Gerrard Kaonga
A flight attendant's intuition helped her recover a girl she suspected was being human trafficked while on a flight.
During a flight in 2011, Shelia Frederick was working on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to San Francisco when something caused her concern.
She had spotted a very well-dressed older man sitting with an underaged girl who had a bruise on her leg and was wearing very dishevelled clothes.
Frederick recently spoke on the UK morning show Good Morning Britain, reflecting on the incident and detailing how she was able to confirm her suspicions and alert the authorities.
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"I wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on because in the back of my mind I was trying to let it go and something just said don’t let it go,” she said.
She explained that she and a co-worker attempted to offer drinks to the traveling pair, and the man got very defensive, while the girl wouldn’t make eye contact or engage in conversation.
After locking eyes with the little girl, the flight attendant said the look in her eyes was heartbreaking and it was here that she decided to attempt to get to the bottom of the situation.
After thinking about what to do, Frederick left a note in one of the bathrooms and then locked it to ensure that none of the other passengers stumbled upon the note.
“While my coworker was talking with the gentleman, I got the girl's attention and I mumbled bathroom and did a pencil sign with my finger,” Frederick continued.
“She nodded her head a little bit and I hoped she understood what I was trying to do.
Frederick said she saw the pair, then got up and headed to the bathroom. She unlocked the door and said it was exclusively for the crew but she could use it.
While the young girl was in the bathroom, the flight attendant stood with the elderly man before they left for them to go sit down again.
When she got to the note, she saw it read, 'I need help,' and leapt into action to prevent any further issue.
She quickly informed the pilot, who was able to communicate with the San Francisco police ahead of landing. When the plane finally landed at the airport, authorities came aboard and arrested the man.
While Frederick had no official training on how to spot and help victims, she instinctively knew something was wrong. Since this incident, she become an Airline Ambassador member and said steps have been taken to make it easier to report incidents.