“We were completely blindsided by this. My daughter had just left our house on her way to a church event. We had the basic rule of text us at your stops to let us know you arrived at your destination or were leaving your destination. Just as a safety measure. She texted us from the gas station and it was a 30-minute drive to the church. Thirty minutes passed and we hadn’t heard from her. We thought she got busy and forgot to text. My husband checked the GPS app and it wasn’t picking her up.  My gut knew something was wrong. Her phone wouldn’t take our call. I never dreamed at that moment that she would have gone willingly to someone. She was a good girl, a senior going to ministry school in the fall. A few nights before she had helped lead worship with her youth group.

I called 911 before we left the house. We arrived at the gas station. Her car was there but she was gone. She had blocked all of us from her social media and her phone.  Friends and police officers started showing up at the gas station to help. She had been missing for over an hour. We posted her disappearance on social media because it felt so urgent. The people she didn’t think to block saw activity on social media. We knew she had to be involved in this. Who was she with? Was she safe and okay or did she not realize she was not safe and not okay? Detectives started pinging her phone. 

We are your typical family. We had all come home from work that day and I had a big pot of chili on the stove. We talked of all of us going to that church event, but my husband and I were tired. I hugged her and held her extra long before she left and told her I loved her and let us know when she got to the gas station and the church.

She had connected with a local 19-year-old on Instagram about three weeks before this happened. He was not a good person, but she started a secret relationship with him on social media. They made a plan and she convinced herself she was in love with him. She walked away from everything and everyone. 

She pumped gas. He met her at the gas station. She parked her car, reset her phone, and blocked everyone. They drove to a motel room in Foley. She walked in and there was another man there. She realized she was in over her head. Thirty minutes later, their phones started going off that she was a missing person and her face was all over social media. Both men had criminal records and their focus shifted from her to avoiding jail time.  A Mobile police officer picked her up, but were unable to press charges. Sixteen is the age of consent in Alabama, which is too low. She went willingly and once the police got involved, the men cooperated. There was nothing we could legally do against them. What if I had hesitated and they had raped her? What would have happened to her?

There is a lot of naivety, a lack of common sense, and a lack of wisdom. The pull of social media and the idealistic life these kids are putting out there can’t compare to real life. They are buying the lie and are brainwashed. It is a drug. These guys are feeding them the lines they want to hear. You are beautiful. You are amazing. I have never met anyone like you. I want to be with you. Who doesn’t want to hear that no matter how old you are? Guys know how to do this and say it. We discovered on her phone dozens of guys on snapchat sending her constant requests for pictures. Constant requests for talking a certain way. The bombardment is disturbing. There is an entire generation that has lost intimacy in a relationship. To them, a relationship means sex and they are no longer guarding their bodies. There is a new level of bad boy. They once skipped class and drank and smoked, got into fights. Today they are predators. Girls are the instigators and predators as well. Kids are putting their trust in the wrong people. They have to start thinking ahead about decisions and what they mean. There is instant gratification that comes from constant scrolling and firing of the rain. It feels good now and I am not going to think about the consequences or what happens after.

I am dealing with post-traumatic and exhausted from being constantly on guard. I keep my finger on the pulse of what is happening in my kids’ lives. How do you relax after you have been blindsided like this and discover what they are capable of choosing to do? We are the first generation of parents trying to raise kids who have the world wide web in their pockets. Everything evil is right there and it is coming to get you. It is a scary world to raise kids in. Parents are addicted, too. 

We tell her every day that she is beautiful and constantly try to boost her self confidence. No matter how much her daddy loves her or spends time with her, it is not the same as the bad boy sliding up on direct messenger.  It is impossible to compete with what is happening on social media. All we can do is teach that it is coming for them.  It shows how easy they can be lured into sex trafficking. She could have been gone. It all comes down to the human heart and nothing can change the human heart but the Lord. I will fight for my kids until there is no breath left in me to fight, but I know there is a place where I end and they begin. Beyond there, I have to trust the Lord.

This is Erin’s story from “My Gut Knew Something was Wrong.” Part two in the series “Sexual Slavery in South Alabama.” It is in the Lagniappe this week or you can read it online at www.lagniappemobile.com.

Here is the link to the full story: https://lagniappemobile.com/my-gut-knew-something-was-wrong-predators-often-target-trafficking-victims-online/?fbclid=IwAR3Marsv6ReP__ifFHIo8R6Egw1UG_4Es2_FJXyANFP5fkYU7St1e-z6xm8#popup-maker