UPDATE: Volunteers continue to search for dozens of missing teens during Super Bowl weekend. Two of those searchers are here from Montana, joining in on a search they say helped to find their own daughter.
Three years ago, their teenage daughter ran away from her Montana home, and in just a matter of hours, traveled about 1,000 miles to get to Las Vegas.
"It was terrifying," says the mother, Calley Crowley. "It was our worst nightmare."
The parents joined a search group and eventually were able to find her.
Now, they're back in Las Vegas during Super Bowl weekend to help find other missing teenagers.
"Vegas stepped up to help us find our daughter, and this tiny thing that we're doing is our way of saying we're here for your kids, too," says Trent Hickes, the father of the girl who went missing.
ORIGINAL STORY
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- A group of volunteers are spending their week searching for dozens of missing valley children.
Called "The Big Search," the volunteers are looking for 40 boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 18.
The group wanted to hold the search during Super Bowl week since hundreds of thousands of tourists will be in town for celebrations.
"It just created a good opportunity with visitors coming to town," says Michael Bartel, the co-founder of FREE International. "It creates more eyeballs that we can have on the street."
Bartel says the crowds could also mean that some of these teenagers could become victims of sex trafficking.
A study by the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women found little evidence that sex trafficking increases during major sporting events in Las Vegas. This is mostly due to the hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting on any given weekend, not just the Super Bowl.
Nevertheless, The Big Search wanted to raise awareness about sex trafficking and will continue their search throughout Super Bowl weekend.
