COLUMBUS -- Using Saturday's rescue of two possible kidnapping victims as one victory in Ohio's war against human trafficking, Gov. John Kasich Thursday praised the Ohio Highway Patrol and a Wood County truck stop employee for their quick actions.

"It's easy for people to stand on the sidelines, and not take the heat, and not stick their noses out there into the people's business sometimes," Mr. Kasich told Enrique Vento, state terminal travel counselor at the I-75 rest stop in Bowling Green.

"Without you, we have two girls who may have lost their lives," the governor said.

Mr. Vento was approached by a 17-year-old Kentucky girl who allegedly had been kidnapped and then forced out of a commercial truck at the rest stop.

After speaking with the girl's mother on the girl's cell phone, Mr. Vento alerted police with a description of the rig and word that a second girl, who was 16, was still in the truck.

The highway patrol, betting that the truck was bound for Kentucky, waited about 15 minutes along I-75 in Shelby County before the rig operated by Darien Lakeith McKinley, 30, of Louisville, rolled by. The girl was rescued, and Mr. McKinley is in the Wood County jail on a kidnapping charge.

"I want to thank God for putting me in the right place at the right time," Mr. Vento said.

The praise came the day after lawmakers finalized House Bill 262, sponsored by Rep. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo) and championed by Mr. Kasich.

The governor is expected to sign the bill into law in Toledo, which, according to arrest and rescue statistics, has the distinction of being a national leader in the recruitment of minors for the sex trade.

The governor also presented certificates of recognition to Trooper Scott Aker of the Piqua patrol post and Trooper Tommy Vaculick of the Bowling Green post, for their roles in the rescue and Mr. McKinley's arrest.

The quick timing was critical, Mr. Aker said.

"I would say we waited for maybe 10 or 15 minutes," he said.

"I told the other trooper that, if he's going to come on I-75, he'll be here fairly soon. Traffic was light. There weren't many semis out on a Saturday afternoon."

The case is being investigated by federal and state authorities as a possible human-trafficking case.

"I had an idea that it might be, because I saw her with her clothes in a plastic bag," Mr. Vento said. "I just kind of had my eye on her."

The human-trafficking bill was one of a number of accomplishments cited by the Republican governor Thursday at a news conference marking the end of the spring voting session.

Speaking with House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R., Medina) and Senate President Tom Niehaus (R., New Richmond), the governor pointed to reforms of state energy, education, local government, criminal sanctions, and wild and exotic animal ownership among numerous other bills that have reached his desk.

Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.

First Published June 15, 2012, 5:30 a.m.