3 arrested in human trafficking case after Kentucky teen found in back of U-Haul truck

Deputies in one Kentucky county say three are charged in a human trafficking case after a 16-year-old girl was found in a U-Haul truck in Ohio.

The Knox County Sheriff's Office says deputies filed a missing person report for the juvenile Apr. 20 after a relative said she was unaccounted for. The next day, Cincinnati police notified deputies the girl was found in a U-Haul truck in a parking lot.

The deputy traveled to Cincinnati to pick up the missing girl and learned during an interview she was taken by Michael Nason, Tiffany Cheek and Carl Hickman of Corbin. Cheek is accused of luring the girl from her home "under false pretenses of being her guardian."

Nason is accused of engaging in sexual activity with the juvenile while she was locked in the back of the truck. He was charged with unlawful transaction with a minor, custodial interference, kidnapping a minor, human trafficking, third-degree rape, unlawful imprisonment and trafficking in a controlled substance.

Cheek and Hickman are charged with unlawful transaction with a minor, custodial interference, kidnapping a minor, human trafficking, unlawful imprisonment and trafficking in a controlled substance. Hickman was also arrested in Cincinnati on drug charges. Hickman is still awaiting extradition back to Kentucky.

The case remains under investigation.