcome Center but didn’t have enough money, so the smuggler took the teenager away.
The mother called 911 to prepare the report and Haralson County authorities soon contacted the GBI to set off the amber alarm. Several agencies joined in the search before the suspects and the van were found just above the Alabama state line. Five people, including a pregnant woman, were arrested in Cleburne County, Alabama.
However, authorities soon learned that the son at the Amber Alert center was actually 18 years old. As such, he is now being incarcerated in Haralson County.
With the incident being treated as a human smuggling case – and spanning multiple jurisdictions – the Homeland Security Department is now involved and responsible for bringing all charges according to the Haralson County Sheriff’s Office.
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