Recently, Facebook posts from women claiming they were followed while shopping have been circulating the internet.
The Gainesville Police Department said, “We’ve seen recent posts from various folks in the community that are describing what appears to be incidents of human trafficking, kidnapping, or abductions. People are posting on social media that their kids are being watched while shopping, others have described instances that someone is trying to recruit them into a church for the purpose of human trafficking, and some have posted stories about being watched by people with headphones who seem to be giving updates into their positions.”
“GPD does not have any reason to believe that any of these incidents have been formally reported to us and we do NOT have any open investigations to anything even remotely close to what has been described, and there have been no reports of any child abductions,” officials said.
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office also stated they the agency does not have any open investigations of such events.
Detectives said that while they do not have any open investigations, citizens should be aware of their surroundings at all times.