Undercover operation at a Whatcom Co. hotel led to rescue of 7 potential trafficking victims
Undercover law enforcement officers posing as potential sex-trafficking customers arranged a meeting at an undisclosed Whatcom County hotel last week after spotting advertisements placed by potential human traffickers. The April 20 meeting led to the rescue of seven potential trafficking victims and the arrest of a Whatcom County man.
Representatives of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest, which was part of a multi-agency operation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Matthew Murphy, assistant special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Blaine, said the meeting at the hotel was part of one of two recent local HSI operations to rescue victims of human trafficking and arrest those attempting to engage in sex with minors.
The meeting led to the arrest of Kody Allan Schwiger, 31, whose last known residence is Clinton, Wash., on Whidbey Island, according to Deb Slater with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. Schwiger is detained in the county jail on an unrelated 2023 burglary charge pending potential charges stemming from the HSI operation. No charges related to his recent arrest had been filed as of Friday, April 26.
All the rescued women are adults and include a mix of locals and women from out of state. All are U.S. citizens, according to Murphy, who added that the investigation is ongoing and no other known victims have been identified.
“That’s our job, to constantly be trying to identify and rescue other victims,” Murphy said. “We put as much emphasis on rescuing and providing services to victims as we do about trying to go after and prosecute the people that are trafficking them.”
None of the seven women had been reported as missing to law enforcement. Murphy said that’s not uncommon, as there are many ways people can end up as victims of human trafficking, such as being forced or coerced.
Non-government organizations worked with HSI to provide food, clothing and shelter as the women were rescued.
The second operation led to the arrest of Noone Danger Marshall, 43, of Ferndale, who is suspected of arranging commercial sex services with a subject he believed to be 16. The 16-year-old was fictional, and Marshall was actually speaking with an undercover HSI agent, according to Murphy.
Marshall’s arrest had no direct connection with the seven rescued women, other than it was part of another HSI operation in Whatcom County around the same time, Murphy said.
Marshall was arrested on suspicion of arranging commercial sex services with a minor in exchange for cash and marijuana, according to Slater.
Marshall was charged April 23 in Whatcom County Superior Court with one count of attempted commercial sexual abuse of a minor, one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes and one count of attempted violation of the uniform controlled substances act, all felonies.
He was booked into the Whatcom County Jail on April 19 and was released April 22 on a $500 cash alternative bond, according to court and jail records.
The operations were conducted with participation from the Homeland Security Investigations, Whatcom Gang and Drug Task Force, Bellingham Police Department, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, King County Sheriff’s Office, Bellevue Police Department and the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office.
To report any information about human trafficking, child sexual abuse, or the trafficking in child sexual abuse material, immediately call the HSI Tipline at 877-4-HSI TIP or 877-447-4847.
Bellingham Herald criminal justice reporter Denver Pratt contributed to this article.
