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Airline employee saves teen girls from potential sex trafficking

Airline employee saves teen girls from potential sex trafficking
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Airline employee saves teen girls from potential sex trafficking
When two teenage girls tried to check in for a flight from Sacramento to New York, American Airlines customer service agent Denice Miracle noticed something wasn't right."There were immediate red flags: There was no adult with them; they had no identification; the tickets were one-way and multi-leg; they were booked in First Class; and the credit card used to reserve their seats was in neither of their names. In fact, it was flagged as fraudulent," a press release from American Airlines reads.The girls were 15 and 17 when they tried to check in for the flight last summer, according to the airline. They seemed nervous and unable to answer the agent's questions."I told the supervisor, 'I'm going to call the sheriff. This just doesn't feel right to me,'" Miracle told CNN. "It just did not feel right."She pulled the teenagers aside while she called the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Airport Bureau. When officers arrived at the airport, the teenagers explained their motive for the suspicious cross-country trip.The girls thought they were flying to New York for the weekend to model and perform in music videos. They were told they'd earn $2,000 for the work. The whole trip was arranged by someone they had met on Instagram who they knew as "Drey."When they found out the plane tickets weren't roundtrip, the teenagers were "shocked," said officers.Deputy Todd Sanderson explained to CNN that he told the girls, "The airline says you have a one-way ticket and in my belief you're going back there not to do the things that you think you were going to be doing.""They said, 'I wouldn't let anything happen that I didn't want,' and I said, 'Well you probably wouldn't have a choice in the matter.'"The incident occurred last summer, according to American Airlines, but the company is sharing the story now to encourage people to "identify and report signs of human trafficking."Sacramento sheriff's deputies tried to contact "Drey" by phone and on Instagram, but were unable to reach him. Subsequent attempts to track down the suspect have been unsuccessful.American Airlines says the girls were returned to their parents, who were informed their daughters were potential victims of human trafficking.

When two teenage girls tried to check in for a flight from Sacramento to New York, American Airlines customer service agent Denice Miracle noticed something wasn't right.

"There were immediate red flags: There was no adult with them; they had no identification; the tickets were one-way and multi-leg; they were booked in First Class; and the credit card used to reserve their seats was in neither of their names. In fact, it was flagged as fraudulent," a press release from American Airlines reads.

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The girls were 15 and 17 when they tried to check in for the flight last summer, according to the airline. They seemed nervous and unable to answer the agent's questions.

"I told the supervisor, 'I'm going to call the sheriff. This just doesn't feel right to me,'" Miracle told CNN. "It just did not feel right."

She pulled the teenagers aside while she called the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Airport Bureau. When officers arrived at the airport, the teenagers explained their motive for the suspicious cross-country trip.

The girls thought they were flying to New York for the weekend to model and perform in music videos. They were told they'd earn $2,000 for the work. The whole trip was arranged by someone they had met on Instagram who they knew as "Drey."

When they found out the plane tickets weren't roundtrip, the teenagers were "shocked," said officers.

Deputy Todd Sanderson explained to CNN that he told the girls, "The airline says you have a one-way ticket and in my belief you're going back there not to do the things that you think you were going to be doing."

"They said, 'I wouldn't let anything happen that I didn't want,' and I said, 'Well you probably wouldn't have a choice in the matter.'"

The incident occurred last summer, according to American Airlines, but the company is sharing the story now to encourage people to "identify and report signs of human trafficking."

Sacramento sheriff's deputies tried to contact "Drey" by phone and on Instagram, but were unable to reach him. Subsequent attempts to track down the suspect have been unsuccessful.

American Airlines says the girls were returned to their parents, who were informed their daughters were potential victims of human trafficking.