By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
Two bold women representing the Granny Brigade are actively working to spread awareness and inform Saline County on the dangers and the unfortunate reality of human trafficking.
Linda Adam and Linda Reynolds who are members of the Granny Brigade, are the frontrunners in working to spread awareness on the dangers, signs and information of human trafficking.
"We are trying to create awareness in the community," said Adam. "We want to educate students within the school system here, parents and get others involved in this fight against human trafficking."
Both Adam and Reynolds were first moved to spread awareness, after sitting in on two Granny Brigade meetings that featured speakers talking about the topic of human trafficking.
Those speakers featured Kim Borchers a longtime Topeka activist, and JJ Carrell, a retired U.S. Border Deputy Patrol Agent.
After listening to Borchers' views and Carrell's views on how human trafficking is closely tied with human/migrant smuggling, both Adam and Reynolds thought to take action.
Though human/migrant smuggling is legally defined as a person who "voluntarily enters into an agreement with a smuggler to gain illegal entry into a foreign country," there are still cases when people who are smuggled, can be extremely vulnerable to human trafficking, abuse, and other crimes, as they are illegally present in the country of destination and often owe large debts to their smugglers, according to the U.S. Department of State.
Moreover, some smuggled persons may be subjected to sex or labor trafficking while in transit or at their destination, and these individuals are indeed trafficking victims.
"We thought to ourselves, we needed to start a task force in Salina," said Reynolds.
Adam and Reynolds established the "Human Trafficking Task Force."
The Human Trafficking Task Force
The mission statement of the task force is as follows:
We lead with intent & defined goals to inform our community & create awareness to the rampant rise of human trafficking - a modern day form of abuse & slavery. Do not look away. Human trafficking is present among us. Our task force is a goal oriented team that tackles this challenging issue with teamwork & collaboration. FREEDOM for all is our MISSION - JUSTICE is our DEMAND.
Currently the task force has 14 members, including Adam and Reynolds. The task force distributes informational packets to local organizations in the community. The packets are loaded with information from Attorney General Kris Kobach's office, as the pair have worked closely with Julie Hart, the Human Trafficking Education & Outreach Coordinator Victim Services Division.
Adam and Reynolds have also talked about presenting this material to local school districts.
"We desperately need to present this to our schools," said Reynolds.
The task force strives to inform students and parents within the school system to bring forth awareness on this issue.
According to AG Kobach's office, "sextortion" is defined as form of blackmail where someone threatens to share sexual images of a person unless they do something they don't want to do - such as send more images, engage in sexual activities or pay money.
Victims of sextortion often feel scared and silent due to fears of trouble, shaming their parents or judgment from peers.
Learn more: https://www.missingkids.org/home
I-70 and I-35, contributing highways for human trafficking
Since major highways like I-70 & I-35 which spurs into I-135 intersecting into Salina, it should be no surprise human trafficking occurrences can happen locally.
I-135 serves as a key link for central Kansas, intersecting I-70 in Salina to create a vital crossroads for regional and national travel. While I-35 runs north-south from Mexico to Minnesota, connecting major central U.S. cities like Dallas, OKC and Kansas City.
According to the Riley County Police Department, the I-70 and I-35 highways contribute to “hotspot” communities for labor and sex trafficking activities.
For the 2024 year in Kansas, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 198 signals with 68 of them being victims or survivors of human trafficking. There were 126 cases identified, with 230 victims being involved in these cases (note that cases can involve multiple victims).
One of the ways to combat this is through the Truckers Against Trafficking course, which is approved by the AG's office. By taking this course, truckers can better understand what human trafficking is and what signs to look for.
Some signs to spot in victims of human trafficking include:
- Seem ill with a lack of malnourishment.
- No type of identification of the individual, nor money.
- Seem uncommunicative.
- Lack of eye contact with a slumped posture.
- Living at place of employment.
- Small children working at restaurant and/or some type of business.
- Multiple people with diverse backgrounds living in a household.
- Submissive/fearful behavior.
These signs above are but a few of many signs to look for, and go here to learn more.
According to the Department of Justice (DoJ) regarding the Human Trafficking Data Collection Activities, 2024:
A total of 1,912 persons were referred to U.S. attorneys for human trafficking offenses in fiscal year 2022, a 26% increase from the 1,519 persons referred in 2012.
The number of persons prosecuted for human trafficking more than doubled from 2012 to 2022 (from 805 to 1,656 persons). The number of persons convicted of a human trafficking offense increased from 578 persons in 2012 to 1,118 persons in 2022.
Both Adam and Reynolds will be speak about their mission, during the public comment period at the Saline County Commission meeting on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. Additionally, DVACK will also speak on a proclamation in the fight against human trafficking during the same meeting.
Adam and Reynolds are working to collaborate with DVACK.
A Facebook page for the Human Trafficking Task Force is in the works as well.
Helpful resources
If you think or know someone is being trafficked or sexually exploited, please call your local police department or 9-1-1.
To report a tip, get additional information and/or if you have been a victim/survivor of human trafficking, call or text:
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is: 1-888-373-7888 or you can text "BeFree" to 233733
DVACK is another resource here locally, and to get in contact with them go to: https://www.dvack.org/contact
You can also report human trafficking to the National Human Trafficking Hotline website by clicking here.