ROGERS CITY — Presque Isle County might need an on-call interpreter after deputies could not communicate with a person who spoke no English, Presque Isle County Sheriff Joe Brewbaker told the county’s commissioners on Friday.

Recently, a county officer picked up a teenager who seemed to be hitchhiking in Presque Isle County. The young man only spoke Spanish, and the officer did not know the language, Brewbaker said.

Police eventually found a bilingual person to translate.

The boy told police his family had paid to send him to Northeast Michigan with a group of about 20 other Spanish-speaking people who now perform construction work in Alpena County, Brewbaker said.

Deputies eventually tracked down some of the boy’s family members in Ohio, who came to retrieve him, Brewbaker said.

The person who translated for police said he would consider going on retainer to provide as-needed interpreter services, Brewbaker said.

That service may be increasingly needed, the sheriff believes.

He has noticed a recent increase in the number of people of Hispanic backgrounds in the county, working for construction companies and staying in Rogers City motels, Brewbaker said.

Sheriffs of Alpena, Alcona, and Montmorency counties said they have not noticed or heard about a local increase in people from other countries.

When police encounter people who only speak languages other than English, including sign language, officers can use phone apps to help them communicate, said Sheriff Scott Stephenson, of Alcona County.

Brewbaker’s concerns follow reports of many Spanish-speaking people moving or moved in large numbers into states across the country.

State police do not expect an influx of migrants into Michigan, but they advise counties to prepare in case that should happen, said Dale George, spokesman for the Emergency Management and Homeland Security division of the Michigan State Police.

Last week, the division briefed county emergency managers, including from Northeast Michigan, on preparing for migrants.

The briefing urged counties to consider whether they have adequate resources to meet housing, medical, and other needs should they see an uptick in people from elsewhere, George said.

Those instructions were shared as a precaution, based on what police have observed in other states, George said.

In September, Republican governors sent migrants released at the U.S. border with Mexico to Democratic strongholds.

Those moves follow other transfers of migrants away from southern states as U.S. authorities grapple with unusually large numbers of migrants crossing the border from Mexico.

Since April, Texas has bused about 8,000 migrants to Washington, 2,200 to New York, and 300 to Chicago. Arizona has bused more than 1,800 to Washington since May, while the city of El Paso, Texas, has bused more than 1,100 to New York since Aug. 23.

Brewbaker believes some people who crossed the U.S. border with Mexico are now in Northeast Michigan, and police need to be ready to communicate with them.

Presque Isle County Prosecutor Ken Radzibon told the commissioners police recently picked up another Spanish speaker who they believed was driving drunk.

Without the ability to ask required pre-testing questions because neither spoke the other’s language, police could not administer a breath test and had to let the man go, Radzibon said.

The county should consider an on-call translator in case such interactions happen again, Radzibon said.

“I don’t want law enforcement handicapped because they can’t communicate with suspects,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.