Sheila Frederick, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant, became a true hero when she raised the alarm when she saw a young, disheveled teen girl traveling with an older, well-dressed male on a journey from Seattle to San Francisco. The man appeared defensive and spoke for the girl when Frederick attempted to speak to the two.
Frederick then gave the all-clear to enter the restroom, where she had left a message for the woman asking if she was all right. I need help, the girl wrote in response on the note.
Frederick then alerted the pilot of the aircraft, who in turn alerted law enforcement, who met the aircraft at the gate when it landed. The man was then taken into custody for trafficking in people.
Frederick told 10 News, “I’ve been a flight attendant for ten years, but it feels like I’m going back to when I was in training and I was like, I could have seen these young ladies and young boys and didn’t even know.”
Several times after the event in 2011, Frederick has kept in touch with the girl. She claimed that after leaving her a letter with my phone number on it, she must have remembered it because a few weeks later, she gave me a call.