The Scappoose Police Department has been known to arrest sex buyers and sex traffickers through alternative investigations and routine traffic stops. For example, in April 2016, Scappoose police officers conducted a routine traffic stop on a vehicle on Columbia River Highway for defective lighting. Upon investigation further, officers found that the vehicle was not insured and additionally, heroin needles and other drug related items were present in the vehicle at the time of the stop. When police stopped the car two individuals were inside the vehicle: a driver, a 39-year-old Portland man, and a passenger, a 40-year-old Portland woman. Officers interviewed the individuals and found that they had made a commercial sex agreement and were driving to St. Helens to meet a  potential sex buyer. The male suspect was arrested on charges of promoting prostitution and possession of heroin. He was lodged at the Columbia County Jail on $45,000 bail and the female suspect was arrested on charges of prostitution, possession of heroin, and failure to register as a sex offender. She was lodged at the Columbia County Jail on $42,500 bail. Their identities were included in reports by local media outlets.