Police rescued a suspected trafficking victim who had been missing for seven years after her "blood-curdling" screams guided them to her location - a motel in Inkster, Michigan, as reported by the New York Post.
The individual, whose identity remains undisclosed, contacted her step-parents and informed them that she was held against her will at the motel. Inkster, situated approximately 32 kilometres from the bustling metropolis of Detroit and 135 kilometres from the state capital, Lansing, serves as a suburban area of Detroit, boasting a population of around 25,700 residents.
Michigan State Police announced on Thursday that the woman who disappeared in 2017 was rescued from the Evergreen Motel.
Troopers concluded that the woman was being held at the Evergreen Motel, confirming her presence upon their arrival.
"They described it as like a crying, kind of screaming type of noise that lured them to that specific area," Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw told Michigan-based local news outlet WXYZ.
Officers had to enter the room forcibly where they found the woman alone. Now in her thirties, she was found physically unharmed, although drugs and a firearm were present in the room. Rushed to a nearby hospital, she is presently undergoing counselling and has been reunited with her family. Her identity remains undisclosed, and authorities have refrained from providing additional information regarding her disappearance.
Detectives specialising in human trafficking are actively involved in investigating the missing persons case.
"We'll kind of look at what's next, right... interview her if a crime did take place such as human trafficking or if it is a domestic violence situation or is it different. I don't want to use the word kidnapping like somebody grabbed her and took her to that place. It may have started as a relationship that turns into being held against your will and being trafficked," Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw further added, according to WXYZ.
