UPDATE—Seven Children Discovered in Cargo Area of U-Haul During Webster County Traffic Stop

UPDATE

Two of the seven adults involved in a Webster County traffic stop with seven children, ages 2-13, in the cargo area of a U-Haul truck have now formally been charged with seven counts each of endangering the welfare of child.

Sergeant Mike McClure tells KRMS News the truck had reportedly left New York enroute to Arizona and was on its way back to New York when it was stopped near the 100-milemarker of Interstate-44. During the stop, voices could be heard inside the cargo area prompting the vehicle to be taken to the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, nearby in Marshfield, before the cargo door was opened and the discovery of the children along with four adults was made.

There were a few mattresses, food containers and trash inside the cargo area which was described as noticeably warmer without any power or air conditioning.

Of the seven adults taken into custody, Musa Omar and Shaikiem Bristol of Buffalo, New York, are the only ones charged at this time and are being held without bond.

ICE, D-H-S and D-F-S officials were called in and took the children into protective custody. Immigration and trafficking issues were ruled out as factors in the stop

ORIGINAL STORY

The highway patrol reports a startling find after what initially started as a routine traffic stop Sunday afternoon near the 100-mile marker of Interstate-44 in Webster County…seven children from 2-13-years-old in the cargo area of a U-Haul truck.

Sergeant Mike McClure tells KRMS News the truck had reportedly left New York enroute to Arizona and was on its way back to New York. During the stop, voices could be heard inside the cargo area prompting the vehicle to be taken to the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, nearby in Marshfield, before the cargo door was opened and the discovery of the children along with four adults was made.

The four adults and three other adults in the passenger area of the truck, were put on 24-hour holds with pending endangering the welfare of a child charges. All but one are from Buffalo, New York, and the other from Glendale, Arizona.

ICE, D-H-S and D-F-S officials were called in and took the children into protective custody. Immigration and trafficking issues were ruled out as factors in the stop.