Human trafficking victim hid in Texas airport bathrooms to escape captors

A veteran aviation worker who is trained on what to look for when it comes to human trafficking spotted several red flags that led to the rescue of a victim at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Monica Phillips is responsible for security and information for Houston Airports and is trained in working with all types of people in various aviation scenarios.

Part of her job is answering phone calls from customers.

“Friday, June 2, I took a call from a man who claimed he was looking for his 52-year-old mother,” Phillips said. “He said that his mother had boarded a flight in Lubbock, Texas bound for Houston on Sunday, May 28. And that he hadn’t heard from her.”

Phillips said that was the first red flag about the situation that she spotted. She wondered why the caller waited five days before to call the airport about his mother.

Phillips then transferred the call to the Houston Police Department. Later, she followed up with HPD who told her that the caller refused to file a missing persons report, which was another red flag.

“I knew something wasn’t right about his story,” Phillips said. “I had this gut feeling that this was a case of human trafficking.”

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