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Raymond Anytwan Larry III Courtesy/ HCSO
An Oklahoma man was arrested Tuesday morning, charged with trafficking of persons as a result of a Hopkins County Sheriff's Office investigation that began last month.
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a runaway/missing child from Hopkins County in mid-November and began an investigation into the child's whereabouts. As Deputy Patterson interviewed people who might have information, he received word the child was likely in southeastern Oklahoma and requested assistance from the investigators from the Hopkins County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division.
They began a broader search for the child and reached out to southeastern Oklahoma law enforcement officers, who contacted individuals and searched houses associated with the minor. However, initial locations did not lead to locating the minor.
Hopkins County investigators identified several suspects and involved persons and began to monitor those individuals. Eventually, investigators obtained information regarding the exact location of the minor. The information was relayed to Oklahoma law enforcement officials and led to those officials locating the minor.
Additional interviews and a review of the evidence revealed that Raymond Anytwan Larry III, 19, of Idabell, Okla. allegedly communicated with the child and arranged her transport to his location in Oklahoma.
Because these alleged acts occurred outside of Texas, the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is pursuing charges of human trafficking for the transportation of a minor outside of Hopkins County. The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work with Oklahoma officials and will forward any evidence to them if they pursue charges against Larry for acts that occurred in their jurisdiction.
Larry's bond was set at $100,000, and he remained in custody at the Hopkins County jail as of press time Wednesday, according to arrest and jail reports.