Flight attendant’s quick thinking saves terrified girl from suspected human trafficker
A flight attendant saved a young girl from a suspected human trafficker after becoming concerned about the teenager's welfare.
Shelia Frederick was working on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to San Francisco when she spotted a 'well-dressed' man with a 'disheveled' girl.
Seeing the stark difference in their appearance, she said that she became concerned.
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The flight attendant became increasingly more worried about the teenager when the girl refused to answer her questions.
Speaking to NBC, Shelia previously recalled: "The bruises on her, her demeanour, her appearance, the way she would not answer me, the way she would always look at him - I knew something was just not right."
The flight attendant of 10 years then says she'd managed to convince the girl to go to the toilet, where Shelia had left her a note and a pen.
Shelia is then said to have told the girl to write on the note if she needed help, scribbling down her phone number for her.
The girl then reportedly went on to write on the note 'I need help'.
Shelia then alerted the plane's captain to the situation, who called San Francisco police.
Upon landing, police reportedly boarded the plane and arrested the man in question on suspicion of human trafficking.
The scary ordeal took place in 2011, two years after Nancy Rivard founded Airline Ambassadors International (AAI).
The non-profit organizaiton was created in a bid to train attendants on how to spot potential human trafficking victims.
It also 'provides medical escorts, humanitarian aid to communities around the world'.
Discussing the importance of such training, Shelia told 10 News: "I've been a flight attendant for 10 years and it's like I am going all the way back to when I was in training and I was like, I could have seen these young girls and young boys and didn't even know."
In 2016, it was reported that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 2,000 human traffickers and identified 400 victims.
As to why Shelia didn't try to physically save the girl herself, she knew to not put herself in danger and inform the pilot as part of her training.
"We tell people not to try to rescue because you can endanger the victim and yourself," said Rivard.
As part of the training, flight attendants are also urged to 'let it go' once it's been handed over to the authorities.
"Even though it’s hard to let it go, you transfer it into the hands of the authorities and they’ll pursue the case," AAI trainer Andrea Hobart added.
Niamh Shackleton