[IMAGECAPTION] PHOTO: Flight attendants are trained to search for potential human trafficking victims. (Photo via Flickr/LASZLO ILYES) [/IMAGECAPTION]
Flight attendants have many responsibilities, but perhaps none more pressing than keeping their eyes open for potential victims of human trafficking.
According to WTSP, Alaska Airlines flight attendant Shelia Frederick went the extra mile on a 2011 flight from Seattle to San Francisco when she put her training to use to rescue a teenage girl from human trafficking.
"Something in the back of my mind said something is not right," said Frederick, pointing out that the girl who was traveling with a man wouldn't make eye contact or respond to her questions.
Frederick, who said the girl looked "disheveled and out of sorts," told her under her breath to go to the bathroom. There, the girl indicated that she needed help on a note Frederick left for her.
That's when Frederick informed the pilot who then contacted police.
"I've been a flight attendant for ten years and its like I am going all the way back to when I was in training and I was like I could have seen these young girls and young boys and didn't even know," Frederick told WTSP.
The man, who Frederick described as well dressed, was arrested when the flight landed.
"If you see something, say something," Frederick encouraged fellow flight attendants and air travelers.
According to The Independent, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested approximately 2,000 human traffickers and identified 400 victims in 2016.
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