“If you see something, you say something” – that was more than just a motto for Alaska Airlines’ flight attendant Shelia Fedrick, it was an instinct that resulted in her rescuing a teenage girl from human trafficking.
The cabin crew member was carrying out her usual inflight duties on a recent flight from Seattle to San Francisco when she noticed an unlikely pair.
It was a girl, around 14 or 15, with greasy hair, looking dishevelled and like she’d “been through pure hell” sitting beside a well-dressed, older man.
Some may have passed the pair off as just another teen travelling with an older relative, but Fedrick knew something was wrong, especially when she attempted a conversation. The man became defensive and the girl refused to look in her direction, let alone speak, she told NBC News.
Shelia Fedrick saved a young girl from human trafficking on a recent flight. Image: NBC News supplied by Shelia Fedrick
Knowing she couldn’t address the young girl in front of her companion, Fedrick encouraged her to take a bathroom break. Inside the lavatory, the flight attendant had left a note on the mirror to which the girl responded with three words: “I need help”.
Fedrick immediately notified the pilot, who then contacted the ground to ensure police were on standby at touch down in San Francisco.
Authorities escorted the pair off the aircraft and it was later revealed that the girl had been a victim of human trafficking, potentially as a result of the Super Bowl, which has apparently been linked to an increase in prostitution and human trafficking, NBC News reported.
“I’ve been a flight attendant for ten years and it’s like I am going all the way back to when I was in training.”
Shelia Fedrick, Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant
“And I was like, I could have seen these young girls and young boys and didn’t even know.
“If you see something, say something.”