Police find no evidence of truth in viral "human trafficking" posts claim

According to one of the Facebook posts, a woman was approached by three females at the Transit Rd. Walmart in Clarence, N.Y. The post says the women insisted on teaching her about the bible and that they had pamphlets in their car. The post continues that the woman was then followed by Arabic men until the store manager came and kicked both the women and men out of the store.

The second post mentions a reported situation at the Target on Transit Road in Williamsville, saying the woman was asked to join a prayer group, adding that is was a "group of sex traffickers," and that a Target employee says they're always in the story.

We reached out to both the Erie County Sheriff's office and the New York State Police (NYSP) about the posts.

Trooper James O'Callaghan, Public Information Officer for the NYSP, says they haven't "received any complaints or any like it," but that they are aware of the Facebook posts. He adds, "professional businesses report unusual people or circumstances to local law enforcement on a regular basis. This was not reported by Target or Walmart even though the Facebook post claims the manager came out and asked them to leave. This is not normal practice by people possibly being propositioned or management behavior."

The Erie County Sheriff's department also says they have not received any reports regarding this activity, asking people if these incidents happen to contact the Sheriff's office so they can open a formal investigation.