Columbia police: “No recent reports of human trafficking”

The University Police Department and the Columbia Police Department said there have been no recent reports of human trafficking activity in the Columbia area.

They said there has been one report of two students who felt they were being followed in their vehicles off campus by a white truck on two different occasions. Police investigated both of those instances and said one was a misunderstanding. In the other instance, there was no description of a driver, and the student was not approached.

In a press release sent by both law enforcement agencies Wednesday, police said social media posts involving a possible break-in at a downtown apartment complex were reported to be false. An MU spokesperson is now asking everyone to be careful when sharing information on social media.

“Please do not retweet, do not post on Facebook any information that is not confirmed,” Christian Basi told ABC 17 News Wednesday.

If there is a threat, Basi said the university will post on the official MU alert webpage as well as the university’s Twitter page.

“If there is an issue at all, the university will send it out from the MU alert system. It should not come from any other place first,” Basi said.

The university is also asking students, staff and faculty to create an emergency plan in case of an active threat.

Police said if anyone feels threatened, they should move to a safe location and notify police.