'She was pretty distraught': A suspected human trafficking victim who went missing in 2017 was found in a Michigan motel

A woman who had been missing since 2017 was found in Inkster, Michigan earlier this week. The Michigan State Police noted that the woman contacted her family, saying that she was being held against her will, according to WXYZ. It was the first time the family had heard from the woman in several years.

The authorities have not released the name of the woman to ensure her safety. The report noted that the woman was in her 20s when she initially vanished in 2017, and now she is in her 30s. It is suspected that the woman could have been a trafficking victim.

On Monday, the victim reportedly contacted her stepmother. The stepmother then contacted the authorities and told them that the victim was being held against her will. The Michigan State Police soon made their way to the Evergreen Motel on Michigan Avenue, according to the New York Post.

Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw said the officers "described it as like a crying, kind of screaming type of noise that lured them to that specific area." The woman was eventually found unharmed, but there were drugs and a firearm in the room.

Shaw said the woman was "pretty distraught."

The missing woman was eventually reunited with her family. She is currently receiving mental health help, and the authorities are still investigating what led the woman away from her home in 2017.

"We’ll kind of look at what’s next, right... interview her if a crime did take place such as human trafficking or is it a domestic violence situation or is it different," Shaw said.

“I don’t want to use the word kidnapping like somebody grabbed her and took her to that place. It may have started out as a relationship that turns into being held against your will and being trafficked.”

Though the authorities have one suspect they are looking for, no one has been taken into custody. Reports noted that those in the community are happy to hear the woman is safe.

Moe Jag owns Big Jag Auto Service just across the street from the Evergreen Motel. He said, "Finding a woman after seven years or six years or whatever, that's incredible."

“You know I never had any issue or never heard anything happen there," he said about the Evergreen Motel.

The Michigan State Police are still investigating the situation and looking into whether any other victims may have been involved.

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