Cindy McCain says she witnessed human trafficking at Phoenix airport

PHOENIX — While the Super Bowl is known as one of the biggest days for human trafficking, Cindy McCain said big events like the game aren’t the only place that the crime happens.

McCain, co-chair of the Arizona Governor’s Council on Human Trafficking, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mac & Gaydos on Monday that she noticed a situation in the Phoenix airport last week that didn’t feel right to her.

“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. … 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,” McCain said.

She said she found out that the woman was waiting for the man who bought the child to arrive from his flight.

When asked about best practices for combating human trafficking, McCain said she sticks to the saying “If you see something, say something.”

She encouraged people to visit websites about human trafficking and educate themselves on warning signs and what to do if they spot something suspicious.

“You can make a difference. Everyone can make a difference on this. It’s going on not just in big venues, but it’s in your own neighborhood,” she said.

McCain said she doesn’t think a physical barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border will help prevent sex trafficking.

“I’m not a proponent of the wall, but for this reason — the bulk of the people coming over the border that are being trafficked are labor trafficked — they’re being trafficked from a labor standpoint,” she said.

“I don’t think a wall in my opinion is the way to go on this. These traffickers are a lot smarter than a lot of us are, and they’re going to get them in regardless.”