Cindy McCain claimed she thwarted the human trafficking of a toddler. Police say she didn't.

Cindy McCain did not thwart a human trafficking incident

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/12 News)

published 7 February 2019

On Monday, Cindy McCain told Arizona's KTAR radio station that she had prevented a human trafficking incident at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. On Wednesday, Phoenix police say she didn't.

"I came in from a trip I’d been on and I spotted — it looked odd — it was a woman of a different ethnicity than the child, this little toddler she had, and something didn't click with me," McCain told KTAR's Mac & Gayos. "I went over to the police and told them what I saw, and they went over and questioned her, and, by God, she was trafficking that kid." She added that the woman was "waiting for the guy who bought the child to get off an airplane."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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