This Flight Attendant Saw the Words “I NEED HELP” Written on a Note. You Won’t Believe What Happened Next!
49-year-old Shelia Fedrick works as a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines. She does her job and she does it well. In fact, one particular flight saw the woman go above and beyond the call of duty. What happened? Sit tight. You won’t believe this.
Shelia was on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to San Francisco. Her curiosity was piqued when she saw a teenage girl, aged 14 or 15 by Shelia’s guess, sitting next to an older, well-dressed man. Aside from the age disparity, what truly caught her attention was that the teenage girl “looked like she had been through pure hell.”
As Shelia tried to converse with the odd pair, the older man started getting defensive. This worried the veteran flight attendant so she devised a plan. She whispered to the girl to go to the bathroom. Shelia narrated:
“I left a note in one of the bathrooms. She wrote back on the note and said ‘I need help'”
The flight attendant understood immediately – the teenage girl might have been a victim of human trafficking.
Shelia then notified the pilot, who in turn notified the authorities. Police were waiting for the well-dressed man and the teenage girl in the terminal when the plane landed in San Francisco. Following an investigation, it was discovered that the girl was indeed a victim of human trafficking and was kidnapped two months prior to being rescued.
The incident occurred in 2011. The teenage girl was only 14 then.
Shelia’s heroism and quick-thinking landed her a position within Airline Ambassadors. Airline Ambassadors was founded by former flight attendant Nancy Rivard in 2009 in order to provide flight attendants with the necessary training to detect and prevent incidences of human trafficking within commercial airlines.
Shelia received a phone call a few after the shocking incident. It was the teenage girl she rescued. She said:
“Thank you for saving my life.”
The two have kept in touch after their life-altering encounter.
The United Nations reported an estimated 1.2 million children are victims of human trafficking annually. Shelia Fedrick is a true hero and we need more people like her in this world.
