Mom claims she was falsely reported for human trafficking at airport

HEBRON, Ky. (WXIX) - An airline passenger says she is traumatized after she was stopped and investigated by airport police for human trafficking.

Bridgetta Tomarchio was traveling to the Cincinnati area with her 4-year-old to visit her son’s father. The two make this trip from Florida twice a month, normally without incident.

But when the Southwest plane unloaded passengers and bags at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, an unexpected situation unfolded. Tomarchio’s stay at the airport was extended after she was stopped by police.

“As I’m in Hertz getting my car, these two officers come in, and they say, ‘Excuse me, ma’am. This child, we have reason to believe is not your child and that you’re child trafficking him,’” she told WXIX.

Tomarchio says officers asked for a birth certificate or identification of her son, Lucian.

“I found two insurance cards and found a museum card,” she explained. “Now, my son has a different last name than me, so I also handed them my ticket, and I said, ‘Here’s my ticket, here’s his ticket,’ and they said to me, ‘Oh, he has a ticket?’”

The mother says officers cited a call from a Southwest pilot as the reason for their investigation.

“It’s traumatizing. I’m shaking inside, like thinking to myself, ‘What did I do?’” Tomarchio said. “I don’t even understand what could have possibly happened.”

The single mother says Lucian was cold and tired and slept the entire flight wrapped in her jacket to shield him from the light and keep him warm.

“I said that to the officer too, I said, ‘Thank you for doing your job, thank you for actually following up on what you might have thought was child trafficking. I know it’s not you, but it’s really messed up what Southwest did,’” Tomarchio added.

She also said if Southwest employees asked for her ticket or pulled up her account, they would have seen that her son had a companion pass tied to her information.

“It takes two seconds for you to go into the computer and see [we’ve been flying] for the past four years all the time with you guys - twice a month, usually,” Tomarchio emphasized.

Tomarchio said she hopes to see some sort of protocol that requires some level of questioning or investigating on Southwest’s end. She is glad her son was able to sleep through the whole incident.

Southwest told WXIX in a statement Wednesday it determined that none of its employees were involved in the incident.

“Calls made to local authorities appeared to have been placed by an individual or individuals who are not affliated with Southwest Airlines. These are serious allegations, and we appreciate the patience from the customer to allow us to look into these claims. Our Customer Engagement Team will be in touch with the customer to further discuss the investigation,” the statement read.

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