More prostitutes are on the prowl in Wetzel County, according to recent reports, and officials said there may be a link an influx of people coming to work in the area for the natural gas industry.


Wetzel County Sheriff James Hoskins said his office is handling complaints mainly from the New Martinsville area. According to reports, people are seeing illegal activity at hotels, bars and clubs along Route 2 in the city.


Hoskins said the county is usually calm and quiet, and this is an issue they've never had to deal with in the past.


"It very well could be because we have an influx of people outside the area, more people in the area driving, more people in the area staying at hotels and things of that nature so it could be a contributing factor," Hoskins said.


He said officials plan to attack the issue immediately.


"Right now, we're investigating some reports of prostitution in the area. It's not wide scale. It's minor in nature, but we do want to investigate those reports and look into them," Hoskins said.


Since there aren't enough deputies and officers to stake out places, the sheriff said he wants the community's help.


"It's just that if you see anything unusual, report to 911 or the local area police department so maybe we can investigate it and see what's going on because this is something that we don't think is widespread," he said.


Anyone with information is asked to call police or the NEWS9 Lauttamus Security Crime Busters Tipline at 800-862-BUST.