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Maryland State Police tell Harford County council trafficking exists locally, urge victim-centered response

Harford County Council · April 7, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Two Maryland State Police corporals told the Harford County Council the county sees human trafficking tied to runaways, foster youth and online ads, described investigative tactics and urged stronger victim services and cross‑agency partnerships. Council members and a child therapist asked about trends and supports.

Corporal Christopher Hyde and Corporal Austin Mueller of the Maryland State Police gave Harford County elected officials a briefing on human trafficking in the region, stressing a victim‑centered approach and the need for follow‑up services.

Hyde, recently retired after 32 years with the Maryland State Police, described the unit’s priority order in cases: rescuing children, stabilizing victims and then pursuing traffickers. He said investigators rely on partnerships with the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to pursue cases that cross state lines and to obtain evidence from online advertisements. "We go out and we make these dates...our goal was number 1 was to rescue children,"…

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