A white California mother to a 10-year-old biracial daughter is accusing Dallas-based Southwest Airlines of racial profiling after she was stopped and questioned by police at Denver International Airport in October.

What You Need To Know

  • A California mother, who is white, says she and her 10-year-old daughter, who is biracial, were stopped and questioned by police and Southwest Airlines staff following a flight from San Jose to Denver

  • Denver police said they were summoned to the airport because a Southwest flight attendant suspected human trafficking

  • Following questioning, the pair were allowed to leave

  • The woman said she has hired an attorney and is seeking an apology as well as a refund for the flight. In a statement, Southwest said it is conducting a review of the situation

Mary MacCarthy flew with her daughter, Moira, from San Jose, California, to Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 22 in order to attend the funeral of MacCarthy’s brother, who died suddenly.

According to MacCarthy, upon arriving in Denver the two were approached by police officers and Southwest staff and questioned about “suspicious behavior.”

The Denver Police Department later said officers were summoned to the Denver airport because a Southwest Airlines flight attendant reported a possible case of human trafficking. Following questioning, MacCarthy and her daughter were permitted to leave.

That flight attendant said suspicion arouse because MacCarthy and Moira were the last to board the flight and didn’t speak for its duration. MacCarthy said she and her daughter were quiet because they were trying to catch up on sleep.

MacCarthy said she has hired an attorney and is seeking an apology from Southwest as well as a refund for the flight.

Southwest Airlines provided a statement to USA Today that says the airline was “disheartened” to learn of MacCarthy’s account of the incident.

"We were disheartened to learn of this mother’s account when traveling with her daughter," the statement reads. "We are conducting a review of the situation internally, and we will be reaching out to the customer to address her concerns and offer our apologies for her experience traveling with us."