Human trafficking: Hungarian woman hides in bathroom of Houston Airport for ten days

A Hungarian-speaking woman has fallen victim to kidnappers. However, she managed to escape from them at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Houston. The woman spent ten long days in the bathroom.

Telex reported that a 52-year-old Hungarian woman was probably abducted by kidnappers in the United States. She was found and later identified by the staff of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport on the 7th of June.  Ten days before that, she managed to break free from the two men who she was travelling with. Local authorities treat the case as human trafficking.

Strong suspicion

Monica Philips, who found the woman, had the first inkling that something was wrong on the 2nd of June when the airport received a suspicious call. The caller was allegedly looking for his 52-year-old mother, who flew from Lubbock, Texas to Houston on the 28th of May. He was worried as he had not heard from her since she boarded the plane. The staff member found it odd that he reported the case five days after she went missing. Philips forwarded the call to the police. She later found out that the man had refused to report “his mum” as a missing person. That was the point when her suspicion grew stronger. She thought that this might be a case of human trafficking.

On the 7th of June, she bumped into a woman who desperately wanted to speak to the police. Philips thought that this person might be the “missing mother”. The woman only spoke Hungarian, but her name matched the one that the caller had mentioned. The police were unable to contact the number of the caller, however.

Hideaway in the bathroom

Later, the story told by the woman matched the story of the mysterious caller. She was flying from Lubbock to Houston, accompanied by two men. Their final destination was Europe, but the woman managed to break away from them in Houston. On the 28th of May, she ran off and hid in the bathroom for ten days. After ten days spent in fear in her hideaway, the woman could barely walk and was at her wits’ end. When she was found, she was immediately taken to the hospital. She couldn’t recall what happened to her exactly. However, authorities treat the case as human trafficking. Saba Abashawl, Houston Airports Chief External Affairs Officer, said that human trafficking is not just a concern of faraway, third-world countries. The success of the rescue operation demonstrates well the staff’s strong commitment to prevent human trafficking.