The mistake, for which Ms. McCain apologized, started a conversation about the role of implicit bias, and experts weighed in on what to do if you are in a similar situation.
For years, Cindy McCain has been vocal in the fight against human trafficking. And on a radio show this week in her home state, Arizona, she shared a personal anecdote to show how people can help protect victims.
Ms. McCain, the widow of Senator John McCain, told KTAR News 92.3 FM that she was recently at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix when she saw a scenario that raised a red flag in her mind.
“I spotted — it looked odd — it was a woman of a different ethnicity than the child, this little toddler she had,” Ms. McCain said in an interview on Monday. “Something didn’t click with me. I tell people to trust your gut. I went over to the police and told them what I thought. They went over and questioned her and, by God, she was trafficking that kid.”
But by midweek, the Phoenix Police Department said no trafficking had occurred — and Ms. McCain had apologized.
In a statement on Thursday, a police spokesman said that officers assigned to the airport checked on a child at the request of Ms. McCain on Jan. 30, but found that “there was no evidence of criminal conduct or child endangerment.”
On Twitter, Ms. McCain commended the police for their diligence. “I apologize if anything else I have said on this matter distracts from ‘if you see something, say something,’” she said.
It was unclear what other factors might have led Ms. McCain to believe she was witnessing a human trafficking situation. The police declined to elaborate, and Ms. McCain could not be reached for an interview.
In a statement on Thursday, the McCain Institute for International Leadership, a Washington-based think tank that was inspired by the McCain family and for which Ms. McCain serves on the human trafficking advisory council, said: “When Cindy reported what she thought was an incident of trafficking at the airport she was only thinking about the possible ramifications of a criminal act.
