Infant Rescued From Suspected Child Trafficker In South OC, US Border Patrol Says

SAN CLEMENTE, CA — Border Patrol agents assigned to the San Clemente station checkpoint blocked a suspected case of child trafficking Friday, officials announced Wednesday.

At around 1:40 a.m. Friday, Border Patrol agents sent a vehicle holding a man and an infant to the secondary inspection area, US Border Patrol officials said in a statement.

The man was questioned and told agents that he picked up the infant in Otay Mesa. He did not know the child's name or where he was taking the child, officials said.

Otay Mesa is a mostly commercial and industrial area of San Diego just a few short miles from the US-Mexico border.

Child Protective Services took custody of the infant, reports said. The driver was booked into the Metropolitan Corrections Center in San Diego, KTLA reported. He was not identified by authorities.

As of Thursday it was unknown if authorities had identified the child or made contact with the family, Border Patrol Spokesperson Eric Lavergne told KTLA.

Lavergne described this case as "atypical" for the San Clemente checkpoint to KTLA.

“Due to the vigilance of our agents, we were able to prevent this child from being trafficked and potentially exploited,” San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron M. Heitke said in a news release.