Webster County, Missouri — The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) said they discovered 14 people in a U-Haul truck while performing a traffic stop on I-44 on Sunday afternoon.
According to MSHP Troop D Public Information Officer Mike McClure, state troopers pulled over a white U-Haul box truck heading east on I-44 about one mile west of Marshfield at 4:30 p.m. for a moving infraction.
According to court filings, one of the individuals informed troopers that they were assisting someone with a move from Glendale, Arizona to Buffalo, New York. Troopers then requested a search of the U-Haul, and the driver confirmed there were “five adults and seven kids” in the truck. Troopers then handcuffed the three people in the front of the U-Haul and held them for 24 hours in Webster County Jail.
After transporting the U-Haul vehicle to Webster County Jail, law enforcement opened the back and discovered three mothers and seven youngsters ages 2 to 13 inside, along with trash, clothes, and food containers. There was no power or air conditioning in the back of the truck.
The Webster County Prosecutor’s Office has accused two men, Shaikiem Bristol and Musa Omar, with seven charges of first-degree endangerment of a child.
MSHP claims there is no immigration component, but that everyone involved knows each other or is linked.